To: steveegg
ABC news has just reported that the CIA believes that Saddam survived the attack. But they reported earlier that it was believed that Uday was killed in the air strike.
To: redheadtoo
Taha Yasin Ramadan is a member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle and is known as one of the Iraqi president's "enforcers. Vice-President Ramadan is often sent abroad as the Iraqi leader's envoy and has held numerous senior posts since the Baath Party seized power in 1968. He once led the Popular Army, a large paramilitary force tasked with protecting the regime. It was disbanded in 1991 when he became vice-president. When made industry minister in the 1970s, he reportedly told colleagues: "I don't know anything about industry. All I know is that anyone who doesn't work hard will be executed." He has been accused by Iraqi exiles of crimes against humanity for his role in crushing the Shia uprising in southern Iraq in 1991 and his alleged involvement in the killing of thousands of Kurds in the north in 1988. Born to a peasant family in the northern region of Mosul, he worked as a bank clerk after completing his secondary education. He rose through the ranks of the Baath Party, and joined the regime's powerful Revolution Command Council after the coup. He still sits on it today. (Well, actually, NOT ANY MORE!!!) Known abroad as a hawk who does not mince his words, he recently suggested that Saddam Hussein and US President George W Bush should settle their differences in a duel with weapons of their choice. Mr Ramadan once described the 1991 Gulf War as a victory for Baghdad since it marked "the beginning of saying no to the forces of aggression". Together with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, he made the rounds of Arab nations during the pre-war standoff with the United States. "US threats will not scare us," he is quoted as saying. Washington has shown considerable interest in him for some time, after opposition forces claimed he hosted Osama Bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in Baghdad in 1998. He recently told the pan-Arab MBC television channel the Bush administration "is Zionist... more Zionist than the Jews". Mr Ramadan has survived a number of assassination attempts, including two in 1997 and one in 1999. There are reports that he disagreed with Saddam Hussein over economic policies in the 1980s. Unlike others who have taken issue with the Iraqi leader, Mr Ramadan lived to tell the tale and is arguably stronger today than ever. (From BBC)
33 posted on
03/21/2003 3:38:23 PM PST by
AmericanInTokyo
(JapanTV showed report on Kim Jong il. He watches CNN regularly. Imagine his thoughts watching Iraq!)
To: redheadtoo
But they reported earlier that it was believed that Uday was killed in the air strike.Okay, but son "Queasy" is the more cunning and dangerous of the two.
42 posted on
03/21/2003 3:44:43 PM PST by
JCEccles
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