Regards, Ivan
Posted on 04/24/2003 4:54:52 PM PDT by MadIvan
The United States claimed its biggest scalp in the hunt for former members of the ousted Iraqi regime last night when Tariq Aziz surrendered to American troops.
While ranked only No 43 in Washington's list of the 55 most wanted leaders, the most familiar face in the regime, aside from Saddam Hussein himself, belonged to his unctuous deputy prime minister.
Ever since Saddam seized the presidency in 1979, Aziz proved a faithful purveyor of lies and propaganda. As Iraq's long-serving foreign minister and conduit to the West, Mr Aziz lost no opportunity to whitewash his master's excesses and place the best international gloss on his regime.
Aziz was aided by his impeccable English and urbane manner. They distanced him, in the minds of many commentators, from Saddam's disastrous bungles and excesses.
He was born into a Chaldean Catholic family in Mosul, northern Iraq, in 1936. Christened Michael Yuhanna, he later changed his name to Tariq Aziz - meaning "glorious past" - to disguise his Christianity.
Unlike most members of Iraq's inner circle, he is not related to Saddam and, while he was a trusted adviser, his power was limited. This could help to explain his longevity in Saddam's inner circle, where rival clan members jostled for their share of power, often falling out of favour.
As an outsider without an independent power base, Aziz posed no threat to the dictator. But what he lacked in blood ties, he made up for in sycophancy.
After studying English literature at Baghdad University, he became a journalist in 1958 and an associate of Saddam, who was then serving as an assassin for the Ba'ath party.
When the Ba'athists seized power in 1968 and Saddam became vice-president he made Aziz editor of Al-Thawra, the party's propaganda broadsheet. After Saddam became president in 1979, Aziz's career prospered.
When Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990, Aziz was responsible for the comedy of errors that passed for Iraqi foreign policy. After his master announced his plan to occupy Kuwait, Aziz offered this advice: "The Americans may come to Saudi Arabia and counter-attack. Why don't we go all the way and take Saudi Arabia too?"
The Saddam-Aziz double-act then turned down at least three opportunities for an honourable retreat from Kuwait that would have safeguarded Iraq's strategic interests.
Aziz is the 12th former Iraqi leader to be taken into custody who featured in the pack of 55 playing cards issued two weeks ago to US troops hunting members of the former leadership.
Three other senior members of the regime surrendered or were captured within the past two days, American commanders said yesterday, as coalition special forces worked their way through the list.
The latest additions include the Iraqi air defence commander, who was Queen of Diamonds in the pack of cards and No 10 on the list. Muzahim Sa'ab Hassan al-Tikriti, a member of Saddam's clan, was wanted more for his role in training the Saddam Fedayeen, who are alleged to have committed a number of war crimes, than for his legitimate role as air defence commander.
Gen Zuhair Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib, former head of Military Intelligence who was No 21 on the list, surrendered to American troops on Wednesday, US Central Command said.
Naqib told the Los Angeles Times before surrendering that he made no apology for his role in the regime. He said he had not always agreed with Saddam's policies but he denied any war crimes. "This was the military," he said. "I was just following orders."
The other member of the top 55 captured was Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih, the former Iraqi trade minister and No 48 on the most wanted list.
But until Aziz's surrender, few of those who had been accounted for feature in the higher ranks of the leadership.
Others are believed to have been killed in air strikes.
They include Ali Hassan al-Majid, one of Saddam's most trusted lieutenants and military governor of southern Iraq, and Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother and ex-head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, or Mukhabarat.
The rest of the senior leadership except for Aziz remain free.
Regards, Ivan
Executing him for his complicity in Saddam's crimes against humanity will be.
WASHINGTON - U.S. forces in Iraq have taken custody of Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister and the most visible Iraqi leader other than Saddam Hussein.
Officials at the Pentagon and at Central Command headquarters in Qatar said Thursday they did not know whether Aziz was captured or whether he turned himself in.
On the U.S. list of the 55 most-wanted members of the former government, Aziz was No. 43, the eight of spades in the military's card deck of top Iraqi leaders.
His prominence in the regime could make Aziz a source for the best information yet on the fate of Saddam and his two sons, as well as the location of any hidden weapons of mass destruction.
"We can confirm Tariq Aziz is now under coalition control," said Central Command spokeswoman Capt. Dani Burrows.
Aziz was often the public face of Iraq when responding to accusations by the United States and United Nations.
He was the only Christian in Saddam's inner circle, most of whom were Sunni Muslims like Saddam. He served as foreign minister during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and was a frequent spokesman at that time.
Aziz last appeared in public March 19, when he held a news conference in Baghdad to quash rumors he had fled the Iraqi capital.
"I am carrying my pistol to confirm to you that we are ready to fight the aggressors," Aziz said then. "American soldiers are nothing but mercenaries and they will be defeated."
Although he was one of Saddam's most loyal aides, Aziz, like most non-Tikritis, had virtually no power, U.S. officials have said. That could explain his longevity in Saddam's inner circle — without an independent power base, he posed no threat.
In recent years Aziz did not have the international profile he had in the 1990-91 Gulf crisis when, as Iraqi foreign minister, he was virtually "Mr. Iraq" to the world's media.
Saddam promoted him after the Gulf war to deputy prime minister, forcing him to relinquish the foreign ministry portfolio. Some believe this reshuffle had to do with Saddam's not liking a Cabinet minister to become too well known.
Others point to the fact that Saddam's son Odai did not like Aziz. Odai's newspaper, Babil, often criticized foreign policy. In 1996, Aziz's son Ziad was arrested for corruption in what Baghdad insiders saw as a turf battle between Ziad and Odai, who was equally known for graft.
However, Tariq Aziz retained weight within the government. He was Saddam's deputy on the foreign affairs and media committees, in which positions he interpreted Saddam's policies to the ministers concerned. He also conducted the government's negotiations with the U.N. weapons inspectors.
When Saddam fired Aziz's replacement as foreign minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, in 2001, he appointed Aziz as acting foreign minister for four months until Naji Sabri was given the post.
Al-Shahaf's new post was as Iraq's information minister, which he used during the latest war to denounce the U.S.-led invasion and famously deny that American troops were in Baghdad after they had already captured the capital's international airport.
Born in 1936 near the northern city of Mosul, Aziz studied English literature at Baghdad College of Fine Arts and became a teacher and journalist. He joined the Baath Party in 1957, working closely with Saddam to overthrow British-imposed monarchy.
Aziz changed his name from Mikhail Yuhanna. In Arabic, Tariq Aziz means "glorious past."
He was wounded in a 1980 assassination attempt by an Iranian-backed Islamic fundamentalist group named ad-Dawa Islami, the Islamic Call. Members of the group threw a grenade at him in downtown Baghdad, killing several people.
The attack was one of several Saddam blamed on Iran, part of his justification for his expulsion of large numbers of Shiite Muslims and his September 1980 invasion of Iran.
Aziz was instrumental in restoring diplomatic relations with the United States in 1984 after a 17-year break. He had met in 1983 with Donald H. Rumsfeld, then a private envoy from President Reagan and now defense secretary. At the time, the United States backed Iraq as a buffer against Iran's Islamic extremism.
The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Saddam's government for good after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, which led to the Persian Gulf War. Aziz was a frequent spokesman for Saddam during that war, too, contending Iraq's invasion of its smaller neighbor was justified.
Which makes about as much sense as changing his name to Ted Kennedy to disguise his Catholicism . . .
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Yeah right!
Even so, I've been wanting this guy in custody since late '90. There's just something about the phrase "We bagged Tariq Aziz." Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
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