Skip to comments.
Mystery of Aziz and the Russian
The Sunday Times ^
| April 27, 2003
| Hala Jaber
Posted on 04/26/2003 3:40:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
HOURS before American troops first entered Baghdad, Saddam Husseins deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, went to his information ministry for a secret meeting with the Russian ambassador.
The appointment with Vladimir Titorenko was set for 1pm on April 9. Two hours later there was no sign of the Russian envoy and Aziz left the ministry. The fluent English speaker would not be seen again until he handed himself over to US forces in Baghdad last Thursday.
He was expecting a very important answer from the Russian government through their ambassador in Baghdad, said one official. It may, he believed, have been related either to Azizs own future or, more intriguingly, to that of Saddam Hussein.
Titorenko may have been rattled by his own experience that week. Three days earlier he had been part of a convoy that came under fire from American forces on the outskirts of Baghdad, apparently as it was fleeing the city.
Aziz, one of the few Christians in Saddams regime, is the most prominent of the senior Iraqis held. He was designated the eight of spades in the most wanted cards distributed to US troops making him number 43 of the 55 on the list.
Little has emerged, however, of what Aziz, described by one former CIA analyst as the symbol of this vile regime, has revealed to his captors, or of whether he has struck a deal.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, indicated the legal status of the captives remains uncertain. The lawyers will figure that out, he said. He ruled out sending them or other Iraqi prisoners to the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the Pentagon is holding 600 detainees in its war against terror most of whom were captured in Afghanistan.
The Home Office yesterday rejected as ridiculous reports that Aziz could be offered asylum in Britain in return for information.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Russia; US: District of Columbia; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: aziz; blair; bush; iraq; iraqifreedom; putin; russia; saddam; titorenko; uk; us; war
Hmmm.
Regards, Ivan
1
posted on
04/26/2003 3:40:54 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: knews_hound; faithincowboys; hillary's_fat_a**; redbaiter; MizSterious; Krodg; hoosiermama; ...
Bump!
2
posted on
04/26/2003 3:41:16 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: MadIvan
Thank you for all your wonderful posts. I read your finds regularly. In this article they call Taziz a Christian, and, indeed, I have heard him referred to as a Christian on television coverage. Tazis is not a Christian. He is a traitor to everything that Y'shua stands for. For 30 years he was devoted to Saddam - not Y'shua.
To: MadIvan
Is there to be a meeting between Tariq and Rummy? Tomorrow??
4
posted on
04/26/2003 3:45:05 PM PDT
by
bert
(Don't Panic !)
To: MadIvan
OHHH Ivan Russia ambasseror meeting with Taziz Inquiroring minds want to know honey
AHHHHH for the record it is known fact that Taziz was Saddam's version of Tom Hagen from Godfather movies
5
posted on
04/26/2003 3:46:37 PM PDT
by
SevenofNine
(Not everybody in it for truth, justice, and the American way=Det Lennie Briscoe)
To: MadIvan
The Russkie was a "no-show", having already been rattled by his convoy being attacked earlier by coalition forces. Perhaps he was busily saying "feets don't fail me now!" Heh
Of course the article also contains the obligatory reference to Aziz being a Christian.
Prairie
6
posted on
04/26/2003 3:47:10 PM PDT
by
prairiebreeze
("We will not deny, ignore or pass our problems on to other Presidents." --GWBush)
To: prairiebreeze
The Ba'ath party is socialist. It's highly unlikely you're a good socialist and a good Christian at the same time.
Regards, Ivan
7
posted on
04/26/2003 3:48:21 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: MadIvan
Sound like the work of Condi Rice again... (fluent in the language and diplomacy)
8
posted on
04/26/2003 3:48:33 PM PDT
by
ewing
To: MadIvan
Bingo. But every article from every news source I've read has to make this distinction about Aziz. It's the new sources I'm crabbing at.
Prairie
9
posted on
04/26/2003 3:49:19 PM PDT
by
prairiebreeze
("We will not deny, ignore or pass our problems on to other Presidents." --GWBush)
To: ewing
Ewing does Condi Speak Russian
I know she is expert on Russian affairs and Classical piano player
I just wonder is she fluent in Russian maybe she told Vlad where to go in Russian
COULD HAPPEN
You don't tick off Sister
10
posted on
04/26/2003 3:50:16 PM PDT
by
SevenofNine
(Not everybody in it for truth, justice, and the American way=Det Lennie Briscoe)
To: MadIvan
The Home Office yesterday rejected as ridiculous reports that Aziz could be offered asylum in Britain in return for information.That's for sure. There is no way that Saddam trusted a Christian, even a phoney nominal Christian, to secrets he would not have needed to do his job, which was to lie to foreign governments. What do people think? That Saddam had Aziz tour where ever they had the nuclear centrifuges?
And thanks MadIvan for posting an excellent article.
To: ewing
12
posted on
04/26/2003 3:54:11 PM PDT
by
annyokie
To: prairiebreeze
"obligatory reference to Aziz being a Christian"I presume he has recently been rediscovering the power of prayer.
13
posted on
04/26/2003 3:57:49 PM PDT
by
billorites
(freepo ergo sum)
To: MadIvan; Badabing Badaboom; Mitchell; bonfire; birdwoman; oceanview; Fred Mertz; aristeides
HOURS before American troops first entered Baghdad, Saddam Husseins deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, went to his information ministry for a secret meeting with the Russian ambassador.And, a few hours after that meeting, a bleary-eyed Saddam Hussein emerged from hiding with his son Qusay at his side, to greet a cheering Baghdad crowd and make a valedictory speech -- a speech in which he referred to the Iraqis as a "conquered people," and reassured his followers that, despite this "day of despair," they would be rewarded in heaven. And then, he, his two sons and his entire cabinet vanished.
14
posted on
04/26/2003 4:14:39 PM PDT
by
The Great Satan
(Revenge, Terror and Extortion: A Guide for the Perplexed)
To: The Great Satan
Did Titorenko really go back to Baghdad after the convoy he was in was fired on before it crossed the border into Syria?
To: SevenofNine
Condi Rice is indeed said to speak fluent Russian.
To: aristeides
To: browardchad
The convoy was fired upon in April, not March.
18
posted on
04/26/2003 9:04:57 PM PDT
by
piasa
(Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
To: MadIvan
Please add me to your ping list. :) thank you.
19
posted on
06/17/2003 1:00:44 PM PDT
by
cgk
(Rummy on WMD: We haven't found Saddam Hussein yet, but I don't see anyone saying HE didn't exist.)
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