Uday
Uday
There is an idyllic garden island in the middle of the Tigris River called the Mother of Pigs. After taking power, Saddam took over and reserved it's use for members of his inner circle. Saddam's food taster and head procurer, Kamel Hannah Jajo, has one of the most elegant villas. Unfortunately for him, his next door neighbor was Uday Hussein. In November 1988, Jajo threw a party on the island and invited the cream of Baghdad society. The guest of honor was the wife of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
Quasay was invited. Uday, pointedly, was not. All night, Uday brooded, listening to the party only yards away. He downed tumbler after tumbler of Cognac and whiskey while fiddling with a battery-powered knife called a Magic Wand. When Jajo shot his AK-47 into the air- a form of celebration commonly known as Arab fireworks- Uday had had enough.
"Tell that son of a whore to stop" he instructed his guards. They returned with Jajo's reply "He says he only takes orders from the President" Enraged, Uday charged into the party next door, waving the Magic Wand. Jajo stood on a table, gun in hand. "Get Down!!!" Uday screamed. "I obey only the President" the old man repeated.
Uday went berserk, slashing the man's throat with the electric blade. Jajo crumbled. Uday took out his own pistol and shot his father's aide in the chest, killing him instantly.
Uday immediately realized he had crossed the line. He ran into his house and locked himself in the bathroom. His bodyguards came after him and pounded on the door, begging him to come out, Terrified, Uday swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. When the guards broke through the doors,Uday threw up the pills all over their shoes.
Saddam hurried to the scene from the palace in slippers. The dictator confronted the woozy, cowering Uday in his upstairs bedroom. "If you're found guilty of murder," Saddam promised, "you will dies like any other criminal."
Investigators, sensing Saddam's anger subsiding, found Uday innocent of all charges. Saddam ordered Uday to Switzerland until the scandal died down.
Saddam had had enough. He ordered Qusay to investigate Uday's shady buisness dealings. It was exactly the break Qusay had been waiting for. "Qusay is a very cruel person" says Amatzia Baram, an Iraqi specialist at the University of Haifa. For years he's been gearing himself to become number one".
Qusay peeled away the layers of Uday's corruption. It's true depths came to light when Saddam toured Uday's garages in a multi-story fortress. As Saddam strolled the immaculate , polished concrete floor rooms, he found a fleet of 30 Mercedes, plus Ferraris, Lambourghini Countachs, silver Maserati turbos, Jaguars, and dozens of Porsches. The centerpiece of the fleet was a Mercedes 500 fitted with a huge Rolls-Royce engine.
Saddam turned to his retinue. "Torch them" he commanded. As Saddam strolled to his waiting motorcade, his son Uday 's priceless toys exploded inside the garage.
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