Posted on 02/14/2003 8:21:44 AM PST by formerlytempaussie
This is starting to pop up all over the internet, very interesting if true.
Below is one other source that seem to bring additional information:
Over the weekend, the sources said, a leading aide to the son of Saddam fled Iraq. They said Adib Shaaban, a leading press official and aide to Uday Hussein, arrived in Syria over the weekend.
The sources said Uday had demanded that Shaaban return to Baghdad. Shaaban has refused.
Instead, Shaaban plans to seek asylum in a third country. The sources said he fled after a dispute with the mercurial Uday.
The sources said the Saddam regime has clamped restrictions on the transfer of money abroad in an attempt to halt defections. They said Saddam's agents have been deployed throughout the military and in key government offices to help detect plots against the regime.
Several Arab and European Union states have quietly searched for a safe haven for Saddam and his aides in exchange for their exile. Belarus, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are said to have offered to accept Saddam, his family and key aides.
Earlier, the New York Times reported that Jordan has urged the United States to guarantee safe haven to Saddam and some 50 of his top aides in an attempt to sow dissent in the regime. The newspaper said Jordan has concluded that Saddam will dismiss the offer, but the prospect of a safe haven for regime leaders could prompt unrest among those close to the president who fear prosecution for war crimes.
"Uday might be the first to shoot his father if he refused an amnesty," the newspaper quoted a senior Jordanian official as saying.
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