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CNN Live At Daybreak

Look at Men on Top of Iraq's Power Structure

Aired March 19, 2003 - 06:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush gave Saddam Hussein and his sons until eight o'clock tonight Eastern to leave Iraq. However, there's more to the Iraqi power structure than just those three men.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: There certainly is.

Joining us from the military desk is our Renay San Miguel with more on the men at the top of Iraq's power structure -- good morning.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol and Leon.

Well, when it comes to the top of the pyramid, if you will, of the power structure in Iraq, Saddam Hussein likes to keep things in the family. Three of the four men we're going to be talking about right now are, indeed, family. So there is a very good reason why President Bush said not just Saddam Hussein, but his sons, his two sons had to leave Baghdad, as well.

If you think of this as kind of an organizational chart of a typical business, with Saddam as the CEO at the top of the pyramid, then his two sons would be the co-chief operating officers, waiting their turn at the corner office.

Let's start with the eldest of the sons, Uday. He is 38 years old. At one time the heir apparent, but the defection of two of Saddam's sons-in-law put him in the dog house with his dad. He is said by analysts to be one of the most brutal of the men in Iraq, a playboy type. He used to roam nightclubs, analysts say, looking for women. When they resisted his advances, he would have bodyguards bring them to his room for assaults.

He would, he brags about torturing political dissidents and when he was head of Iraq's Olympic committee, if you were a soccer player who didn't perform up to par, he would have you beaten and then he would go out and brag about it. So one of the most feared men in Iraq, according to military analysts.

Well, next we move on to Qusay. He is the 36-year-old younger brother, now handling a lot of the duties that Uday used to have. And analysts say he's now the man to take over for Saddam. Why? Well, he is now in charge of the military forces, also security and intelligence, as well, and this, all of this includes the infamous special Republican Guard, also Saddam's special protection apparatus and the elite paramilitary force known as the Fedayeen Saddam or men of Saddam. All of this basically puts Qusay as the chief operating officer for the country, responsible for running the day to day affairs in Iraq.

Now, those are the two sons. We're going to put up a kind of an organizational chart, if you will, that shows, you know, a kind of a pyramid. There you see Saddam at the top there. The two sons we've already talked about, Uday and Qusay. But there is somebody else, also a member of the family, Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid. This gentleman right here, known as Chemical Ali, because he orchestrated the deadly gas attacks on the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq in 1988. Just as brutal as Uday, according to analysts, and now he's in charge of defending southern Iraq, and that includes the valuable oil fields near Basra.

One other person we want to talk about real quick here is another key lieutenant, Abid Hamid Humud. We don't have his picture. Nobody knows exactly what he looks like, but here's what we do know about him. He is Saddam's personal secretary. He heads up Saddam's personal bodyguards, some of the most feared men in Iraq, along with Uday. Also, the husband of Saddam's sister, his personal pilot, as well.

So just a little bit of a take there on the inner circle of Saddam Hussein and why not just Saddam Hussein, but some of his sons also have been told to leave Baghdad by President Bush -- Carol, Leon, back over to you.

COSTELLO: And why they will not.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

COSTELLO: At least as far as we know right now.

Renay San Miguel, many thanks to you.

SAN MIGUEL: Sure.

COSTELLO: Coming up in the 7:00 a.m. Eastern hour, a deeper look at the Iraqi military and their commander-in-chief, Saddam Hussein. All that head on AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 19, 2003 - 06:23   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush gave Saddam Hussein and his sons until eight o'clock tonight Eastern to leave Iraq. However, there's more to the Iraqi power structure than just those three men.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: There certainly is.

Joining us from the military desk is our Renay San Miguel with more on the men at the top of Iraq's power structure -- good morning.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol and Leon.

Well, when it comes to the top of the pyramid, if you will, of the power structure in Iraq, Saddam Hussein likes to keep things in the family. Three of the four men we're going to be talking about right now are, indeed, family. So there is a very good reason why President Bush said not just Saddam Hussein, but his sons, his two sons had to leave Baghdad, as well.

If you think of this as kind of an organizational chart of a typical business, with Saddam as the CEO at the top of the pyramid, then his two sons would be the co-chief operating officers, waiting their turn at the corner office.

Let's start with the eldest of the sons, Uday. He is 38 years old. At one time the heir apparent, but the defection of two of Saddam's sons-in-law put him in the dog house with his dad. He is said by analysts to be one of the most brutal of the men in Iraq, a playboy type. He used to roam nightclubs, analysts say, looking for women. When they resisted his advances, he would have bodyguards bring them to his room for assaults.

He would, he brags about torturing political dissidents and when he was head of Iraq's Olympic committee, if you were a soccer player who didn't perform up to par, he would have you beaten and then he would go out and brag about it. So one of the most feared men in Iraq, according to military analysts.

Well, next we move on to Qusay. He is the 36-year-old younger brother, now handling a lot of the duties that Uday used to have. And analysts say he's now the man to take over for Saddam. Why? Well, he is now in charge of the military forces, also security and intelligence, as well, and this, all of this includes the infamous special Republican Guard, also Saddam's special protection apparatus and the elite paramilitary force known as the Fedayeen Saddam or men of Saddam. All of this basically puts Qusay as the chief operating officer for the country, responsible for running the day to day affairs in Iraq.

Now, those are the two sons. We're going to put up a kind of an organizational chart, if you will, that shows, you know, a kind of a pyramid. There you see Saddam at the top there. The two sons we've already talked about, Uday and Qusay. But there is somebody else, also a member of the family, Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid. This gentleman right here, known as Chemical Ali, because he orchestrated the deadly gas attacks on the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq in 1988. Just as brutal as Uday, according to analysts, and now he's in charge of defending southern Iraq, and that includes the valuable oil fields near Basra.

One other person we want to talk about real quick here is another key lieutenant, Abid Hamid Humud. We don't have his picture. Nobody knows exactly what he looks like, but here's what we do know about him. He is Saddam's personal secretary. He heads up Saddam's personal bodyguards, some of the most feared men in Iraq, along with Uday. Also, the husband of Saddam's sister, his personal pilot, as well.

So just a little bit of a take there on the inner circle of Saddam Hussein and why not just Saddam Hussein, but some of his sons also have been told to leave Baghdad by President Bush -- Carol, Leon, back over to you.

COSTELLO: And why they will not.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

COSTELLO: At least as far as we know right now.

Renay San Miguel, many thanks to you.

SAN MIGUEL: Sure.

COSTELLO: Coming up in the 7:00 a.m. Eastern hour, a deeper look at the Iraqi military and their commander-in-chief, Saddam Hussein. All that head on AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com