The Al-Sadi Connection: Gerhard Schroeder and the Seven of Diamonds

(By Ray D.)

Germany's Commitment to Human Rights? Chancellor Schroeder Personally Requested US President Bush Release the "Father" of the Iraqi Chemical Weapons Program.

Schroeder to Bush: Free this man.

If we are to believe the German media, Amir al-Sadi, the "7 of diamonds" in the now famous deck of cards portraying Iraq's 55 most wanted, is a harmless, dapper old gentleman scientist, cruelly held by the US military in solitary confinement for over a year and yet to be formally charged with a crime. As the Americans marched into Baghdad, al-Sadi turned himself in to the new authorities, accompanied by a German television crew from ZDF and his German wife. With the cameras rolling, he proclaimed his innocence and asserted that Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction, a claim that he had already made repeatedly in the months before the war as Saddam Hussein's liaison to UN weapons inspectors.

Since that day, al-Sadi's wife Helma, a long-time resident of Hamburg, has lobbied for his release in Iraq and Germany, claiming that her husband was never one of Saddam's henchman and that he was just an innocent scientific advisor following orders. Mrs. al-Sadi's efforts have apparently met with some success. Recently, the German Foreign Ministry made several requests to Washington for Mr. al-Sadi's release. When the US failed to respond, German Chancellor Schroeder himself brought up the issue of al-Sadi's release in a direct conversation with President George W. Bush. To date, Mr. Bush has yet to respond.

Al-Sadi is even becoming a poster child in the German media as a prisoner denied his rights by the Americans. Tagesschau journalist Karin Leukefeld reports:

"Why al-Sadi is incarcerated and what exactly he is accused of remains unclear. (...) Al-Sadi has been a prisoner in Iraq for 15 months. He turned himself in to US troops on 12 April 2003 after he heard through BBC reports that he belonged to the 55 most wanted Iraqis. As liaison to the UN weapons inspector Hans Blix in Iraq, al-Said tirelessly repeated what Washington and London have since admitted: Iraq no longer had WMDs. (...) Without being charged and without a lawyer al-Sadi is in solitary confinement."

So not only is al-Sadi portrayed as a victim of American injustice and cruelty, but he apparently was also right about Iraq not having WMDs, a fact that further endears him to the German media.

Once Again: The German Public Dangerously Underinformed by its Media

There are, however, a few sordid and unsightly details about Mr. al-Sadi that Tagesschau reporter Karin Leukefeld and other members of the German media fail to mention to readers. For example, Mr. al-Sadi is also known as the "father" of the Iraqi poison gas program of the 1980s that produced the horrific weapons used by Saddam Hussein in 1988 to gas over 5,000 innocent Iraqi men, women and children to death at Halabja, Iraq. Mr. al-Sadi also led projects that enhanced the range of Iraq's SCUD missiles, enabling Saddam Hussein to strike Israel and Saudi Arabia in the first Gulf War, killing dozens of Americans, Israelis and Saudis.

And in both the Iraqi chemical weapons and missile programs Mr. al-Sadi entertained extensive connections with West German firms throughout the 1980s. These firms provided vital equipment, support and know-how for Iraq's weapons programs and profited enormously from the illicit trade with Saddam.

How about we charge Mr. al-Sadi with this for starters? He built, organized and managed Iraq's chemical weapons program in the 70s and 80s...with vital assistance from German firms like Karl Kolb GmbH.

Or how about we charge him with this? The aftermath of a SCUD attack on Israel, dozens of Israelis were either killed or injured by SCUD attacks in the first Gulf War...Al-Sadi oversaw SCUD missile projects 124 and 395 in the mid to late 1980s, both of which successfully increased Iraq's killing range, also with crucial help from German firms.

Just an Innocent Scientific Advisor Following Orders?

