Dr. Huda Amash, professor and the only woman in the Baath Party leadership, responsible for the development of the youth branches.
Dr. Huda Amash, professor and the only woman in the Baath Party leadership, responsible for the development of the youth branches.
she is mentioned in this article
IRAQ: THE SECRETS OF DR GERM
But is Rihab Taha the banal genius of evil behind the biological-weapons program? Or was there someone else? Former inspectors interviewed by NEWSWEEK said they thought she was a front. "I always had the impression we never met the person who was really in charge," said chief biologist Spertzel. No inspector was sure who that was-or is. But they look to Taha's superiors and most intimate colleagues as possible candidates.
One is Abdul Nasser Hindawi, who may have recruited Taha even before she was sent to England to study in 1979. Hindawi supposedly authored a paper that persuaded Saddam to invest heavily in bioweapons development. Among his arguments: the relatively low cost of wiping out Israel. Although Hindawi's information would not be up to date (he was jailed four years ago), he could be a source of vital history if inspectors can find him, and if he is still alive.
Spertzel thinks another scientist may be very important now. Huda Amash, dean of the University of Baghdad's College of Science, is the only female named to the inner circle of Saddam's political elite, the Revolutionary Command Council. Former inspectors vividly remember trying to chase her down in 1997. Amash was "never where she was supposed to be," says Spertzel. During one visit to the College of Science, an inspector spotted a "student" dressed in lab coat and goggles who looked suspiciously like Amash-and was. After an extensive search of the lab, the inspectors found equipment and reagents that Amash had brought back from her travels abroad.
The man who headed the virus program in 1990, Hazem Ali, may also be of central importance now, says Spertzel. In March 1997, Ali left his position at the Razi Research Institute. He said he was taking a position as an instructor at Baghdad University's College of Veterinary Medicine, but when inspectors went to interview him there, employees at one point said he wasn't on the faculty, Spertzel recalls. Then the Iraqi government told inspectors that Ali had taken a teaching post at the university's College of Medicine. Another lie.
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