Stewart Stogel
Thursday, April 10, 2003
United Nations ? The United States believes former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein did indeed survive a USAF B-1 bomber attack in a Baghdad neighborhood earlier this week.
State Department sources tell NewsMax that they are "taking seriously" reports that Saddam may in fact be sequestered in the Russian Embassy in Baghdad.
Last weekend, a convoy carrying Russian diplomats, some civilians and press was attacked by U.S. forces as it tried to leave Baghdad overland for Syria.
At the time, the Pentagon claimed that the convoy had been "mistakenly" targeted by U.S. forces.
Now the State Department tells NewsMax the convoy had, in fact, been intentionally targeted by the U.S. military because it was "suspected" that Saddam might have been trying to flee in the Russian motorcade.
Washington now believes the convoy may have been sent out to test the "security" of the road between Baghdad and the Syrian border.
The attack on the convoy may have shelved plans by Saddam to use that route to escape capture by the United States.
If Saddam has indeed sought "sanctuary" in the Russian Embassy, it is not without historical precedent.
When President George H.W. Bush sought to "dispose" of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega in 1988, Noriega also went into hiding to escape U.S. forces, which launched a dragnet throughout Panama City.
Though Noriega, now in a federal prison in south Florida, was eventually captured, he bragged about how he eluded the U.S. Army.
First, the Panamanian hid out in a local Dairy Queen ice cream shop, then hopped a cab, which drove him to the home of the papal representative in Panama City.
It was at the Papal Nuncio's home that Noriega had a standoff with U.S. forces that lasted almost a week. He eventually surrendered to DEA agents sent to enforce a warrant issued by a federal judge in Miami.
This time, Washington would like to avoid a similar standoff in Baghdad.
"Our phone lines are open, but [U.S./U.N.] Ambassador John Negroponte has heard nothing [yet]," says one U.S. diplomat in New York City.
The diplomat, who insisted on confidentiality, says no contact by Iraq's U.N. representative, Mohammed Aldouri, has been initiated.
Speculation at the U.N. centered on the possibility that Aldouri may try to "negotiate" some sort of safe passage for Saddam out of Baghdad.
Coincidentally, a confidant of Saddam's, former Iraqi U.S. and U.N. ambassador Nizar Hamdoon, has been in New York City on private business since January.
Hamdoon, who still maintains close contact with several State Department officials, was not available for his reaction to the fall of the Iraqi government.
Further complicating matters for Saddam is the fact that Syrian diplomats at the U.N. strongly deny that Damascus will provide a safe haven for him or any of his former associates.
"It is not possible, it is not going to happen," insisted one diplomat at Syria's U.N. mission.
Kuwait's deputy U.N. ambassador, Monsour Al-Otaibi, explained that his government intends to track down Saddam and his leadership to stand trial for the 1990 invasion.
"You can be sure we want all of them. No matter where they surface, we will go after them," proclaimed Al-Otaibi.
The ambassador pointed out that it has been almost 13 years since more than 600 Kuwaitis were forcibly removed from their homes by Iraqi troops, never to be heard from again.
One country Saddam and his entourage may eventually find a safe haven could be the former Soviet republic of Belarus. Just last month, Saddam's son Uday showed up in the Belarus capital of Minsk.
He was said to visiting in his capacity as president of Iraq's international Olympic committee.
Thursday, April 10, 2003
United Nations ? The United States believes former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein did indeed survive a USAF B-1 bomber attack in a Baghdad neighborhood earlier this week.
State Department sources tell NewsMax that they are "taking seriously" reports that Saddam may in fact be sequestered in the Russian Embassy in Baghdad.
Last weekend, a convoy carrying Russian diplomats, some civilians and press was attacked by U.S. forces as it tried to leave Baghdad overland for Syria.
At the time, the Pentagon claimed that the convoy had been "mistakenly" targeted by U.S. forces.
Now the State Department tells NewsMax the convoy had, in fact, been intentionally targeted by the U.S. military because it was "suspected" that Saddam might have been trying to flee in the Russian motorcade.
Washington now believes the convoy may have been sent out to test the "security" of the road between Baghdad and the Syrian border.
The attack on the convoy may have shelved plans by Saddam to use that route to escape capture by the United States.
If Saddam has indeed sought "sanctuary" in the Russian Embassy, it is not without historical precedent.
When President George H.W. Bush sought to "dispose" of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega in 1988, Noriega also went into hiding to escape U.S. forces, which launched a dragnet throughout Panama City.
Though Noriega, now in a federal prison in south Florida, was eventually captured, he bragged about how he eluded the U.S. Army.
First, the Panamanian hid out in a local Dairy Queen ice cream shop, then hopped a cab, which drove him to the home of the papal representative in Panama City.
It was at the Papal Nuncio's home that Noriega had a standoff with U.S. forces that lasted almost a week. He eventually surrendered to DEA agents sent to enforce a warrant issued by a federal judge in Miami.
This time, Washington would like to avoid a similar standoff in Baghdad.
"Our phone lines are open, but [U.S./U.N.] Ambassador John Negroponte has heard nothing [yet]," says one U.S. diplomat in New York City.
The diplomat, who insisted on confidentiality, says no contact by Iraq's U.N. representative, Mohammed Aldouri, has been initiated.
Speculation at the U.N. centered on the possibility that Aldouri may try to "negotiate" some sort of safe passage for Saddam out of Baghdad.
Coincidentally, a confidant of Saddam's, former Iraqi U.S. and U.N. ambassador Nizar Hamdoon, has been in New York City on private business since January.
Hamdoon, who still maintains close contact with several State Department officials, was not available for his reaction to the fall of the Iraqi government.
Further complicating matters for Saddam is the fact that Syrian diplomats at the U.N. strongly deny that Damascus will provide a safe haven for him or any of his former associates.
"It is not possible, it is not going to happen," insisted one diplomat at Syria's U.N. mission.
Kuwait's deputy U.N. ambassador, Monsour Al-Otaibi, explained that his government intends to track down Saddam and his leadership to stand trial for the 1990 invasion.
"You can be sure we want all of them. No matter where they surface, we will go after them," proclaimed Al-Otaibi.
The ambassador pointed out that it has been almost 13 years since more than 600 Kuwaitis were forcibly removed from their homes by Iraqi troops, never to be heard from again.
One country Saddam and his entourage may eventually find a safe haven could be the former Soviet republic of Belarus. Just last month, Saddam's son Uday showed up in the Belarus capital of Minsk.
He was said to visiting in his capacity as president of Iraq's international Olympic committee.
