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Tariq aziz surrenders Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=472832003http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=472832003
Fri 25 Apr 2003
Tariq Aziz surrenders to coalition
CLAIRE SMITH
TARIQ Aziz, Iraq’s former deputy prime minister and one of the best-known figures in Saddam Hussein’s regime, was in the custody of the United States last night.
US Central Command in Qatar confirmed the surrender of Aziz - the most senior member of Saddam’s hierarchy to be fall into coalition hands since the dictatorship was toppled last month.
George Bush, the US president, smiled and gave the thumbs up when asked about the arrest as he returned to the White House yesterday.
A Downing Street spokesman described Aziz’s detention as "a welcome development".
The eight of spades in the US’s pack of cards listing the most wanted of Saddam’s former power base, Aziz served for many years as Iraq’s deputy prime minister, often appearing on television in the West.
"We have him. He’s pretty easy to identify," said one US defence official last night.
Another US official said: "He turned himself in. He was a major regime figure for a long, long time. He was the public face of the regime for a long time. He was close to Saddam for many years."
Reports from Washington last night suggested coalition forces had been negotiating for Aziz’s surrender in Baghdad for the last few days.
It was not known where he was being held last night, but coalition officials will be anxious to question him about the whereabouts of Saddam and other members of the regime. He will also be pushed to reveal details of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction programme.
The taking into custody of Aziz will send a signal to the Iraqi people that Saddam’s regime has fallen, according to Haider Ahmed, a spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress.
He said the former Iraqi deputy prime minister had been one of Saddam’s survivors. "Beyond any doubt, politically, Tariq Aziz is the most important official to be captured so far," said Mr Ahmed. "And he is the most important in Iraq outside Saddam’s family. He has had an important role since day one, since 1968. Tariq Aziz is Iraq’s face in the world, the main adviser and head of Iraq’s foreign policy for at least 25 years.
"He is one of the very few survivors since 1968. The first few years, he was not as important, but for the last 25 years, he has been very involved in decision making.
"Because he is one of the known faces, this will send a message to the Iraqi people that Saddam’s regime is gone."
Ken Pollack, a former CIA analyst on Iraq, concurred on the arrest’s significance. He said: "For many Iraqis, knowing that he is in captivity will hopefully reassure them that Saddam’s regime really is finished. It’s not going to be able to come back to fight them, it’s not going to be able to reconstitute and seize power in the future."
Aziz is listed among Iraq’s so-called "dirty dozen", the top 12 members of Saddam’s regime, and is wanted by the US for war crimes against Kuwait, Iran and Iraqi civilians. He is the 12th Iraqi on the list of the 55 most wanted to be taken into custody by the US forces.
The top Christian in Saddam’s Revolutionary Command Council, Aziz played a pivotal role in thwarting efforts by United Nations weapons inspectors in the mid-1990s.
Born in 1936, in Mosul, Aziz studied English literature at the Baghdad College of Fine Arts and became a teacher, then a journalist.
He joined the Baath party in 1957, working closely with Saddam to overthrow the British-imposed monarchy.
However, like most non-members of Saddam’s Tikriti clan, he was believed to wield little power in the dictator’s regime, despite his high-profile.
Ahmed Shames, the chairman of the anti-Saddam Iraqi Prospect Organisation, said Aziz’s capture could lead to embarrassing revelations about countries which had dealings with Saddam’s regime.
"Tariq Aziz knows a lot about Iraq’s international relations. He was the face of Saddam to the outside world," he said. "He was the most important person when it came to foreign policy and was always involved in foreign matters even though someone else would be appointed foreign minister.
"If he speaks up, a lot of people will be embarrassed in the West."
On Wednesday, US forces arrested Muzahim Sa’b Hassan al-Tikriti, Saddam’s air defence force commander, who was tenth on Washington’s most-wanted list.
General Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib, the former head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, also surrendered to US troops.
The directorate monitored the loyalty of Iraq’s regular army, provided security at the military facilities and collected intelligence on military forces opposing Iraq.
Naqib, 56, was the seven of hearts, or No 21, on the house of cards wanted list issued by the US administration.
Also captured was Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih, the former Iraqi trade minister and No 48 on the most wanted list. Saddam’s son-in-law, Jamal Mustafa Sultan al-Tikriti, gave himself up to US forces on Sunday.
US-led special operations troops have also captured an Iraqi intelligence service officer formerly in charge of US operations. Salim Said Khalaf al-Jumayli, who was not among the 55 most wanted, is suspected of having knowledge of Iraqi intelligence service activities in the US, including names of people spying for Iraq.
In an interview yesterday, Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said that US and British forces were searching for many more former members of the regime than the 55 on the most wanted list.
"In fact, we have a list of some 200," he said. "That original list was purposely kept low at the outset because we wanted to separate the worst people from the regime, hoping that others would come forward."
Mr Rumsfeld said more of the top 55 have been captured in the past day or so than have been announced. He gave no details and said that once their identities are fully verified, they would be made public.
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