Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

'King Of Clubs' Being Sheltered By Syrian Army
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 5-11-2003 | Damien Mcelroy

Posted on 05/10/2003 4:23:59 PM PDT by blam

'King of clubs' being sheltered by Syrian army

By Damien Mcelroy in Damascus
(Filed: 11/05/2003)

The king of clubs from America's card deck of most wanted Iraqis is being sheltered at a military base in the Syrian capital Damascus, according to a Gulf diplomat.

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a former vice-president of Iraq and one of Saddam Hussein's closest henchmen, is said to be under the protection of Syria's Republican Guard in the decrepit military base near the airport.

He is among thousands of regime figures who are believed to have slipped into Syria before Damascus sealed the border. Izzat had been put in charge of defending northern Iraq but in the absence of a northern front, he decided to flee.

Diplomats in Damascus said that before President George W Bush threatened Syria with severe consequences if its border remained open, Iraqi officials were granted one-month visas on request. Izzat is effectively at the Syrians' mercy should they wish to appease America and hand him over.

"The Syrians allowed him to stay," the diplomat told The Telegraph. "A substantial sum of money was paid to cross the border on an unmarked route used by shepherds.

"Although he is being treated well, now that he is here there's nowhere for him to go. He cannot just slip away. Luckily for him, the Syrians have not yet responded to queries about turning him over."

Rassem Raslan, a former Syrian ambassador to Paris, said that Izzat had been a regular visitor to Damascus in the past two years. "There were many opportunities for officials from Baghdad to come here and build relations," he said.

"People who were involved in improving trade ties and putting the oil pipeline into operation have been able to use their connections to get in."

Many other Iraqis are making plans to move on from Syria. Last week, American intelligence officials accused France of providing passports to fleeing regime officials who want to come to western Europe.

The French government denied the charges, but a Syrian employee of the French embassy in Damascus claimed that eight Iraqi officials from the oil and finance ministries had been given passports in the middle of April.

"The commercial section of the embassy received passports for eight Iraqi officials and members of their families," he said. He claimed that Paris also ordered that a passport issued for Tahir Jalil al-Habbush, a former head of Iraq's Mukhabarat intelligence service who is on America's wanted list, should be cancelled soon after it had arrived. It remains unclear whether al-Habbush is in Syria.

Iraqis who cannot obtain genuine passports are buying counterfeit papers. Roni Ahmed, a self-styled people smuggler who used to help Iraqi asylum-seekers to make their way to Europe, claims to have made up dozens of Swedish passports, charging £2,800 for each, and arranged for Iraqis to travel to Stockholm.

"I didn't ask any questions about who they were, what they had done or any of that," Mr Ahmad said from his flat on the sixth floor of a breeze-block tower-block.

"They took the documents, booked the tickets and got out of here. You could tell some of them were very important though. I'm Iraqi and I know my family has had to rely on food rations for 10 years, but these guys were fat."

Jewellers reported that trade had boomed as Iraqis turned their cash into easily portable gold necklaces before leaving the country. Adil Fowal, a jeweller in Sayeed Zainab, the Iraqi quarter of Damascus, showed off receipts for tens of thousands of pounds worth of business.

"On my best day I earned more than $50,000 from sales to Iraqi Sunnis," he said. "The war was good for my business because the Iraqis were coming here worried about Syria's foreign exchange restrictions.

"A gold necklace can be worn through the airport but a large amount of cash could be taken away if it was discovered.

"Some of them were travelling overland through Russia and were worrying about getting robbed on the way."


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Syria; US: New York; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 200304; 200305; 2016election; abbush; aldhouri; aldouri; alhabbush; army; asylum; axisofweasels; baathists; baathparty; clubs; damascus; election2016; escape; flee; forgery; france; french; fugitives; gold; iis; iraq; iraqifreedom; iraqiintelligence; is; isil; isis; izzataldouri; izzatibrahimaldhouri; izzatibrahimaldouri; izzetibrahimaldouri; jewelry; jewels; king; kingofclubs; kofclubs; mostwanted; mukhabarat; mukhabaret; naqshabandi; naqshabandiarmy; naqshbandi; newyork; passports; russia; russians; safehaven; sheltered; sufis; sunnis; sweden; syria; syrian; syrianarmy; tahirjalilalhabbush; trump; warlist; waronterror
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

1 posted on 05/10/2003 4:24:00 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: blam; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Miss Marple; Grampa Dave
The French government denied the charges, but a Syrian employee of the French embassy in Damascus claimed that eight Iraqi officials from the oil and finance ministries had been given passports in the middle of April.

"The commercial section of the embassy received passports for eight Iraqi officials and members of their families," he said. He claimed that Paris also ordered that a passport issued for Tahir Jalil al-Habbush, a former head of Iraq's Mukhabarat intelligence service who is on America's wanted list, should be cancelled soon after it had arrived. It remains unclear whether al-Habbush is in Syria.

