http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u ... usudaycoup

Saddam's son Uday was poised to topple dad : controversial US journalist

Wed Mar 2, 5:40 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The eldest son of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was plotting to overthrow his father just as US troops advanced on Baghdad in March 2003, journalist Peter Arnett claimed in Playboy Magazine.

Uday Hussein, known for his ruthlessness and flashy lifestyle, had won the support of the leadership of his father's Fedayeen militia to overthrow Saddam's 35-year rule, according to an advance copy of the April edition of Playboy obtained by AFP.

The controversial reporter, who was fired by the US NBC television network in 2003 after suggesting that the US war plan in Iraq (news - web sites) had failed, made the claim following an 18-month investigation in which he says he gained access to Uday Hussein's inner circle.

The article cited a letter from Saddam Fedayeen commander General Maki Humudat, dated March 26, 2003, in which he swore allegiance to a new Iraqi government under the control of Fedayeen chief Uday Hussein.

"According to your direction and command to form a new government under the leadership of your Excellency (Uday), we have informed all the senior officers of the Saddam Fedayeen of your desire to appoint them as your candidates for office in your government," the letter said.

Uday had planned to announce his seizure of the crumbling reins of power later the same day, but was thwarted when US jets bombed his Youth TV studios in Baghdad, according to Arnett.

The ambitious heir had even formed a shadow government on the outskirts of Iraq's capital, Baghdad that was disguised under the cover of his powerful Olympic committee and funded by murky oil deals, he said.

According to Arnett, the oldest son of the Iraqi dictator had long been chafing under his father's iron fisted rule and blamed his father for the punishing international sanctions on the country.

"Though it has not been reported until now, Uday Hussein was the biggest proponent of regime change inside Iraq," Arnett wrote.

"During the previous 10 years, he had slowly assembled the elements of power -- military, military and political management -- designed to overthrow his tyrannical father," said the reporter who was in Baghdad as US troops approached following the launch of the March 19, 2003 US-led attack.

But, according to the journalist, Uday's coup plan came too late as US-led forces were just days away from the Iraqi capital.

He and his younger brother, Qusay, were forced to flee Baghdad along with their father as the Baath party military machine collapsed ahead of the US seizure of the city in early April.

Uday and Qusay were killed in a blistering battle in the northern city of Mosul on July 22, 2003, while Saddam Hussein was captured alive in his home town of Tikrit in December of that year.

Arnett, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his Vietnam War reporting and covered the 1991 Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) for CNN from Baghdad, was fired from NBC at the end of March 2003 after granting a disputed interview to Iraqi state television.

In that interview just days before Baghdad fell, he said the US war plan was failing. "Clearly, the American war planners misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces," he said.

Why didn't our intelligence services pick up on this?

But that would have been interesting to see. Would Saddam have tried to fight his son to the death to keep himself in power? Im guessing the country's leadership would have splintered and would have been forced to choose sides. More than likley chaos would have ensued, and perhaps the Iraqi people could have seized this opportunity to take back there country. But we will never know.

uday was ten times worse than daddy ever dreamed of being

But does that mean their would have a smooth transistion from Saddam to Uday? Nobody will know, but their would no doubt be chaos if Saddam was taken out by a cou de tat led by his son. And who knows what would have transpired during that chaos.

*coup d'etat

It would have been ugly and brutal whoever came out on top, perhaps worse than the current clusterfuck. If Uday had gotten his ass in gear a month earlier, maybe we wouldn't even be there at all.

--PunkDavid

I have to wonder how ugly and brutal it would have been. I'm sure Saddam knew that one day he'd pass on power to Uday. I think it would have been the kind of thing where Uday went to his father, and said, "Look pops, you're getting old. Maybe it's time to retire, eh? You've got that lovely hole in Tikrit; you could go there, relax, and leave the tyranny to me now, ok?" I don't imagine that a power shift from father to son would have been an all out coup. Maybe I'm wrong. I do think that had this happened prior to the invasion, it wouldn't have made a difference. If you remember, when all of this started, it wasn't about regime change, but those mystical weapons of mass destruction.