So was the "7 of diamonds" just a harmless scientific advisor following orders as his wife claims? Hardly. Mr. al-Sadi was promoted to the rank of general entirely due to his accomplishments as a leader of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program and his vital role in developing SCUD missiles with a longer range. In fact, a colleague of al-Sadi's, Khidhir Hamza, reported that Iraq's chemical weapons program experimented on animals as well as humans in its efforts to perfect its poison agents. Mr. Hamza also reported that Saddam Hussein gave Amir al-Sadi "a lot of land (and) four or five Mercedes a year as a gift. (...) top of the line Mercedes and a lot of bonuses."

German Organization Demands Schroeder Retract Call for al-Sadi's Release

The German Society for Threatened Peoples International, outraged that Mr. Schroeder would personally ask President Bush for the release of Mr. al-Sadi, has published an open letter to the Chancellor demanding he retract his request. Here are some excerpts:

"To the Honorable Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder,

"Der Spiegel" and the "Hamburger Abendblatt" report that you are calling for the release of the former Iraqi Vice-Minister Amir al-Sadi from American imprisonment. (...) He played a decisive role in increasing the range of the Iraqi SCUD rockets. Above all, he is known as the "father" of the Iraqi chemical weapons program. Only through this was it possible for the cousin of Saddam Hussien, Ali Hassan al-Majid (aka Chemical Ali), to conduct the so-called Anfal offensive from 1986-88, which was accompanied by poison gas attacks. 180,000 Kurdish and Assyrian-Chaldean women, children and men fell victim to the offensive. According to a report from the United Nations, the poison gas attacks were so terrible, that only few precedents exist since the world wars. (...)

Honorable Chancellor, we are stunned that you want to see a war criminal, who is responsible for genocide, free and that you so obviously want to let German firms who were involved in building up the poison gas industry (in Iraq) exonerated. We urgently request that you:

- Retract your calls for the release of the war criminal al-Sadi and demand that he be tried before a war tribunal.

- Inform the public about his responsibility in the genocide of 180,000 Kurds and Assyrian-Chaldean Christians as well as the construction of the SCUD rockets.

- See to it that an investigative committee is finally established by the German government to look into the involvement of German firms in these crimes and to compensate the surviving Kurdish and Assyrian-Chaldean victims.

Sincerely Yours,
Tilman Zuelch"

We await Herr Schroeder's reply. And we would like to pose the following questions of our own: Does the Chancellor's request for Mr. al-Sadi's release reflect a true and genuine commitment to the war on terror and human rights? Does Germany's leader really have nothing better to do when speaking to the President of the United States than to lobby for the release of a known war criminal? He owes us all an answer on this...

NOTE: To contact Chancellor Schroeder's office regarding this matter, E-Mail: [email protected]

Comments

[Kees Rudolf]

Ausgezeichnet! Aber wie sehr wir in dieser Angelegenheit (und vielleicht auch in andere Angelegenheiten) Herrn Zuelch und seine Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker völlig möchten beitreten, Interessierte sollten auch die Presse-Erklärungen jüngeren Datums des GfbV zum Thema Tschetschenie lesen.
Kein Missverständnis: das soll uns nicht ablenken vom Thema Al-Sadi.

[Trish]

Wizard of Oz:

"If he only had a brain" da da da da da da da da da

Gas

Mass Killing of civilians,

Just following orders

Gee, history does repeat itself. This sounds so typical German. I bet it plays well to the citizens of Greater Germany.

Gerhart a man of the people. Laying the foundation to roll to victory in 2006.

Hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil.

But this cannot be totally correct because there is no mention of……

ROOT CAUSES

Durch Zufall habe ich in der Presse erfahren, dass sich Schröder für diesen Mann einsetzt!

Bisher war ich in vielen Dingen, insbesondere bezüglich der Amerika Politik von Schröder, einfach anderer Meinung, habe das als überzeugter Demokrat aber zähneknirschend akzeptiert. Immerhin ist Schröder (leider) von einer Mehrheit meiner LAndsleute gewählt worden.

