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Reuters
This still image taken from video posted on a social media website on Saturday purportedly shows Saddam Hussein's former deputy and top aide Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri.
BAGHDAD -- A video posted online Saturday purports to show the highest-ranking fugitive member of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime lashing out against Iraq's Shiite-led government.
It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the video or determine when it was made.
The man in the video, which was posted on a website linked to Saddam's now-outlawed Baath party, was introduced as Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. He bore a striking physical resemblance to the former Saddam deputy. He noted that nine years had passed since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, suggesting the video was made recently.
The man resembling al-Douri sat in a Saddam-era uniform in front of the old Iraqi flag, flanked by a group of bodyguards, just as he did when delivering speeches in the past.
Al-Douri was the deputy head of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council under Saddam, a Sunni who was toppled after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. He took over the Baath Party leadership after Saddam was executed in 2006.
'Sounds of danger'
The man criticized Iraq's Shiite-dominated government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and what he said was meddling by neighboring Shiite powerhouse Iran.
"Everyone can hear the sounds of danger echoing daily and threatening this country," he said during the hour-long address, adding that al-Maliki's Dawa Party "has announced Iraq as the Shiite capital, and called on all Arab leaders to surrender to this reality."
Al-Douri has been reported dead or captured more than once in the past. He has not been seen in public since the U.S.-led invasion, though audio tapes purporting to be from him have been released. His whereabouts are not known.
Archival video from 2005: Saddam top deputy al-Izzat dead?
Al-Douri is believed to have played a key role in financing Sunni insurgents seeking to undermine Iraq's post-Saddam government.
$10 million reward
After the invasion, al-Douri was ranked sixth on the U.S. military's list of 55 most wanted Iraqis and a $10 million reward was offered for his capture. He was the "king of clubs" in the deck of playing cards issued by the U.S. to help troops identify the most-wanted members of Saddam's regime.
Baathists were banned from politics after the 2003 invasion, but the government says many former party members have organized into insurgent groups resisting the rise to power of the Shiite majority following the fall of Saddam.
Maliki ordered the arrest of hundreds of former Baathists last year just before the last American troops left the country, causing a crisis that threatened to unravel a fragile power-sharing deal among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish blocs.
Ali al-Moussawi, a media adviser for al-Maliki, said the tape is meant to "boost the morale of the terrorists."
Jassim Mohammed / AP file
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri is seen during a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 1, 2002.
"Al-Douri wants to spread terrorism and sectarian violence under the pretext of resistance," he said. "This will not affect the work of the government or the political process."
Al-Moussawi said al-Douri is still a wanted man, but that he doubts that al-Douri is still in Iraq because his need for extensive medical care in a well-equipped clinic would make it impossible to hide.
Wax museum spurs sticky situation in Iraq
Meanwhile, a bomb hidden in a plastic bag blew up on a minibus, killing two passengers and wounding nine in Baghdad's commercial heart of Karrada on Saturday, according to police and hospital officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Deadly attacks have declined in Iraq in recent weeks, but dozens are still killed every month. March saw the lowest monthly toll for violent deaths since the 2003 U.S.-invasion.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
What ever happened to all the flowers the Iraq's were going to greet the US troops with? Or was that just like the WMD's, a whole bunch of F ing lies? And if they are seriously looking for this guy, he's hanging out with Rumsefeld and his bunch of war criminals.
If they wanted Saddam out so bad they should have just assassinated him. An awful lot of our resources have been squandered in that hellhole!
Is that guy going to spell the beans about Saddam's friendship with G.W Bush ? Very interesting. The picture seems legit with the time difference.
I am in Baghdad right now and the only people in this country who hate the U.S. are the 1%'er insurrgents and coward Ba'athists who can't stand the fact that this country and the people want to rise up and live free. The bad guys get their kicks by killing innocent people in market places. They were doing that before Rumsfeld in case you just started watching the news after April 2003.
All you see is partisan politics and spew your inexperienced and under-educated leftist rhetoric. Come over here and spend a week with me and you'd see the real deal. However, I know you will just find a way to call me names and continue your rhetoric because you don't know any better and don't care to hear the real truth.
Not all Leftist are Idiots Sen. "Dogpatch" I was there in the last war. So stop your name calling. You forget About Cia's involvement with the Iran, Iraq war. 5 million Dead. Who do you think delivered the
mustard gas? Saddam didn't make it.
what is your function in Baghdad ? if I "guess" by your ID, you are a military left there for the comfort of the masses ?
The US citizens, soon to be subjects, can say what-ever they want about me and my way of thought, they will reap exactly what they sow. I'm moving away from major metropolitan areas and as for Iraqis killing other Iraqis, I have no issue.
