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Journalism of Courage
With dark circles under his eyes and a cigarette constantly in his hand, the man who was No 21 on the United States’ list of most-wanted Iraqis acknowledged during his last few hours of freedom Wednesday that he didn’t always agree with Saddam Hussein — but would make no apologies for his involvement in the dictator’s regime.
After a wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times in which he sharply denied that he had done anything in his career that could be counted as a crime against humanity, Gen Zuhayr al-Naqib, the director of military intelligence under Saddam, surrendered to US forces.
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Two more in US net
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| KERBALA: US forces took two more fugitive members of Saddam Hussein’s scattered ruling elite into custody on Wednesday.
US military said Muzahim Sa’B Hassan al-Tikriti, Air Defence Force commander and No 10 on the wanted list and former Iraqi minister of trade, Muhammad Mahdial-Salih, No 48 on the list ‘‘is under coalition control’’ . (Reuters) |
With his red worry beads in one hand and an attache case with his personal belongings in the other, he walked into one of Saddam’s former palaces, now being used by the Americans. ‘‘I was just following orders,’’ said Naqib (56). ‘‘But I will not answer whether I believed in the regime.’’
Naqib refused to give any details of his 35-year army career, which spanned a period that included atrocities and the invasion of neighbouring countries.
US intelligence officials in Washington said they had little detail on Naqib’s activities under the regime, noting that he had only been in the intelligence job since June 2002. They said the US placed Naqib on its most-wanted list because of his intelligence position, but also because his brother is married to Saddam’s half-sister, Silham.
Asked whether Naqib could be a candidate for a war crimes trial, the Defence Department official said: ‘‘It depends what kind of stuff they find on him and how he proved his commitment and loyalty to Saddam Hussein.’’ (LAT-WP)
