I have yet to see any independent verification of this story. All of the articles refer back to the Australia Herald Sun article, and I've seen speculation elsewhere that the source of the Herald Sun article may have been DEBKA. DEBKA in turn is widely suspected to be a disinformation outlet for Mossad.
To put it as gently as possible, DEBKA's track record with regard to the truth and accuracy of the intelligence rumors it reports is not overly impressive. Or to put it as plainly as possible, DEBKA's track record is sh!t.
It would be fascinating if this turned out to be true. But the mere accumulation of circular or self-referential stories does not suddenly turn them into facts.
Very true. And if the source really does turn out to be DEBKA, then you might as well flush this story.
Here's the problem I had with it the first time I read it. All that security around Hussein, and his senior bodyguard manages to get out of the country and defect? That sounds implausible to me, as much as I wish it were true.