There's still something wrong with Raghad Hussein

In January, guesting at Hot Air, I noticed the odd spectacle of Saddam Hussein's daughter Raghad weeping over her father's death and leading a sit-in to protest his execution. This was after she led his legal defense team.

Which is more than odd because Raghad and her husband Hussein Kamel (who was a top official in Saddam's nuclear program) fled from Saddam's wrath into Jordan in 1995. Saddam persuaded Kamel that he would be safe if he returned, and like an idiot, Kamel trusted Saddam to keep his word. Of course Saddam executed him immediately, by one account right in front of his family.

There was, I concluded, something badly wrong with Raghad Hussein. I wondered how she could still be such an outspoken advocate for her father after such an awful crime, and went through the possible reasons, including coercion and forgetfulness. I concluded with this one:

The other, and worst of all, is that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree and she is of a piece with Uday, Qusay, and Saddam. Perhaps she rejoiced in the murder of her stupid, forgetful husband. Perhaps she even betrayed him and helped convince him to come back, knowing full well what her father had planned for him. Perhaps she is a Baathist and an al-Tikriti to the core, and is still using lies and intrigue to this day to carry on the family business: the relentless pursuit of power.

There’s something wrong with Raghad Hussein. Forgetfulness is the kindest interpretation. But it’s not the most likely.

Well, it looks like I was on to something:

BAGHDAD — Less than a year after her father was sent to the gallows, Saddam Hussein's daughter is facing charges that also could lead to her execution.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said Friday that Raghad Hussein, 38, has been charged with financing the insurgents who have bedeviled this country since shortly after her father's regime was toppled in 2003.

Hussein is believed to be living in Amman, Jordan, as a guest of King Abdullah II.

The spokesman, Abdul Kereem Khalaf, said the Iraqi Judicial Authority issued an arrest warrant for Hussein a year ago, but that it was only being made public now after Interpol, the international police agency, issued a worldwide notice that Iraq was seeking her.

The news here isn't the charges themselves, which have been on file for a while. It's that Interpol took them seriously enough to issue a "red corner" or "red flag" notice on her as a person of interest. It's not so much an arrest warrant as it is a BOLO* for her; still, it will restrict her travel to sympathetic governments and will make things very hot for her in Jordan.

And by the way, Raghad's mother gets the same treatment.

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Actually, you know what? Looking over some of the wire reports I'm becoming convinced that he Iraqi charges are news. Because in coverage at the time of Saddam's funeral and before, it was merely noted that Raghad and her mother Sajida Khairalla Tulfa were on Iraq's list of 41 most wanted fugitives. The impression I got from those stories is that they were wanted in connection with crimes committed during Saddam's reign. The fact that she was wanted for ongoing operations to fund insurgents in Iraq is a significant fact, and one that should have been mentioned in coverage of her attempts to save her father because it casts her advocacy in a new light--and Jordan's continued protection of her as well.

I don't think that's agenda journalism or pro-Hussein-family bias or anything like that, but I do think it was a failure to report a key fact that affects her credibility. (I obviously missed it as well in the Hot Air post in January.) To their credit the New York Times today describes the list as a terror-support list. But for the other papers covering Raghad, that should have been part of the narrative all along. Here's the original MNF release about the 41 from July 2006, which makes it pretty plain what Raghad and her mom are accused of:

16. Raghad Saddam Husayn: Raghad (Saddam Hussein’s daughter) is a significant financial supporter of insurgents in Iraq. Former senior Baath Party members facilitate the money transfers between Raghad and insurgents. Additionally, she has been designated for both United States and United Nations financial sanctions.

17. Sajada Khairallah Tilfah Husayn: Sajada (Saddam Hussein’s first wife) is a major source of guidance, logistical support and funding for Iraq insurgent leadership. She has established significant connections to individuals directing the insurgency in Iraq and has access to substantial assets stolen by Saddam Hussein.

Since we're on the subject, check out Michelle on some more of Saddam's alleged buddies on trial in Houston for Oil-for-Food profiteering and possibly worse. And do hit that top link to Hot Air; one of my finer damn posts if I do say so my damn self.

*"Be On The Look Out"--police lingo, like "APB" for All Points Bulletin or "DOA" for "Dunkin's or Arby's?"