A lot of money and lives were totally wasted in Iraq and will continue to be. The US should have never went in there, let them fight and change their own country, if they think they can or could. The Middle East has been the Middle East centurys and no one is going to change it.
When will we stop listening to the whining and turn the other cheek crowd. When you defeat scum like the former rulers of Iraq you make sure they do not even have a chance to cause trouble or try to take revenge against their former serf's. You hunt them down and kill them and anyone that has helped them. Even if it is another country like Syria. That is how you protect freedom not with purple fingers. Keep cutting out the cancer and don't stop. They have proven that Human Rights do not mean crap to them. Protect Freedom ignore the whiners because most of them never lifted a weapon in defence of freedom. Talk is pretty damn cheap when that's all you bring to the table. The damn war has been over for how long? Screw trails they just fatten the lawyers.
Iraqi will just find another Saddam The Second and install him. Those people are best governed with a tyrant; if left to themselves they will just blow each other up.
They don't know what's rule of law. They only accept the rule of fear.
AlexG you may be the smartest person on this thing !!! Unfortunately the usa can not and will not ever learn to mind its own f'n business
The government has, the last decades acted independently from the main understanding of the US population. Watch a film on Netflix about the Panama invasion -called the Panama deception-lead by GW Bush ( the father ) , Cheney etc...these guys went there to control the canal therefore eliminating "their friend" Noriega. They claimed a loss of about 200 to 400 civilians when in fact , the locals can prove it was about 4000. Very interesting film. You may also want to see a fresh film with Oliver Stone who took a trip to South-America and interviewed most of the current leaders of these countries. It is refreshing to see what they think of our government. They have hope with Obama as he broke the mold from the Bush legacy. We can only hope to stand in fairness as we respect other cultures and views. We cannot bully the world for our "best interest".
Look carefully at the two photos of this man...imo they are not the same....different ears,nose and chin. This guy is a fraud to help prop up moral for the Bathists and sunnis. I am sure that in the long run monetarily speaking Iraqi war will payoff.......As to the cost in lives, that can never be repaid, God bless their eternal souls!..Happy EASTER to all believers! CHRIST IS RISEN !..=:)
he looks exactly as he did before, except ten years older.....and in misery I may add....including the ears. They droop you know...the features change as age occurs, yet you can still recognize the man.
Ginger Baathists have no souls...
Obama has already Cut and Run from Iraq and he is in the process of Cutting and running from Afghanistan. He will cut and run from helping Isreal. He is the weakest President swe have had since Jimmy Carter and Billy Boy Clinton.
Finally someone who blames Obama. How refreshing! Let's face it, Bush NEVER had any business to meddle in the middle east. He did not have the inkling of an idea what was going on there. If Obama pulls all troops east of Cyprus out, he is doing the only thing that can be done at this late date. Let these people settle their own problems. And let's stop trying to introduce them to democracy, this does and for a long time will not work in these countries.
I for one am glad we are cutting and running from both stink holes. We accomplished nothing in Iraq except killing a bunch of people and putting the Iranians in charge. As for Afghanistan, the only reason we went into the that stink hole was to nail Bin Laden and he is fish bait. You want to keep on fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, go ahead. You can get all the chickenhawk Republicans to join you.
How do you know he's fish bait?
taxidermy can do wonders......he's stuffed.
Come on people!!
Try not to mire yourselves in the shame of being sent home like a seventh grader being expelled for being the loser in a fight he picked. This dude is a great man!! He's a survivor! He's still taking it to 'em!! He's John Wayne in a beret! Face it people we're taking our toys home with a fat lip and a bloody nose and this cat is still there!! Still fighting the battle that he believes in.
This is not a ten million dollar guy.. no no no.. he's a twenty million dollar guy.. and we couldn't pack his water.
Is there no end to the all this strife and agression in Africa and the ME? Is there no peace possible?
Where do you think Izzat Ibrahim Al-Douri is residing comfortably? Acccording to Gulf Times (Qatar) he is living in Saudi Arabia- and Saudi Arabia opened their embassy in Baghdad this year after 21 years. Saudis will use Al-Douri to unseat Al-Maliki of Iraq. There has been Al Qaeda attacks on Iraqi g'ment forces. Why doesn't Obama's State dept. HRC ask Saudi Arabia to render Al-Douri?
Not sure how we missed him also and hope we get him just to finish the deck but hope we rescind the $10 million bounty reward on his head as he's no longer worth that if he ever was and not much of a threat anymore except maybe internal to Iraq and I'm sure they will finish him off.