Qusay: Heir apparent
2003-07-22 20:24
Baghdad - Before the US-led war which toppled Saddam Hussein, younger son Qusay, who was believed killed along with his brother Uday in northern Iraq on Tuesday, was the heir apparent to the Iraqi strongman's throne.
Qusay, seldom seen, heard even less, was the short, stout son of Saddam who headed his dreaded security and intelligence apparatus.
The position earned him the rank of "ace of clubs" in the US army's pack of cards of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis in the aftermath of war, while his elder brother Uday was "ace of hearts" and Saddam himself the "ace of spades".
The two sons were believed to be among four people killed when US forces attacked a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, relatives of the house owner and a local official said.
But the White House declined to confirm the deaths.
The United States in early in July offered a reward of 15 million dollars for information leading to the capture of Saddam's two fugitive sons, while a $25m bounty was placed on the ousted president's head.
A shake-up at the top of Saddam's Baath Party propelled Qussay into the inner circle of political decision-makers nearly two years ago and led most analysts to tip him for the top job one day.
Charged with protecting family
That impression was confirmed on the eve of war when the moustachioed 36-year-old was appointed to run the Baghdad region, including the Saddam homelands around Tikrit, for a battle that failed to materialise.
Qusay Saddam Hussein headed a special security agency charged with protecting the president, his family and top officials. He also controlled most of Iraq's military, security and intelligence services.
In November 2001, the Shiite Tehran-based Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sairi) claimed that Qusay survived an assassination attempt carried out by two senior security service officers the previous month.
Sairi said that on October 19 the officers, Hussein al-Duri and Kamel Abbas al-Hadidi, tried to crash into Qusay's car as he left the presidential palace in Baghdad "then finish him off with bullets".
But Qusay "became aware of the pair's intention at the last minute after seeing their car speed toward his", Sairi said, adding that Hadidi was arrested while Duri managed to escape.
In published speeches Qusay frequently pledged that Iraqis were ready "like brandished swords" to defend their country ahead of the US-British military strike.
It once appeared clear that Saddam was grooming his elder brother Uday to take over one day.
But after an assassination bid against Uday in 1996, the Arab press reported that Qusay had his father's preference, despite official denials of any power struggles.