Dass Schröder nunmehr nichts besseres zu tun hat, als sich für Mitglieder des engesten Saddam Zirkels einzusetzen, die erwiesenermaßen an furchtbaren Gräeueltaten beteiligt gewesen sind, das treibt mir das kalte Entsetzen über den Rücken! Man kann sich als Deutscher im Prinzip nur noch schämen für solche Aktionen und hoffen, dass die Amtszeit vielleicht noch vor 2006 zu Ende geht (vielleicht hilft da ja die Wahl im nächsten Jahr in NRW ein bißchen weiter!)

[Joe N.]

They're trying SO hard to detach responsibility from themselves that it's pathetic. Why don't they get siezed up on issues actually worth focussing on?
It's clear that this all about their feelings of guilt, which, by the way, terroists DON'T seem to have.

[Joe N.]

Hey Trish:
Genau! I couldn't have said it better myself!

[Joe N.]

It really isn't that hard to believe that the German and French governments' attitude to the Iraq war are partially due to previous association with arms and special weapons programs. It's reasonable to believe that this was driven by the fear of being called hypocrites at home, which might bring down their governments.

[Trish]

---BREAKING NEWS ----

Die Regierung Putin übernimmt die US-Strategie des Präventiv-Angriffs und kündigt an, Terroristen künftig weltweit zu jagen

SPIEGEL ONLINE

[Joe N.]

I heard it on the news this AM. Even NPR abd BBC reported it 'straight'. Right now, it is Putin's only option, just as it was with the US. If they let the terrorist control the agenda, they're population is cooked.

[Trish]

Joe,

agree. But what is Schroeder to do now? This morning during the "haushaltdebatte" he stated once again that Putin Chiraq and Schroeder agreed that a political solution is the only way to go.

I wonder what the Iranians are thinking.

My brother's response to this was - Good and the Russians have the Terrorists home addresses. This could be just what we needed. I just wish that those kids did not have to die. It still makes me sick.

[George M]

Stop the boat!

Was not the responsibility to hold and try war criminals given back to the provisional Iraqi Government. Saddam may be guarded by U.S. troops, but his trial will be the responsibility of the provisional Iraqi Government.

[Ray D.]

@ Kees,

I am not suggesting we all join the Society for Threatened Peoples International or even saying that we agree with them on other issues. I DO think that they have a legitimate point on this particular issue and that this entire story is quite shocking.

---Ray D.

It will be interesting to see just how the franco-German-Russian alliance holds up after this change of attitude by the Russians.

I am sure the french and Germans will drone on about

ROOT CAUSES

This is just a way for them to say we are girly men and can do nothing.

Al-Sadi

This is an interesting case of Gerhart flip-flopping. He must be closer to Kerry than we all realize.

If I recall one of the “demands” of the franco-German axis was for there to be sovereignty in Iraq. Of course, most people realize, the exceptions being the German elites, the french and some democrats, that Iraq is not Switzerland. So sovereignty must be established in stages.

> I will not take this opportunity to discuss sovereignty in Iraq as compared to sovereignty in Germany. It would appear that Iraq is trying to gain theirs at the same time Germany is trying to give theirs away to the EU. <

The US did hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis. Were not the elites in Germany paying attention?

The fate of Al Sadi is now in the hands of the Iraqi government. If there is to be a jury trial I do hope there are Kurds who are members. I am sure Al Sadi will be judged fairly.

Gerhart needs to take a clear position on this issue.

[Pato]

@all
Ah, so the german govt has cried for Iraqi sovereignity, while 13 german mayors march to Washington to ask for US troops to stay adding about up to 60 year duration now.
I can easily assume what that says to the world about germany. Furthermore- watching these pompous idiots from france grandstanding and embracing the terrorists in iraq while trying to find anyone to except their ransom money...and with germany looking for preferential treatment of a cowardly human scum whose purchase of german gas made him a hero to the german defense industry, it is safe to say that now more than ever, the duplicity, and cunning and blind diplomacy of both these countries is highly indicative of a pair who are embracing those that the US is trying to fight. Germany- you are through with any "allaince" with the US. 60 years of relations built up by sweat, blood and money of US men and woman- all tossed away by a chestnut trussed little prik whsoe sense of world realities is similiar to an 11 yr old child's.
This piece of intellectual waste named schroeder should have addressed his request to free the gas dude to the Iraqi interim governemnt, However, he simply knew the Iraqis would laugh at his insane request.

