Qusay: A possible heir to Saddam

By Nadim Ladki

BAGHDAD (Reuters): The rise of the youngest son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to senior official posts has strengthened speculation that he is being groomed to succeed his father, diplomatic sources said on Sunday.

Qusay Saddam Hussein, who leads elite army and security units, was elected to the leadership of the ruling Baath Party on Thursday, his first official party post.

On Saturday Saddam named 34-year-old Qusay as one of two deputy commanders of the Baath's influential military branch.

"These moves indicate quite clearly that Qusay is being prepared," one source said. "His appointments appear designed to give him the experience and exposure needed for him to succeed his father."

Reports in Western and Arab media have for years speculated that one of Saddam's two sons would emerge as his heir apparent.

His eldest son Uday had been identified as the likely choice until he was badly wounded in an assassination attempt in 1996.

As Uday was recuperating, Qusay's influence increased as he took command of more sections of the country's elite forces and, according to foreign reports, replaced Uday as favorite for the succession.

The two brothers sat side-by-side at the 12th conference of the Baath Party on Thursday. State television footage and local press pictures showed them smiling and exchanging conversation.

At the conference, only the second since the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait, Saddam was re-elected unanimously as secretary general and Qusay was voted in as a member of the Regional Command.

Saddam's official deputy and number two, Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Izzat Ibrahim, continued in the post of deputy secretary general of the party.

Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan, Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz and Ali Hassan al-Majeed were re-elected as senior members of the leadership.

The party elected a woman, Huda Saleh Mehdi Ammash, to its leadership for the first time.

Saddam on Saturday named Qusay and Lateef Jassem as his deputies in charge of the military branch of the party. The Iraqi leader also named other members of the newly elected Regional Command to run the various branches of the Baath.

Qusay had been heading the republican guards and a security service called the "special guards".

Qusay, born in 1966, has traditionally kept a lower profile than the more flamboyant Uday, who retains influence through ownership of media outlets, among other roles.

Qusay rarely appeared in the local press or on television and he stayed away from public meetings or talks covered by the press. Uday, on the other hand, makes public appearances and holds well-publicized meetings with visiting dignitaries.

In 1999 a pan-Arab newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat, reported that Saddam granted Qusay wide powers so that he could take on the duties of the president in case of an emergency. A newspaper run by Uday ridiculed the report.

Uday supervises a number of newspapers as well as television and radio stations. He is also head of Iraq's Olympic committee and journalists' union.

Uday was elected to parliament last year. He portrayed his entry into the 250-member assembly as an introduction of new blood into Iraqi politics and a move to usher in a new generation of politicians untainted with corruption and failings of the past.

Earlier this year he called for greater progress towards multi-party democracy in the country ruled by Saddam since 1979.