Article

2004-05-22 Iraq-Jordan

Gang that beheaded Berg headed by Saddam's nephew

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Posted by Dan Darling 2004-05-22 12:04:07 AM|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Dan, I know you don't trust John Loftus much, but he was talking tonight about a report that al Douri has been holed up in Eastern Saudi Arabia with the knowledge of at least some members of the Saudi royal family (but not Bandar). He reports that President Bush is apoplectic and has read the riot act to Bandar, who blamed right-wingers in the royal family. Also, Bandar apparently gave a cryptic answer when asked by Bush if al Douri was directing the Iraqi insurgency. Have you heard about this anywhere?

Posted by Tibor 2004-05-22 12:29:11 AM|| 2004-05-22 12:29:11 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Last I heard, al-Douri was probably holed up in Mosul and there was some suspicion that he has contact with the Syrian border tribes. Al-Douri's ties to the Baathist Party predate the Iraqi/Syrian schism and he seems to have formed at least a tacit accomodation w/ Ansar al-Islam and the Syrian Baathists since OIF. If there's a text report of what Loftus said, e-mail it my way and I'll be able to get back to you in a day or so after I run it by some of the folks I know here on base.

Posted by Dan Darling 2004-05-22 12:32:46 AM|| [http://www.regnumcrucis.blogspot.com] 2004-05-22 12:32:46 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 This is from the St. Petersburg Times from March 2002:

"In a setback to U.S. efforts to rally support for ousting Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabia's crown prince kissed an Iraqi representative in greeting at an Arab summit Thursday, signaling a reconciliation for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War.

...

"The highlight of Iraq's day came when Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, head of the Iraqi delegation, and Abdullah embraced and kissed each other's cheeks in front of television cameras.

"Al-Douri made a further traditional gesture to Abdullah by wearing a black abaya, a flowing cloak with embroidered gold trim, just like the Saudi crown prince wears. Such abayas are worn often by Gulf leaders, but al-Douri typically wears a military uniform or business suit."

I don't know if this has any significance, but it seems interesting in light of Loftus's story.

Posted by Tibor 2004-05-22 1:17:12 AM|| 2004-05-22 1:17:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 One other thing to note is that I believe that al-Douri's a practicing Sufi and was far more of a secular nationalist type than an Islamonut. While I'm not so idiotic as to believe that cooperation between the two is impossible (al-Douri has coordinated ops for Ansar, for example), one would think that such a thing would make him staying in Saudi rather difficult. IIRC, al-Douri was also one of the architects of Saddam's whole idea of conquering Saudi back in 1991, which might also ceate problems for him in the Magic Kingdom.

Posted by Dan Darling 2004-05-22 1:28:24 AM|| [http://www.regnumcrucis.blogspot.com] 2004-05-22 1:28:24 AM|| Front Page Top

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