KastelCo,
If I remember correctly, Saddam has/had two sons.
One, Uday I think, is extremely cruel, violent and supposedly not a bright bulb. He is not well liked in Saddam's inner circle. I remember reading something somewhere about him torturing Iraqi athletes for perceived poor performances, and something else about him going after ordinary Iraqi citizens for perceived misdeeds. He's not capable of fostering loyalty like his father can.
The other son, whose name escapes me at the moment, is the brighter of the two, but likewise is not capable of leadership or fostering loyalty. I think I read somewhere that one or both sons were being groomed, but neither had much real power. Uday "controlled" to some extent the guard units that were particularly loyal to his father.
While Saddam would have liked to see one or both of his sons take over, Saddam has a character flaw in that he trusts no one else, including his own sons. Saddam is kind of a control freak, even down to minuscule details. So it wouldn't necessarily be surprising that there is no "in my absence" plan in place, and lower level members of the inner circle are forced to make decisions on the fly, so to speak. That certainly would look like what is currently happening now.
And I don't think you're being insidious. Saddam probably thinks or thought that to some extent he was invincible. He may have even had reassurances from the Russians and/or the French that the US/allies wouldn't actually attack without UN authorization. Saddam is a kind of megalomaniac (in my opinion) and likely doesn't really plan ahead, doesn't really think he has to, and therefore is more likely to react to any given situation rather than plan for contingencies. JMHO though...
KJC |
