Washington: Apart from its prime target President Saddam Hussein, the US has also
listed for "elimination" 50 of his close aides when it goes to war with Iraq, a
media report said.
The list includes Ali Hassan Majid, a cousin of Saddam, who is believed to be the
architect of a 1988 gas attack against Northern Kurds.
"President Bush's goal of regime change in Iraq", says the 'Wall Street
Journal', "means removing from power a much wider circle than simply getting the top
man. Perhaps as many as 50 people, mostly related by blood or marriage to Hussein,
will be in the list. Topping the list will be a group the State Department calls
the dirty dozen."
The list includes Saddam's two sons, several of his brothers and people from his
tribe, al Bu Nasser.
The administration has compiled a list of about 50 people, who will be targeted for
either capture or death in combat. Pentagon planners say targeting individuals in
Iraq will be more difficult than in Afghanistan, because combatants in Iraq are
likely to hide in densely populated civilian areas.
"Some of Hussein's closest advisers, military and civilian, said the journal, are
known for their brutality and could be considered unfit for amnesty. Should they
survive a US attack, these men are prime targets for war crimes trials, State
Department and Pentagon officials say. The US has already assembled legal dossiers
on many of them," the daily said.
PTI
