Saddam Said to Pay Bounty for Killings [seen north of Baghdad]

Associated Press ^ | June 10, 2003 | Edith M. Lederer

[AntiGuv]

NEW YORK - Saddam Hussein has been seen north of Baghdad and is paying a bounty for every American soldier killed, the leader of an Iraqi exile group said Tuesday.

Saddam has $1.3 billion in cash taken from the Central Bank on March 18, is bent on revenge and believes he can "sit it out and get the Americans going," said Ahmed Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress.

In Washington, Pentagon officials said Tuesday they had no information that Saddam was alive and offering bounties for killing U.S. troops.

Saddam also bought suicide vests for himself and his secretary on April 1 from the mukhabarat, the Iraqi secret police, he said.

The ousted Iraqi leader has been sighted on several recent occasions moving in an arc from Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, around the Tigris River toward his hometown of Tikrit and into the Dulaimi areas to the west of the Tigris, Chalabi said.

The latest sighting was about two weeks before Chalabi left on his current U.S. trip — and the best sighting was three days old.

"Now, he's put a price on American soldiers. He will pay bounty for every American soldier killed in Iraq now. This has been spread around in the western part of the country," Chalabi told the Council on Foreign Relations.

He said the casualty rate for American soldiers "is close to one a day, which is not good."

The United States has been putting more troops into areas where the killings are taking place, but Chalabi said soldiers in their armored vehicles "are sitting ducks for terrorists."

The United States instead should move quickly to create an Iraqi security force under U.S. command, he said. This can be done in six weeks with help from community leaders to weed out criminals and members of Saddam's Baath Party and would allow the United States to reduce its force.

"They can actually provide order quickly," he said.

Chalabi, 58, has been mentioned widely as a future Iraqi leader — though he denies any ambitions to lead the country. He also has many critics who are opposed to anyone ruling Iraq after spending so many years abroad and who oppose his business dealings in Jordan.

[Fractal Trader]

Seems like he's being spotted all over Iraq, just like Elvis Presley is being sighted to this day in the U.S.

[m1-lightning]

So let's raise the bounty. I bet we can raise more money than Saddam. $10 billion for Osama's and Saddam's heads in the same bag.

[Destructor]

Whatever happened to the report that Uday was trying to strike a deal to surrender to allied forces?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The United States instead should move quickly to create an Iraqi security force under U.S. command, he said. This can be done in six weeks with help from community leaders to weed out criminals and members of Saddam's Baath Party and would allow the United States to reduce its force.

That is underway:

2-44 ADA Trains Joint Iraqi Security Company

[AntiGuv]

I seem to vaguely recall that our side wasn't willing to negotiate anything and so Uday won't surrender himself, at least not yet.

[Destructor]

That's ashame. Saddam was reported to be hiding out with Uday.

[Normal4me]

Geez, one day the guy is buried under restaurant rubble, the next he is in Syria or Belarus or Tikrit or Moscow or.......

[Pokey78]

I always get the impression that 75% of whatever Chalabi says is B.S.

If he knows so much, he ought to lead us to Saddam.

[AntiGuv]

I always get the impression that 75% of whatever Chalabi says is B.S.

I'm beggining to think 95%. The question I have: what the %$#& does he want, exactly?

[r9etb]

The question I have: what the %$#& does he want, exactly?

Chalabi, 58, has been mentioned widely as a future Iraqi leader — though he denies any ambitions to lead the country. He also has many critics who are opposed to anyone ruling Iraq after spending so many years abroad and who oppose his business dealings in Jordan.

Could be power -- if you're the "man with the answers," they've gotta come to you.

Or, he could be the David Hackworth of Iraq -- saying things to get attention and maintain market share. You'll notice you've seen enough of his quotes to make a statistical estimate of their accuracy.

[jonalvy44]

agree....put these guys to work!

[thoughtomator]

Where does one go, exactly, to collect?

[b4its2late]

Where's Waldo?

[AIRFORCE76]

I'm sorry to have to disagree with you over Chalabi. My opinion of most middle-east politicians is pretty low but Chalabi is opposed by SoS Powell and his whole department, so I feel sort of obligated to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he obviously makes the right kind of enemies.

[ASA Vet]

Elvis Hussein cartoon needed.

[WOSG]

"Chalabi is opposed by SoS Powell and his whole department, so I feel sort of obligated to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he obviously makes the right kind of enemies."

My feelings exactly. Chalabi is opposed by exactly the State dept creeps and idiots who are undermining our foreign policy, and supported by the folks who have been on-target on this operation ... tells me Chalabi can be helpful.

He's no angel, and he's not a silver bullet, but everything I've heard him say suggest he's an Iraqi patriot and a democrat/freedom-lover. That's what we need in Iraq.

[ellhow]

So you want to give a baath party member or Al Qaida member ten billion?

[DonQ]

This sounds like the kind of wild rumor that Arab enemies would spread just to encourage attacks on Americans. ... And then try to find Saddam to collect the bounty!