August 16, 1995, Wednesday
SECTION: NEWS/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL; Ed. F; Pg. 29A
LENGTH: 1032 words
HEADLINE: Iraqi defection shows boldness
Saddam's son in law, family traveled to Jordan in official motorcade
BYLINE: Shyam Bhatia; London Observer Service
DATELINE: JERUSALEM
BODY:
For sheer chutzpah, there are not many in Saddam Hussein's entourage who can
match Hussein Kamel al-Majid, Saddam's son-in-law.
Once Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamel decided to leave Iraq last week, he set off in his
Mercedes in an official motorcade for the Jordanian border, along with his brother,
Col. Saddam Kamel - head of Saddam's personal security - their children and
wives, the dictator's daughters Raghda and Rana, and 15 army officers.
Only his closest supporters knew their destination was a life in exile in Jordan.
''I left in a very natural way,'' Hussein Kamel said. ''I am a known person;
a few soldiers cannot stop me. There were so many cars traveling, I had a large
entourage and security.''
The loss of Hussein Kamel is a grievous blow to Saddam's dictatorship. The former
Iraqi minister of industry and defense was until last week one of Saddam's most
powerful and notorious lieutenants.
He was head of the country's Military Industrial Commission, a bureaucratic
euphemism for the grandiose scheme, now suspended, to build medium-range missiles
and weapons of mass destruction.
He was responsible for recruiting the Canadian scientist Gerald Bull and backing
him with millions of dollars to build ''Project Babylon'' - his ''Supergun''
- halted in its tracks after Bull was killed by a mystery gunman in Belgium.
A few months later, in 1990, Saddam's son-in-law ingratiated himself further
by helping to draw up plans for the invasion of Kuwait.
Hussein Kamel's meteoric rise started after he married Saddam's oldest and favorite
daughter, Raghda. Before that, he was a military motorcycle outrider, but after
his marriage into the most powerful family in Iraq, nothing could block his
rise to power - not even Odai, Saddam's 30-year-old son and vicious heir apparent.
Hussein Kamel leaves a bewildered and demoralized country being devoured by
Odai. Until recently, most Iraqis dismissed Odai as a ruthless killer and playboy
more interested in women, whisky and Ferraris.
But behind that public image has lurked a streak of undiluted ambition that
began to assert itself after he was pardoned for killing one of his father's
retainers.
Starting earlier this year, a steady stream of leaked reports from Hussein Kamel's
friends have disclosed that Saddam has retreated from running the day- to-day
affairs of state. As he advances in years - he is 58 - he seeks comfort from
the teachings of Sufi mystics and the building of the world's biggest mosque,
and is content with handing over the reins of power to Odai.
With thousands of Iraqi children dying from lack of food and medicines, Odai
has found the resources to publish two newspapers, Babil and Baa'th Al Riyadi,
and start his own radio and television stations. Every Iraqi agrees that he's
the de facto minister of culture and information. On his instructions all radio
and TV programs must interrupt their broadcasts every few minutes to report
news of Saddam's daily activities.
The president's son is equally active in running the country's economy. Dozens
of merchants and money lenders who refused to pay him protection money have
been executed.
The most intriguing element in his business activities is his role in breaking
the U.N. embargo by clandestinely exporting Iraqi oil, cement, dates and leather
through neighboring Iran. Iraqi businessmen who regularly visit Amman say the
Iranian connection nets Odai a daily income of $ 500,000.
Last week Hussein Kamel heard from his wife that his dismissal was in the cards.
On previous occasions Odai has successfully worked on his father to fire or
downgrade ''troublesome'' top officials, such as Deputy Prime Minister Tariq
Aziz, and his uncle Watban Takriti.
The pattern of dismissal and humiliation was about to repeat itself, and Hussein
Kamel and his brother saw the writing on the wall.
Informed Jordanian sources say U.S. operatives tipped off the brothers and persuaded
them to run. Within hours of the defections being made public, President Clinton
announced he would protect Jordan if its security were threatened by Saddam.
INFOBOX
FAMILY, POLITICAL INTRIGUE THICK IN SADDAM'S IRAQ
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's inner circle is dominated by close relatives.
Their top-level positions are frequently shuffled and there's intense competition
to remain in Saddam's favor, culminating in violence on several occasions.
In the most recent reported violence, an Iraqi opposition group said Saddam's
son Odai shot and killed Saddam's half-brother, Wathban Ibrahim, his wife and
one of their sons. The shooting took place Aug. 8, the group said.
Odai has been linked to at least two previous attacks.
He reportedly waged a fistfight in 1992 with his brother-in-law, Lt. Gen. Hussein
Kamel al-Majid, who defected to Jordan last week.
Odai is said to have killed one of Saddam's favorite servants with a wooden
bat in 1988.
There are several versions of the story. In one account, Odai bludgeoned the
servant because the man was arranging romantic adventures for Saddam, and Odai
wanted to defend his mother's honor.
Saddam declared that his son would stand trial and Odai was stripped of his
official posts. But instead of facing charges, he was sent to Geneva for a time
before returning to Iraq and being readmitted to the presidential elite.
In another mysterious death, Saddam's cousin and childhood friend Gen. Adnan
Khairallah, was killed in a helicopter crash in 1989. The official cause of
the crash was a sandstorm, but there have been persistent rumors that the general
was killed by the Iraqi ruler.
Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law, said he defected because he wanted to oust
the president and make Iraq a ''modern state.''
But many are skeptical of his claim and believe he simply fled when he realized
that he and other members of the Hussein Kamel al-Majid clan were headed for
defeat in the latest power struggle.
Hussein Kamel's uncle, Ali Hassen al-Majid, was dismissed as defense minister
recently, but apparently remains loyal to Saddam. He has stayed in Iraq and
denounced his nephew as a traitor after he defected. Associated Press
GRAPHIC: Photo (2)
Lt. Gen. Hussein Kamel al Majid, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's son in law who
defected to Jordan, may be a valuable information source.
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