Skip to comments.
Saddam's captured half-brother proves 'instantly co-operative'
The times ^
| April 19, 2003
| Glen Owen
Posted on 04/18/2003 3:02:21 PM PDT by MadIvan
THE half-brother of Saddam Hussein captured by special forces on Thursday has disclosed valuable information about the former regime, American military sources said yesterday.
Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, who worked closely with Saddam for more than two decades, was said to have been instantly co-operative. His response has raised hopes that he will lead troops to the fugitive Iraqi leader or provide details of weapons systems.
The reports came as a fourth member of the regime was seized. Samir al-Aziz al-Najim, regional chairman of the Baath party in east Baghdad, was handed to US troops by Iraqi Kurds near Mosul. He was Minister of Oil and Saddams chief of staff for several years after the first Gulf War.
Coalition commanders were confident that Barzan, a financier, diplomat and intelligence chief, would co-operate because of his brittle relationship with Saddam: Barzan was said to have been placed under house arrest in March for challenging Saddams decision to groom his son, Qusay, as his most likely successor.
Two other Iraqi officials are also in custody: Watban Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, another of Saddams three half-brothers, and Amer Hammoudi al-Saadi, Saddams senior scientific adviser. All are believed to be held at separate locations where they are being questioned by agents from the CIA.
Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks told a briefing at Central Command in Qatar that some of the prisoners were proving more co-operative than others.
He said: Some are providing useful information that leads to the arrest of regime leaders. In some cases were led to sites that may have suspicious activities. In some cases, we are led to places where we find more information.
He declined to comment on the conditions they were being held in or the techniques being used to extract the information. By co-operating, Barzan, who is accused by human rights groups of personally using torture during his interrogations of alleged opponents of Saddams regime, will have avoided some of the CIAs more uncompromising stress and duress techniques.
Mr Al-Najim, designated the four of clubs in a pack of cards of the most-wanted fugitives, is a Sunni Muslim from Baghdad who took part in Saddams attempt to kill Abdel Karim Qassem, the Prime Minister, in 1959. Ten years later, after the Baath party came to power, Mr al-Najim assumed key responsibilities, including overseeing intelligence.
Reports were also circulating yesterday that Ali Hassan al-Majid, the Iraqi commander known as Chemical Ali who was thought to have been killed in an airstrike in the third week of the war, had been seen alive.
Three Iraqi soldiers told the BBC that they had seen him in his home town of al-Amara in southeast Iraq the day after the raid. Colonel Chris Vernon, the British Forces spokesman, said he was 99 per cent sure that Ali had been killed.
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 4ofclubs; 5ofclubs; alnajim; altikriti; barzan; blair; bush; cia; decapitation; fiveofclubs; fourofclubs; halfbrother; iraq; mostwanted; qassem; saddam; stressandduress; uk; us; war
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-30 next last
I have to admit, I'm smiling.
Regards, Ivan
1
posted on
04/18/2003 3:02:21 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: hoosiermama; MeekMom; Dutchgirl; Freedom'sWorthIt; Carolina; patricia; annyokie; ...
Bump!
2
posted on
04/18/2003 3:02:38 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: MadIvan
Good news. Now for a math question.
If we capture Soddomites three half brothers will that equal 1.5 Soddomites?
3
posted on
04/18/2003 3:04:02 PM PDT
by
Grampa Dave
(Being a Monthly Donor to Free Republic is the Right Thing to do!)
To: MadIvan
He declined to comment on the conditions they were being held in or the techniques being used to extract the information.
WHO is holding him at the moment is the question that would answer the other questions.
4
posted on
04/18/2003 3:04:18 PM PDT
by
Arkinsaw
To: MadIvan
...Chemical Ali who was thought to have been killed in an airstrike in the third week of the war, had been seen alive.
What's up with all of these people that we targeted showing up alive? Why can't they just stay dead?
5
posted on
04/18/2003 3:05:34 PM PDT
by
Bigg Red
(Beware the Fedayeen Rodham!)
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Miss Marple; BOBTHENAILER; hchutch; Dog; Dog Gone; RobFromGa; Howlin
Good now some of Soddomite's relatives and others are apparently rolling over and telling all when captured.
6
posted on
04/18/2003 3:05:35 PM PDT
by
Grampa Dave
(Being a Monthly Donor to Free Republic is the Right Thing to do!)
To: MadIvan
Barzan didn't even try to flee to Syria, apparently, just hunkered down and waited for arrest.
I wonder if he just had enough of it all, or similar feeling.
7
posted on
04/18/2003 3:07:59 PM PDT
by
Shermy
To: Bigg Red
What's up with all of these people that we targeted showing up alive? Why can't they just stay dead? Because these people deserve more than one killing.
8
posted on
04/18/2003 3:10:09 PM PDT
by
Dog Gone
To: Dog Gone
LOL!
9
posted on
04/18/2003 3:18:50 PM PDT
by
Bigg Red
(Beware the Fedayeen Rodham!)
To: Bigg Red
Why can't they just stay dead? Now you know how the Sanhedrin felt about 2,000 years ago.
10
posted on
04/18/2003 3:19:19 PM PDT
by
Mr. Mulliner
(QUANDO OMNI FLUNKUS MORITATI: When all else fails, play dead)
To: MadIvan
Barzan Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, who worked closely with Saddam for more than two decades, was said to have been instantly co-operative. His response has raised hopes that he will lead troops to the fugitive Iraqi leader or provide details of weapons systems. LOL, like a singing bird
.
To: Arkinsaw
My guess is that they don't really have to put much pressure on him. He probably just assumes, based on the way the regime he was a part of ran things, that anything short of instant and full cooperation will land him in a torture chamber.
To: Grampa Dave
Thanks for the ping..
13
posted on
04/18/2003 3:28:37 PM PDT
by
Dog
(Click ... click ... click ... damn, out of taglines!)
To: Grampa Dave
If we capture Soddomites three half brothers will that equal 1.5 Soddomites?Nope. It equals 0.125 Soddomites.
0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.125, or 1/8 of a Soddomite.
14
posted on
04/18/2003 3:31:29 PM PDT
by
brewcrew
(It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into. - Jonathan Swift)
To: Grampa Dave; MadIvan; Victoria Delsoul
By co-operating, Barzan, who is accused by human rights groups of personally using torture during his interrogations of alleged opponents of Saddams regime, will have avoided some of the CIAs more uncompromising stress and duress techniques. He must have some knowledge about the more advanced techniques to cooperate so quickly!
15
posted on
04/18/2003 3:38:28 PM PDT
by
Ernest_at_the_Beach
(Where is Saddam? and where is Tom Daschle?)
To: MadIvan
so, what kind of hand do we hold now?
two pairs?
good enough for winning at bridge?
16
posted on
04/18/2003 3:54:58 PM PDT
by
WOSG
(All Hail The Free Republic of Iraq! God Bless our Troops!)
To: Arkinsaw
WHO is holding him at the moment is the question that would answer the other questions.I'll bet there's some US lawyers looking to represent these scumbags, they are being hidden from the lawyers.
17
posted on
04/18/2003 5:22:32 PM PDT
by
Mister Baredog
((They wanted to kill 50,000 of us on 9/11, we will never forget!))
To: WOSG
I was thinking it's more like a poker run. What are the cards so far?
18
posted on
04/18/2003 6:03:24 PM PDT
by
6ppc
To: brewcrew
Actually break it down even further...this guy had a false leg....Apparently Uday shot thus guy's leg off in a family argument.
To: ConservativeMan55
thus = this
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-30 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson