Amer Mohammad Rashid

Amer Mohammad Rashid al-Ubaidi served as Oil Minister under Saddam Hussein. A former general in Iraq's army, he also advised Hussein on other matters, and was sometimes referred to as "Missile Man" in reference to his expertise with weapons delivery systems.[1] He is the husband of Dr. Rihab Taha (a.k.a. "Dr. Germ"), a microbiologist active in research into the production of bioweapons.[2] Iraqi government news sources indicated that he retired from his positions in 2002, at the age of 65.[1]

Rashid was the six of spades in the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards issued by the United States during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[3] After the invasion commenced, he issued a public statement calling for other Arab nations to decrease oil production, in order "to make the cost of war high for the Americans."[4] American troops raided his Baghdad home on April 14, 2003 in an effort to take him and his wife into custody, but both evaded capture.[2] He surrendered to coalition forces on April 28, 2003,[1] and his wife surrendered on May 10, 2003.[2]

Rashid was quietly released in April 2012.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Iraq's 'Missile Man' surrenders to U.S.", CBC News, published April 29, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Iraq's 'Dr Germ' detained", BBC News, published May 12, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  3. ↑ Zucco, Tom. "Troops dealt an old tool", The St. Petersburg Times, published April 12, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  4. ↑ Agence France-Presse. "Stop producing extra oil: Iraq tells Arabs", published March 25, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  5. ↑ http://www.charlesduelfer.com/blog/?p=64