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February 27, 2005
Syria Coughed Up Saddam's Brother

As I earlier predicted, the Iraqis got their hands on Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti through the intervention of the Syrian government:

Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother in Syria and handed him over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture.

Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, who was also a former adviser suspected of financing insurgents after U.S. troops ousted the former dictator, was captured in Hasakah in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border, two senior Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The officials did not specify when al-Hassan was captured, only saying he was detained following the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, Lebanon, in a blast that killed 16 others.

What did I tell you? With the wave of popular sentiment sweeping across Southwest Asia for democratic self-determination and pressure from both America and France to get out of Lebanon or else, Syria has decided to start playing nice with the new Iraqi government rather than protect Assad's political Ba'athist cousins. Ibrahim hardly made himself an asset to Assad anyway, and with all of the diplomatic heat coming down on Damascus, Assad has belatedly found the Iraqi Ba'athist leadership very disposable.

Jack Kelly wrote earlier that the Iraq War has already been essentially won, with nothing much left than the cleanup. This constitutes a major part of that effort, and as long as the pressure remains on the Syrians, more cleanup will follow after this. It also confirms that Syria indeed had a hand in fomenting the terrorist attacks in Iraq; now, with this revelation and the apparent reversal of course by an extremely nervous Assad, we may see the entire Zarqawi/Ba'athist effort collapse in on itself within weeks.

UPDATE: The AP story has been updated with even better news (emphases mine):

Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities had captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother and 29 other officials of the deposed dictator's Baath Party in Syria and handed them over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture. ...

They added that al-Hassan was captured and handed over to Iraqi authorities along with 29 other members of Saddam's collapsed Baath Party, whose Syrian branch has been in power in Damascus since 1963.

So they turned over 30 operatives of Sabawi's network along with Sabawi himself. It's starting to look like an early bout of spring cleaning at Chateau Assad. The Iraqi Ba'athists have become very, very expendable.

And welcome, Instapundit readers!

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at February 27, 2005 12:35 PM

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» This news may drive Dean to scream from Condi for Prez
Captain's Quarters has a wonderful post up about Syria's recent moves. The Iraqi insurgency has been fueled almost entirely by money from Saddam's family living in Syria. Now Syria has turned over 30 Baathists - including Saddam's brother - to Iraq... [Read More]

Tracked on February 27, 2005 2:41 PM

» Syrian Hand Over Baathists from PoliBlog: Politics is the Master Science
Captain Ed reports that Syria captured Saddam's half-brother, and turned him over to the Iraqis. Futher, he notes an AP story with the following info:Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities had captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother and... [Read More]

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» Syria Gave Up Saddam's Half-Brother from The Dread Pundit Bluto
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» Syria wants to play from Narcissistic views on News/Politics
After the killing of Rafik al-Hariri , the Iraqi elections and international pressure, Syria is starting to realize they need to change their tactics. [Read More]

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» Syria did right? from Speed of Thought...
You have all heard that Saddam's half-brother has been captured, here is bit more: CAIRO, Egypt - Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities captured Saddam Hussein half-brother in Syria and handed him over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill ges... [Read More]

Tracked on February 27, 2005 5:18 PM

» Spring Cleaning in Syria from Odd Quanta
Over at Captain's Quarters, Ed notes this AP item: Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities had captured Saddam Hussein's half-brother and 29 other officials of the deposed dictator's Baath Party in Syria and handed them over to Iraq in an ... [Read More]

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» Rip & Read Blogger Podcast for 2005-02-28 from Rip & Read Blogger Podcast
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Tracked on February 28, 2005 7:10 PM



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