[Gabi]

CDU/CSU - 08.09.04: Distanzierung vom Terror durch freiwillige Selbstverpflichtungen

Meldung der Bundestagsfraktion:
Distanzierung vom Terror durch freiwillige Selbstverpflichtungen - Aufruf an alle friedlichen Muslime begrüßt

Zu Forderungen, Muslime sollten sich von Terror distanzieren, erklären der innenpolitische Sprecher der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion, Hartmut Koschyk MdB, der Obmann der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion im Innenausschuss, Thomas Strobl MdB, und die zuständige Berichterstatterin, Kristina Köhler MdB:

Wir begrüßen den Aufruf an alle friedlichen Muslime in unserem Land, sich klar vom Terrorismus zu distanzieren. Eine Abgrenzung von muslimischen Terroristen liegt sowohl im Interesse unserer muslimischen Mitbürger als auch im Interesse aller Deutschen.

Wir sind aber der Auffassung, dass es für eine solche Abgrenzung nicht nur den Weg einer öffentlichen Distanzierung geben sollte. Nach unserer Auffassung muss auch die Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Sicherheitsbehörden und den muslimischen Organisationen verbessert und institutionalisiert werden. Muslimische Organisationen und Moscheen sollten sich freiwillig selbst verpflichten, die Sicherheitsbehörden beim Kampf gegen islamistische Aktivitäten zu unterstützen und etwaige Umtriebe in den eigenen Reihen zu melden. Solche freiwilligen Selbstverpflichtungen dienten nicht nur den Zielen der Strafverfolgung und Prävention, sondern sie beförderten darüber hinaus auch die Diskussionen der Muslime untereinander über das Verhältnis zu unserer Verfassung und zum islamistischen Terrorismus. Dies wäre ein wichtiger Beitrag dazu, Transparenz und Vertrauen zwischen den Zuwanderern muslimischen Glaubens und der vorwiegend christlichen deutschen Bevölkerung zu schaffen.

Wir werden dieses Ziel weiter aktiv verfolgen. Am 20. September wird der Innenausschuss auf Antrag der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion eine öffentliche Anhörung zu dem Gesamtthema "Islamistische Einflüsse auf die Gesellschaft und ihre Auswirkungen auf Integration und Sicherheit" durchführen.

[leo (dissident view from Berlin)]

When it walks like damage-control, looks like damage-control and quacks like damage-control then it is ...

"Leading the honor roll of chemical agents and production equipment suppliers (in this case nerve gas precursors and manufacturing) to Iraq is the German firm Preussag, now a subsidiary of Europe's largest travel agent and tour operator TUI - happy holidays! And Preussag has long been a firm dear to Schroeder's heart. In early 1998, when Schroeder was running for re-election as prime minister of the state of Lower Saxony which he had governed for eight years, he had the state buy 51 percent of Preussag's troubled steel division to the tune of US$500 million, claiming that 12,000 jobs were at stake. It was a characteristic Schroeder move: he knew that the Social Democrats would appoint him chancellor's candidate if he won in Lower Saxony. Win he did - first in Hannover, later in 1998 at the federal level to become chancellor. What did he know about the Preussag conglomerate's Iraq poison gas dealings? Don't ask."

Mark Erikson, Asia Times: Germany's leading role in arming Iraq

[Kees Rudolf]

@Ray,
I fully agree. The Society for Threatened Peoples International deserves our full support on this issue, and mr. Zuelch's open letter is entirely to the point. By chance I had read just before reading this indeed quite shocking story a comment from Niko (in the discussion following your posting on Germany's girlie-men) on what opinions or suggestions this Society for Threatened Peoples is advancing about Chechnya and terrorism. I tend to agree with Niko that these opinions -to put it mildly- are rather dubious. But this observation is only an illustration of the obvious truth that people who are sometimes right can be sometimes wrong and vice versa.

