- WASHINGTON (IslamOnline.net
& News Agencies) -- Ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's eldest
son Uday is mulling surrendering to U.S. forces, but has been reluctant
to do so because of a tough negotiating posture by the Americans, a third
party close to the parleys told The Wall Street Journal Friday, May 23.
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- U.S. officials in Washington had remained mum as Uday,
who is hiding in a Baghdad suburb, wants to know what charges he will be
facing, and the process for interrogation and custody, the person familiar
with the negotiations added.
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- He said Uday is negotiating through intermediaries in
a deal, the paper noted, U.S. officials don't seem especially interested
in clinching because they assume he will be caught sooner or later.
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- Uday was commander of Iraq's feared security force, the
Saddam Fedayeen, and also chairman of the Iraqi Olympic Committee.
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- He is third on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqi officials
issued by the U.S. Central Command, after his father and his brother Qusay.
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- A December 14, 1996 assassination attempt left Uday partially
paralyzed.
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- Saddamâs eldest son fears Iraqi citizens will kill
him if found and may instead choose the safety of a U.S. prison, the person
familiar with the bargain said, adding that Uday frequently changes his
mind about surrendering.
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- Saddam Alive
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- As for Saddam, he is also alive and in a Baghdad suburban
but in a questionable mental health, the person familiar with Uday's surrender
discussions told the Journal citing information from a Saddam relative.
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- The U.S. administration has asked intermediaries for
help in finding him or negotiating a surrender, but this person knows of
no progress, Dow Jones Business News reported.
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- On Wednesday, April 9, Shiite opposition sources told
IslamOnlin.net that Saddam and his top aides <http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2003-04/09/article12.shtml>had
taken shelter in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, Saddamâs birthplace,
just 48 hours after U.S. troops had <http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2003-04/09/article09.shtml>poured
into Baghdad.
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