US: Aziz Rumour False

sky news ^ | Last Updated: 16:05 UK, Wednesday March 19, 2003

[maquiladora]

US officials have said rumours that Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz had either defected or been shot dead fleeing Baghdad are untrue.

The rumours affected oil prices in New York as the George W. Bush's deadline for Saddam and his sons to flee Iraq appraoched.

A US official said: "These rumours are just not true".

It had been rumoured that Aziz had fled to Kurdish-held northern Iraq.

But an a senior Kurdish source scoffed at the rumour Aziz was being held by Kurdish forces.

Rumours of the imprisonment, flight or death of member of Saddam Hussein's administration are common, but rarely turn out to be true.

Aziz was seen in Iraqi TV coverage of Tuesday's cabinet meeting with Saddam.

[grumple]

Now come on!! What do you think our Government would say during time of war?

Uh, yep!! We got him!

[stilts]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[b4its2late]

Darn, darn, darn, darn. Not that I wish anyone ill will, but at least if he escaped, that would've been ok too.

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

I wondered why President Bush made that comment on Monday about not believing rumors...and here we have our first rumor.

[FreeTheHostages]

"Rumours of the imprisonment, flight or death of member of Saddam Hussein's administration are common, but rarely turn out to be true."

[geedee]

LOL. I'm with you. It might be a rumor . . . but I hope to hell OUR folks started it. Iraqi soldiers are SEARCHING for reasons to give up.

[cake_crumb]

According to other news stories, the price per barrel dropped, and the possibility of war in general that stabilized oil prices. (**sigh** if you can't trust the media, who CAN you trust?)

[Aquinasfan]

Bummer. I liked this rumor.

[HairOfTheDog]

(Debkafile exclusive: Aziz Is The Guy In The Bear Costume)

No, but close! [grin]

[aristeides]

Aziz was seen in Iraqi TV coverage of Tuesday's cabinet meeting with Saddam.

Aziz or a double.

Why hasn't Aziz been meeting with the press the past few days, and why does his office say he's away on a trip for a week (as reported by Der Spiegel)?

[Charles Henrickson]

At ease.

[Charles Henrickson]

A tease?

[Charles Henrickson]

Larry Tate is safe.

[Charles Henrickson]

The bullet hit his glasses. He was not hurt.

[Charles Henrickson]

. . . . . . "I'm not dead yet."

[AmericanInTokyo]

This is the latest from the Turkish site: Hurriyet (respected daily). Now, if we can only find out what the Turkish verb "dedikodusu" or "kaçtý dedikodusu" means (I've already done searches for 'defect', 'escapes', 'surrender', 'is captured' 'is killed', etc. but came up with nothing......(about 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday)

"Tarýk Aziz kaçtý dedikodusu Irak Kürdistan Demokrat Partisi (IKDP) Süleymaniye temsilci yardýmcýsý Nabez Raþid Ahmed, Irak Baþbakan Yardýmcýsý Tarýk Aziz'in IKDP'nin denetimindeki bölgede olduðunu söyledi.

Ahmed, Aziz'in Erbil'de olduðunu belirtti, ancak ne zaman, nerede ve nasýl teslim olduðunu açýklamadý. Demokratik Irak Platformu üyelerinden Ýsmail Sayer de, Bulgaristan'ýn baþkenti Sofya'dan gönderdiði faks mesajýnda, Aziz'in teslim olduðunu haber verdi. Sayer, Tarýk Aziz'in Baðdat'tan kuzey bölgesine kaçtýðýný öne sürdü. YALANLAMALAR Bu arada Amerikalý yetkililer, Tarýk Aziz'le ilgili haberleri reddetti. Washington'da isminin açýklanmasýný istemeyen Amerikalý yetkililer, bu haberleri doðrulayacak bilgi bulunmadýðýný söyledi. Erbil'deki IKDP sözcüsü Fevzi Hariri de söylentileri duyduklarýný,ancak bunu doðrulayamayacaklarýný belirtti."

[silverlady]

IRAN News Agency reported Tariq Aziz went north to Kurdistan & was killed by Saddam... (?)
http://www.irna.com/en/head/030319171950.e.shtml

[dfwgator]

Ping.

[unspun]

You mean he hasn't left Iraq in order to become the new manager of the Dixie Chicks?