Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (20633)	6/18/2003 4:49:32 PM
From: jlallen	Respond to of 89467

'Ace of Diamonds' Captured in Iraq Wednesday, June 18, 2003 WASHINGTON — The No. 3 man in Saddam Hussein's deposed government has been captured in Iraq, U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday. Gen. Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti (search), the Ace of Diamonds in U.S. Central Command's (search) deck of cards, was taken into custody, Pentagon officials said. Mahmud, Saddam's personal secretary, national security adviser and senior bodyguard, was No. 3 in the Iraqi government, behind Saddam and his younger son Qusai. He was No. 4 on Central Command's 55-most-wanted list, behind Saddam, Qusai and Saddam's older son Odai. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mahmud controlled access to Saddam and was one of the few people the former dictator was said to have trusted completely. Intelligence reports indicated that Mahmud managed access to Saddam by diplomats, media and even doctors, a U.S. defense official said. Only Saddam's sons could see the Iraqi president without going through Mahmud, the official said. Qusai, in particular, avoided befriending Mahmud so Saddam would not think they were conspiring against him, the official said. U.S. officials told Fox News that the catch is "very significant" because Mahmud, a distant cousin of Saddam, was in Saddam's inner circle. Mahmud may have information on the fate of Saddam and his sons, and he is thought to have details of Iraq's alleged weapons programs, since he officially had a say in when and where weapons of mass destruction were released. U.S. officials have said they want to try Mahmud for war crimes or crimes against humanity for activities associated with his senior position in the Iraqi regime. In the 1990s, Mahmud was put in charge of several security portfolios, including responsibility over places Iraq has been accused of hiding weapons programs. He started his career as a non-commissioned officer in Saddam's bodyguard, eventually being promoted to lieutenant general. It is unclear whether Mahmud's capture was related to U.S. raids near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. American troops raided two farmhouses and found $8.5 million in American cash, 300 million to 400 million Iraqi dinars and an undetermined amount of British pounds and Euros, said Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division (search). The troops also found more than $1 million worth of gems and jewels, he said. The troops captured one of Saddam's bodyguards and up to 50 other people believed to be tied to Saddam's security or intelligence forces or paramilitary groups, Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a video news conference from his headquarters in Tikrit. The troops also found Russian-made night-vision goggles and other military equipment, as well as various Saddam paraphernalia. Odierno said he did not know whether the cash was intended to pay bounties for attacks on American troops or to provide the Saddam loyalists with luxuries while they were in hiding. Fox News' Bret Baier and the Associated Press contributed to this report. foxnews.com