[Don]

Well, Al-Sadi surely has impeccable references from a pile of German industrialists - not to mention his German wife. The guy is surely a great humanitarian!

I wonder whether Schroeder's office asked the Kurds what their opinion of this great man is?

[Joe N.]

Trish:

You and bro are right. I'm sure the Bundesregeirung is as worried about the PR failure than the next actual step. They are going to have to make a move not to alienate the Russians, because somewhere back in their minds, their economic future is hitched to Russia.

I think they're looking for a face-saving way to go participate, or appear to seriously participate in the war on terror. At this point they might stop letting the population lead the debate, and perhaps, *perhaps* start to advance reasons with a sense of urgency - to support some 'pest eradication'.

[Joe N.]

Maybe I'm just 'projecting' here, but the SPD might realize that their days are numbered - they might make a desperate move - a kind of 'Hail Mary Pass', and reverse their policy on the WoT. They know that it would also represent a tacit nod to GWB, but if they can see the threat at home, one that is close, their anti-Bush hangup may matter less.

Allright - i'm projecting.

@ Ray,
I agree with the content of the open letter to Schroeder by the Society for Threatened Peoples International, but otherwise they are complete fruit cakes.

[Ray D.]

As I mentioned, we think they (the Society for Threatened Peoples International) are right on this particular issue. I haven't looked into their stands on other issues and frankly I don't plan on doing so as it is not relevant in any way to the post.

The issue here is Schroeder calling for the release of a war criminal. I think that the main-stream media in Germany ought to report on this, but knowing them, they probably won't. That is the crux of the matter.

---Ray D.

[Joe N.]

They are right on this one - and they do seem like a lot of people whos' hearts are in the right place, but a little moon-batty.

They put themselves in a bit of a bind. Once you establish a standard for who you want freed, you have to extend it to all persons in equavalent situations.

Which brings us to Schroeder - he's setting his standard right now. Next might be Tariq Aziz or 'El Jefe' himself if he's placed in the wrong political pinch.

[Don]

Any news on what Schroeder is more concerned about, Darfur or Al-Sadi?

[Andjam]

Oh no! The Americans may have ways of making him talk!

Hi Ray,
Well at least the people in Mannheim are going to know about the letter to Schroeder. I posted the letter im "Mannheimer Morgen". It is just a regional paper but there are 500.000.00 people living there. May be it will do some good. But I have not much hope.

[Pato]

...some day we may just see Schroeder on the end of a dog leash, dragged through the hills of bavaria by local exiled Kurds as penalty for his defense of an Iraqi gas dude who had propped up germany's dying economy with his purchases.
@joen I agree with the your post and forcast above. schrieder WILL try the "I am NOW for the WOT.." as a last ditch attempt to save his pathetic ass. Now- lets just hope he hears a resounding "NO THANKS AHOLE, IT'S TOO LATE" from all in the US.

I would like to tell the story of another Iraqi married to a German woman.

It's about Ibrahim al-Basrawi, the former doctor of Saddam Hussain (May be you heard his life story in German media)

He studied in Former GDR and married to a german woman. He came back in the seventies and worked as personal physican for Saddam Hussain. For he refused to work in the "Iraqi Parlament", he was sentenced to death and got life imprisonment. Well, that's part one. Part two is that his German wife was also imprisoned for being married with an "enemy" (something she couldn't know at the time of marriage), but that doesn't bother a system whick kills children in front of his parents' eye to force them to "confess".

Well, the German wife had a German passport and was imprisoned during the 90's. I didn't see a Chancellor or Peacenick or any German politican who helped that woman. That's the way the state treats its citizien.

Of course, for all of us, after reading this, the commitment of Schröder for Mr. Sadi, who could flee out of Iraq like 5 Million other fellow men and women, is amazing.