|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Who Collected the Bounty On Udai and Qusay?Following the deaths of the ruthless brothers, questions are raised as to the informant's identity
As Iraqis everywhere celebrate the deaths of Udai and Qusay Hussein, the ruthless sons of Saddam Hussein, one question lingering on the minds of all is the identity of the tipster who notified the U.S. military of the whereabouts of the two brothers. The question is important because of the $30 million bounty attached to the younger Husseins. The bounty seems to dominate conversations in the markets and cafes of Baghdad. Most Iraqis, who on average live on the equivalent of $10 per day, can hardly imagine the meaning of $30 million in wealth. "It's like 'Who Wants To Be The Millionaire' times thirty," said Fael-Sheik Yerbouti, a merchant in the central Baghdad market. "With that much money, you could live anywhere, have as many camels as you wanted, as many cars as you wanted, maybe even afford a wife." U.S. officials have kept the identity of the thirty-millionaire secret. The most popular reason given for the secrecy is the safety of the informant. Even though Saddam Hussein and his sons were wildly unpopular in Iraq, many fear that some Baath loyalists would seek revenge on the person responsible for turning the Husseins over to the occupying Americans. In recent days, speculation has turned to another possible explanation for the secrecy concerning the informer's identity. A source close to the U.S. military has confirmed that an ongoing investigation is focusing on whether the informant was the one man the U.S. wants to capture even more than Saddam Hussein: Osama Bin Laden.
What apparently led the military to suspect Bin Laden was the mailing address given for payment of the bounty. "We were instructed to leave the payment in a cave in Afghanistan," said the military source, "which, of course, made everyone go 'uh oh'." Some critics have wondered why Bin Laden would turn in the Hussein brothers, given that they are all sworn enemies of the country they call "the Great Satan." "I think it has a lot to do with jealousy. We've heard some rumors that Mr. Bin Laden was disappointed that the Hussein brothers fetched a $30 million bounty while he's only worth $25 million," said the military source. |
"All I can say is that the military is looking into whether
Mr. Bin Laden placed the phone call that led to the killing of
the Hussein brothers," said the source, who asked to remain
anonymous. "There's been a voice match, and we're 97% certain
that it was Osama's voice. It sounds just like the tape
recordings you hear on Al-Jazeera."