Qusay Hussein

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Qusay Hussein

Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti (Arabic: قصي صدام حسين ) (or Qusai) (May 17, 1966 – July 22, 2003) was the second son of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir in 2000.

1 His family
2 Before the 2003 invasion
3 After the invasion
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] His family

Qusay's older brother Uday Hussein had been seen as the heir until he was injured in an assassination attempt in 1996. Unlike Uday, who was known for extravagance, Qusay Hussein kept a low profile.

[edit] Before the 2003 invasion

Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Qusay was thought to head the internal security forces, possibly the Iraqi Intelligence Service (SSO) and had some authority over the Iraqi Republican Guard and other Iraqi military units.

Qusay Hussein played a vital role in crushing the Shiite uprising in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War and is also thought to have masterminded the destruction of the southern marshes of Iraq. The wholesale destruction of these marshes ruined the habitat for dozens of species of migratory birds, and ended a centuries-old way of life that prevailed among the Shiite Marsh Arabs who made the wetlands their home: the Iraqi government stated that the action was intended to produce usable farmland, while a number of outside observers felt that the destruction was aimed against the Marsh Arabs, as retribution for their participation in the 1991 uprising.

Iraqi dissidents claim that Qusay Hussein was allegedly responsible for the killing of many political activists. The Sunday Times (London) reported that Qusay Hussein ordered the killing of Khalis Mohsen al-Tikriti, an engineer at the military industrialization organization, because Qusay believed he was planning to leave Iraq. In 1998, Iraqi opposition groups accused Qusay Hussein of ordering the executions of thousands of political prisoners after hundreds of inmates were summarily executed to make room for new prisoners in crowded jails.

In response to an imminent US invasion, in March 2003 Saddam gave Qusay control over the Baghdad-Tikrit area, one of four military zones. On March 17, 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush gave Qusay Hussein 48 hours to leave the country with his brother Uday and father Saddam, or face war.

[edit] After the invasion

Destroyed house of Uday and Qusay in Mosul, Iraq, 31 July 2003

Soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division watch as a TOW missile strikes the side of a house of Uday and Qusay Hussein in Mosul, Iraq, 22 July 2003

On July 22, 2003, troops of the American 101st Airborne, aided by U.S. Special Forces, killed Qusay and his older brother Uday during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Acting on a tip from an unidentified Iraqi, a special forces team attempted to apprehend the inhabitants of the house. After being fired on, the special forces moved back and called for backup. As many as 200 American troops, later aided by Apache helicopters and an A-10 "Warthog" gunship, surrounded and fired on the house. After about four hours of battle (the operation itself lasted 6 hours), the soldiers entered the house and found four dead, including the brothers and their bodyguard. There were reports that Qusay's 14-year-old son Mustapha was the last one to die in the battle. Brig. Gen. Frank Helmick, the assistant commander of 101st Airborne has commented that all occupants of the home were dead before U.S troops entered the home after the fierce gun battle. ^[1]

On July 23, 2003 the American command said that it had conclusively identified two of the dead men as Saddam Hussein's sons, using dental records. They also announced that the informant, possibly the owner of the house, would receive the combined $30 million reward on the pair. The owner of the house where the brothers were killed was provided with U.S. citizenship and thereby allowed to depart from Iraq. In a likely revenge attack, his brother was killed in 2004 by unknown assassins.

On July 24, 2003 pictures of the dead brothers were released to the press. The U.S. military command stated that the photographs were released in order to combat widespread rumors in Iraq that the men were still alive.

Some criticized the U.S. for creating a double standard in releasing the photos of the dead men, given that the Bush Administration condemned Saddam Hussein for releasing photos of American dead during the conflict. The U.S. military answered these criticisms by arguing that these men were no ordinary dead combatants, and that confirmation of the deaths would bring "closure" to the Iraqi people.

Qusay was the ace of clubs in the coalition forces' most-wanted Iraqi playing cards, close to his father.