Posted on 03/02/2003 11:31:44 AM PST by knak
Baghdad (Special to Iraq Press, Mar. 2, 2003 – A senior Iraqi scientist who developed the controversial al-Samoud missile system has been killed in Baghdad.
Mohammed Saaeed al-Daraji was murdered nearly 24 hours after leaving a presidential complex where he held discussions with senior officials on what he was supposed to say if interviewed by U.N. weapons inspectors.
Al-Daraji was instrumental in building the al-Samoud 11 missile, which has been test-fired beyond the 150-kilometer (93 mile) limit for Iraqi missiles the United Nations imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.
Iraq has agreed to start destroying the missiles by Saturday – a deadline laid down by chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix.
But both the U.S. and U.K. have dismissed the Iraqi offer as another example of Baghdad playing games with the weapons inspectors.
Al-Daraji's death has raised fears on the fate of Iraqi scientists U.N. weapons inspectors would like to interview.
Al-Daraji was supposed to appear for a private interview before the inspectors very soon.
Iraqi scientists are under immense pressure from the authorities not to reveal details that will lead the inspectors to uncover the full scope of Iraq's banned weapons programs.
Initially, the authorities forced them to ask for minders during the interviews and now force them to carry tape recorders and other bugging devices.
Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein has been showering the scientists with gifts and bonuses.
Only two months ago, Saddam had rewarded al-Daraji with a brand new car and 60 million Iraqi dinars (approx. 35,000 U.S. dollars) in cash.
Problem is, the names are translitterated from Arabic to English. I can't provide an Arabic example -- I don't know any Arabic -- but the same problem exists in Hebrew, where, for example, "Chaim" can just as easily be spelled "Haim," "Haym," "Chaym," or several other spellings.
Saddam probably confiscated the car and impounded his bank account. What the devil giveth is easily taken away.
I wonder if Saddam suspected al-Daraji of planning to flee the country. Either that or Saddam needed a fresher example of what happenns when you don't tow the line.
Has anyone seen an article on that and was it posted here?
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