Odai Hussein Feared Father He Hoped To Replace - Report

AP Wire | 6/17/03 | AP Staff

[BunnySlippers]

Odai Hussein Feared Father He Hoped To Replace - Report

BEIRUT (AP)--Saddam Hussein's eldest son Odai was an alcohol swilling, pill popping womanizer who lived in fear of the man he dreamed of replacing as Iraqi president, a woman claiming to be his housemaid said in remarks broadcast Monday.

The Iraqi woman, who identified herself only as "Jannat," told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV station that she had worked in Odai's palace and her roles included preparing his drinks and food "and other services." She refused to elaborate.

Odai, who is No. 3 on the U.S. list of 55 most wanted Iraqi officials behind his father and younger brother, Qusai, also held weekly parties, inviting female and male friends, Jannat said in the interview conducted in Baghdad. Her face was concealed during the interview, which was monitored by The Associated Press in Lebanon.

Odai's whereabouts are unknown. There has been no sign of him since the fall of Baghdad to U.S.-led coalition forces in April. Reports prior to the regime's collapse spoke of Odai being hit in one of the U.S. strikes targeting the Iraqi leadership.

Jannat told the interviewer that in early April, days before U.S. forces stormed into Baghdad, Odai had arrived at his palace and was met the next day by several men who drove him away "in a Land Cruiser toward Syria."

Jannat said she was driven along with Odai's mother, Sajida, his three sisters and their children from the palace to Diyala, a region east of the Iraqi capital, where they stayed for two days. Saddam's family later left to the ousted Iraqi president's birthplace at Tikrit, a region north of Baghdad where U.S. forces have been engaging Saddam loyalists in recent days who have attacked U.S. troops.

Syria has denied hosting Iraqi leaders, saying it stopped fleeing Iraqi officials at the border and turned back those who had slipped in. U.S. officials had claimed that Damascus was harboring Iraqi officials, but later said the Syrian government was cooperating with U.S. efforts to round up Iraqis linked to Saddam's fallen regime.

Al-Arabiya also obtained a video dated Nov. 23, 2000, showing Odai hosting a party attended by bellydancing women, some appearing to be foreigners, and men dressed in suits.

During the footage, a casually dressed Odai was seen mainly sitting on a black leather couch, drinking from a clear bottle or a glass and talking to different women and men who sat alongside him. Odai is unable to walk freely because of injuries from an assassination attempt seven years ago.

At one stage, Odai drew a pistol tucked in his trousers and toyed with the weapon as people milled around him. Other times he was seen clapping and laughing, especially when a man collapsed - apparently drunk - in front of where he sat.

Jannat said Odai threw such parties almost weekly, except when his father was nearby, fearing he might drop in.

"Yes, he feared Saddam very much. He dreamed of becoming president and he hated his brother Qusai," she said. "Sometimes, Odai drank and took pills and went without sleep for three days."

Qusai, regarded as articulate, secretive and scheming, was Saddam's favorite son and considered heir apparent to the Iraqi leadership after being made commander of an elite presidential guard unit in charge of his father's security.

In 1996, unknown gunmen sprayed bullets at Odai's Porsche, leaving him with a bullet in his spine that forced him to walk with a cane. The attack came after Odai had angered Saddam for personally killing a man servant who Odai had blamed for Saddam's estrangement from his mother, Sajida.

Al-Arabiya also interviewed a member of Odai's 18-member "elite bodyguard unit," identified only as Mohammed and whose face was also concealed.

The guard said he personally saw Odai shoot dead more than 20 people, among them a female doctor who visited from the U.S., because she diagnosed him as being impotent. Her nationality wasn't specified.

(END)
06-16-03 1858ET- - 06 58 PM EDT 06-16-03

[RightOnline]

Personally, I think he's burning in Hell as we speak. If not................it's only a matter of time.

[theDentist]

Oh? So he's a victim? Well, then it's OK that he acted out by killing, raping, maiming, and robbing his people. That's acceptable under "Liberal" doctrines.

[sticker]

"Saddam Hussein's eldest son Odai was an alcohol swilling, pill popping womanizer "

Sounds like a Kennedy

[BunnySlippers]

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