2 posted on 05/10/2003 4:34:19 PM PDT by Dog ( Do not cross the police tape....This tagline is under construction....Do not cross the police tape)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Angelus Errare; Coop; FL_engineer
Ping.
3 posted on 05/10/2003 4:35:05 PM PDT by Dog ( Do not cross the police tape....This tagline is under construction....Do not cross the police tape)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Dog
I have this fantasy that special ops guys land and grab this guy if they have proof positive he is there, and tell Syria that if they don't hand over the balance, it will be an act of war. It is time to give the peacenik appeasers some to whine about. They have been too silent lately, and I miss them.

OK, it is time to wake up now.

4 posted on 05/10/2003 4:39:42 PM PDT by Torie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Dog; *war_list; W.O.T.; Dog Gone; Grampa Dave; blam; Sabertooth; NormsRevenge; Gritty; ...
Thanks, Syria is playing with fire!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

5 posted on 05/10/2003 4:39:46 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Iran will feel the heat from our Iraq victory!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
If this is true, A$$ad, Jr is really suicidal like his neighbor $oddomite used to be!
6 posted on 05/10/2003 4:47:39 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: blam
Powell Plans 'Candid' Dialogue In Syria
7 posted on 05/10/2003 4:50:32 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
This can't be true. If it were, it would mean the Syrian government lied.
8 posted on 05/10/2003 4:50:49 PM PDT by breakem
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
"Izzat had been put in charge of defending northern Iraq but in the absence of a northern front, he decided to flee."

That does it! NOW I've lost all respect for him.

That was a crazy thing to do!

9 posted on 05/10/2003 4:52:43 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (Never have so many been so wrong about so much.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
A link to last weeks expose by Bill Gertz re the French Frogs providing Pass ports to the top Iraqi Criminals.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/906846/posts

France helped Iraqis escape
Washington Times ^ | 6 May 2003 | Bill Gertz


Posted on 05/06/2003 7:58 PM PDT by Grampa Dave


France helped Iraqis escape Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published May 6, 2003




The French government secretly supplied fleeing Iraqi officials with passports in Syria that allowed them to escape to Europe, The Washington Times has learned.

An unknown number of Iraqis who worked for Saddam Hussein's government were given passports by French officials in Syria, U.S. intelligence officials said.

The passports are regarded as documents of the European Union, because of France's membership in the union, and have helped the Iraqis avoid capture, said officials familiar with intelligence reports.

The French support, which was revealed through sensitive intelligence-gathering means, angered Pentagon, State Department and intelligence officials in Washington because it undermined the search for senior aides to Saddam, who fled Iraq in large numbers after the fall of Baghdad on April 9.

"It made it very difficult to track these people," one official said.

A second Bush administration official said, "It's like Raoul Wallenberg in reverse," a reference to the Swedish diplomat who supplied travel documents to help Jews escape Nazi Germany in World War II. "Now you have the French helping the bad guys escape from us."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/906846/posts
10 posted on 05/10/2003 4:54:52 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Free Republic, where leftist liars are exposed 24/7!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
these guys were fat."

The clock is officially ticking and Syria may be running out of time. Thanks for the ping.

11 posted on 05/10/2003 4:55:29 PM PDT by BOBTHENAILER (FReepers discover the TRUTH, and distribute it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: breakem
This can't be true. If it were, it would mean the Syrian government lied.

You mean like that pathetic little weasel that shows up on Fox every so often? Hmmm, a pair of pliers or a set of hedge clippers might straighten him out.

12 posted on 05/10/2003 5:00:50 PM PDT by stboz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: stboz
who dat?
13 posted on 05/10/2003 5:03:32 PM PDT by breakem
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: blam
This just can't be possible, after all Powell went over and set the Syrian's straight.

Guess somebody needs to tell the Telegraph that their sources have it all wrong.

Syria is now our friend. NOT!
14 posted on 05/10/2003 5:09:56 PM PDT by Just mythoughts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Syria is playing with fire!

Not just Syria, but France as well.

"Many other Iraqis are making plans to move on from Syria. Last week, American intelligence officials accused France of providing passports to fleeing regime officials who want to come to western Europe."

15 posted on 05/10/2003 5:20:09 PM PDT by Victoria Delsoul
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Grampa Dave
"Damascus shall no longer be called a city. It shall be a ruinous heap." Mekhtoub!(It is written)
16 posted on 05/10/2003 5:59:37 PM PDT by sheik yerbouty
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
bttt
17 posted on 05/10/2003 8:52:29 PM PDT by lainde
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: breakem
The new Syrian ambassador to whatever....
18 posted on 05/11/2003 7:30:29 AM PDT by stboz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: stboz
thanx
19 posted on 05/11/2003 9:44:20 AM PDT by breakem
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Cindy; Shermy; Fedora; Howlin; cyncooper; Alamo-Girl
blast from the past- France, passports, and escaping Iraqis

The French government denied the charges, but a Syrian employee of the French embassy in Damascus claimed that eight Iraqi officials from the oil and finance ministries had been given passports in the middle of April [2003]. "The commercial section of the embassy received passports for eight Iraqi officials and members of their families," he said. He claimed that Paris also ordered that a passport issued for Tahir Jalil al-Habbush, a former head of Iraq's Mukhabarat intelligence service who is on America's wanted list, should be cancelled soon after it had arrived. It remains unclear whether al-Habbush is in Syria.

20 posted on 08/20/2004 11:50:39 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson