Posted on 04/25/2003 3:20:12 AM PDT by kattracks
Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz is being questioned by the CIA over the fate of Saddam Hussein and the whereabouts of chemical and biological weapons.Aziz is the biggest catch so far for US forces hunting down Saddam's closest allies and could reveal the innermost secrets of the regime.
A military source said: "He knows a lot and we hope he's going to share some of it. We knew the cards would start to fall and we would get the big players.
"He's the biggest catch so far and it's an important sign to people that it is all over for the regime and they are not coming back."
Aziz is believed to have given himself up in Baghdad after a negotiation process.
He will now face a series of questions from CIA interrogators who believe he may know what became of other leading regime figures, including Saddam himself, and the location of weapons of mass destruction.
A military source said: "It may be he is be offered some sort of deal for pointing the coalition in the right direction but it depends on whether he wants to co-operate."
Before the war Aziz had vowed to die in battle rather than surrender, saying scornfully: "You think I'm going to Guantanamo Bay?"
If he has been hiding in Baghdad since the regime was toppled, the CIA will be interested to know how such a recognisable figure was able to stay out of sight for so long.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Aziz should provide "important information" about Saddam Hussein's rule.
"Tariq Aziz was one of the most well-known faces of Saddam's Iraq because of his good English and the fact that he appeared plausible," he said.
Mr Straw speculated that Saddam himself was also still in Iraq as, like Aziz, it would be difficult for him to get to another country unrecognised.
Aziz, 67, was number 43 in the list of most wanted officials of the toppled regime and a Central Command spokesman in Qatar said: "We can confirm that Tariq Aziz is in coalition custody."
A Downing Street spokesman described his detention as "a welcome development".
However, keeping him in nice surrounding IS an interrogation technique for some kinds of people. they do not expect it, it confuses them and it certainly is not what THEY woul do. So they sing
Tia
....just heard on cable news channel that this thug is in a VIP "lounge"...don't ya just luv it...at his political level you know that he was complicent in torture and killing of no tellin' how many hundreds or thousands of innocent people and he gets to "negotiate" his surrender and then gets to stay in a VIP facility...damn
Right!
........and, Aziz is claimed to be the ONLY CHRISTIAN in the SH Scientific-evolutionist-Islamic dictatorship!
I've been hearing this 'christian claim' over and over on the T.B. stations news reports.
Well,.....EXACTLY what 'kind' of 'christian' is he?
?...Which,....'Christian' Denomination?,...'Church'?...,.....'Branch'?...,.....'Leadership Group?,....etc.,...ETC.,...?????
Where has quality journalism gone?
(T.B.= Toilet Box)
Come on 'Fox', ABC, CBS,NBC,CNN,Reuters,......Fess-up!
Aziz, a Christian, is a waiter's son from Mosul who rose with Saddam through the Ba'ath Party and has been at his side for 20 years - a major feat, given the paranoid Butcher of Baghdad's penchant for assassinating out-of-favor advisers.
It is widely believed that Aziz survived because, as a Christian, he had no power base and was never deemed a threat.
From an article about Aziz in the New York Times:
Mr. Aziz, a Chaldean Christian from Mosul in northern Iraq, earned contempt from many Iraqis for his tireless defense of the bullying Tikriti clan around Mr. Hussein, but he was not feared as other leaders were.
From an article about Aziz in the Washington Post:
Aziz, an English-speaking Chaldean Christian born near Mosul in 1936 and educated in Baghdad, toiled for years as Hussein's foreign minister and main representative abroad. He served on the Revolutionary Command Council, the ultimate authority in Iraq, but was not part of the ruler's inner circle, composed of Hussein's family and Baath stalwarts who have stood beside him since the party took over here in 1968. He was No. 43 on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis.
And you can visit http://www.chaldeansonline.net/
Don't worry about him "getting away clean." Vengeance is the Lord's.
(Still nothing worth much on T.B.)
:-(
is there some lions still alive in baghdad??
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