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Iraq's 'Mrs. Anthrax' Taken Into U.S. Custody
Reuters ^ | 5/5/03 | Will Dunham

Posted on 05/05/2003 11:20:25 AM PDT by Pro-Bush



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces have taken into custody a U.S.-educated microbiologist dubbed "Mrs. Anthrax" who was active in germ warfare development under President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), defense officials said on Monday.

Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, the only woman included in the U.S. military's list of 55 most-wanted Iraqi fugitives, was taken into custody in Baghdad on Sunday by U.S. troops, said the defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ammash was designated as No. 53 on the list and was the five of hearts in the U.S. military's deck of cards of wanted Iraqis. Eighteen of the 55 have been taken into custody, with another three dead, according to the Pentagon (news - web sites).

A U.S. official said Ammash may have potentially useful information.

"She has intimate knowledge of the workings of Iraq (news - web sites)'s BW (biological warfare) program and the nature and the extent of that program, as well (to) be in a position to know possible locations of where material or production facilities might be located," the official said.

U.S. forces have found no evidence of the Iraqi chemical and biological weapons that American leaders cited as a key reason for the war that toppled Saddam's government.

Ammash, 49, earned a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Missouri in 1983. She earned a master's degree from Texas Woman's University in 1979.

Ammash's father was a leader of the 1968 Baath Party revolution who served as an Iraqi minister and ambassador before being killed in the 1980s, reportedly on Saddam's order, the U.S. official said.

AMMASH POSSESSED POLITICAL POWER

She was the first woman appointed to Iraq's Baath Party regional command in May 2001, she has been a vocal advocate for the regime's policies at home and abroad. She at one point oversaw the activities of Baath Party organizations in Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen while a member of the Baghdad branch command.

She is a leading Iraqi microbial genetic engineer, and U.S. officials believe she was instrumental in rebuilding aspects of Iraq's biological warfare production capability during the mid-1990s. At that time, she served as head of biological laboratories at Iraq's military industrialization organization.

One of her mentors was Nasser Hindawi, believed to be the founder of Iraq's biological warfare program. "She is one of his disciples," the U.S. official said.

Ammash is one of two well-known women linked to Saddam's weapons programs. The other is Rihab Taha, nicknamed "Dr. Germ."

Taha, who is not listed among the top 55 most wanted Iraqis, also worked in Iraq's biological weapons development program and ascended to a senior position in Saddam's Baath Party leadership.

Ammash has been pictured at Saddam's cabinet meetings. In one image, she was seen seated next to his son Qusay.

The moniker "Mrs. Anthrax" was given to Ammash by Western journalists. Anthrax is a bacterial disease that can be used as a biological weapon by spreading its extremely resilient powdery spores.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: iraq; mrsanthrax
Another good catch!
1 posted on 05/05/2003 11:20:26 AM PDT by Pro-Bush
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To: Pro-Bush; Orion78; Paul Ross; lavaroise; Noswad
I hope she tells us all she can recall about her dealings with the illegal Russian biowar programs.
2 posted on 05/05/2003 11:45:21 AM PDT by GOP_1900AD (Un-PC even to "Conservatives!" - Right makes right)
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To: belmont_mark
Yeah. Our intelligence people are pretty effective, and this is the most important topic they have to work on (to save their credibility within the government). So I predict our people will learn everything this woman can tell us.
3 posted on 05/05/2003 12:05:00 PM PDT by 68skylark
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To: Pro-Bush

"Come to Butthead..."
4 posted on 05/05/2003 1:56:00 PM PDT by SquirrelKing ("Beware the barrenness of a busy life." - Socrates)
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To: 68skylark
Still on the lamb:

Mrs. Dash and Mrs. Butterworth aka (Aunt Jemimah)
5 posted on 05/05/2003 1:59:02 PM PDT by ffusco (Maecilius Fuscus, Governor of Longovicium , Manchester, England. 238-244 AD)
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To: ffusco
.........I miss my 68 LeMans Convertible..........(sigh)
6 posted on 05/05/2003 2:01:02 PM PDT by ffusco (Maecilius Fuscus, Governor of Longovicium , Manchester, England. 238-244 AD)
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To: ffusco
How about Mr. Goodbar and Dr. Pepper?
7 posted on 05/05/2003 2:02:32 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (Kim Jong Il had ANOTHER bad underwear day . He found "decapitate" in his English-Korean dictionary.)
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To: AmericanInTokyo
Mr. Peanut is still at large. Last seen in Georgia. LOL
8 posted on 05/05/2003 2:05:02 PM PDT by ffusco (Maecilius Fuscus, Governor of Longovicium , Manchester, England. 238-244 AD)
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To: FL_engineer
Time to make the donuts!
9 posted on 05/05/2003 2:10:28 PM PDT by Delta 21 (GOD....Guns.....& Guts -- It takes all three to be FREE)
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To: Delta 21

10 posted on 05/05/2003 2:19:15 PM PDT by Delta 21 (GOD....Guns.....& Guts -- It takes all three to be FREE)
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To: bluesagewoman
Blue - have you seen this?
11 posted on 05/05/2003 2:24:28 PM PDT by Jen (Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.)
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To: AntiJen
Yes, I heard about it earlier, but was at work. That is the woman who got her Ph.D. here in Columbia. I'm glad they got her.
12 posted on 05/05/2003 5:17:07 PM PDT by bluesagewoman
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