Iraq is beginning to crumble under the pressure. From Debka:
Adib Shaaban, the right hand of Saddam Hussein’s powerful son Uday, has defected.DEBKA-Net-Weekly reports exclusively that this key member of Saddam Hussein’s administration, who was charged with his son’s most sensitive missions, traveled to Jeddah at the beginning of this week, saying he needed to put through some gold transactions ahead of the war.
From Jeddah, he flew to Beirut and… disappeared.
US intelligence sources report that Shaaban never really went to Beirut. He made his way under cover to Damascus Monday and was picked up by an unmarked plane for an unknown destination.
As Uday’s closest aide, he also managed a chain of official publications, including the authoritative Babel, and was in on the Saddam regime’s deepest secrets.
Uday commands the secret army known as Saddam’s Fedayeen, the backbone of Baghdad’s defenses and custodian of the weapons of mass destruction that were not smuggled out to Lebanon.
Uday is also the chief of the ruling Baath Party’s covert service.
Shaaban must therefore be a veritable treasury of Saddam Hussein’s secrets. In American hands, Uday’s chef de bureau would be even more valuable than the proverbial smoking gun.
This comes after yesterday's news that Saddam's defense minister has been placed under house arrest to foil an attempted coup.
The story goes on:
News of the arrest comes amid indications of a growing sense of apprehension that the Iraqi army, including members of the elite Republican Guard, might desert in the event of a U.S.-led attack on the nation.
Defections, coup attempts at high levels, army desertions...it looks like time is not Hussein's ally like he thought. I guess it's a race to see who crumbles first, Europe or Iraq.
Posted by Rich at February 18, 2003 10:37 AM