Don't leave Iraq to wolves: Saddam aide to US

Warning that demise of Iraq would be catastrophic, the jailed close aide of Saddam Hussein has appealed to United States President Barack Obama not to leave his nation to 'wolves.'

Tariq Aziz, former deputy prime minister and international face of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein wants the US Commander-in-Chief not to leave Iraq.

"He (Obama) cannot leave us like this. He is leaving Iraq to the wolves," Aziz, 74, now serving a 15-year jail term for 'crimes against humanity,' said.

"When you make a mistake, you need to correct a mistake, not leave Iraq to it's death," Tariq Aziz said, in perhaps a surprising request to Obama, whom he initially welcomed as a clean break from George W Bush, the British newspaper Guardian reported.

Slamming the planned withdrawal of US forces from the country, the former Iraqi foreign minister said both US and Britain had an obligation to make sure Iraq was back on its feet before exiting.

Charging that US and UK had killed Iraq, Aziz said Iraq was in utter devastation today. "There is nothing here anymore," adding, the wolves are waiting to devour us, apparently hinting at diverse elements now active in the country.

Aziz, who was handed over to Iraqi authorities by the US several months ago, still refuses to condemn his former boss -- Saddam Hussein -- who was executed in December 2006.

On the contrary, he spoke well of him when he commented that, "For 30 years Saddam built Iraq, and now it is destroyed. It is more sick than before, more hungry. People don't have services. People are being killed in hundreds daily. We are all victims of America and Britain. They killed our country."

But nevertheless Aziz refused to pass judgement on his former boss saying this would have to wait till his freedom comes.

"If I speak now about regrets, people will view me as an opportunist. I will not speak against Saddam until I am a free man. Wisdom is part of freedom," he said in an interview to the paper allowed by Iraqi authorities in jail premises.

In the wide-ranging interview, the first since his surfacing after surrendering to US troops, the former Iraqi foreign minister said Saddam never had any secret weapons programme.

He claimed that impressions given otherwise by the old regime was to deter Iraq's greatest enemy Iran. "Partially, it was about Iran (the deterrent factor). They has waged a war on us for eight years so we Iraqis had a right to deter them."

"Now Iran is building a weapons programme. Everybody knows it and nobody is doing anything. Why ?" he said

Aziz also claimed he had tried to persuade Saddam against attacking Kuwait. "I asked Saddam Hussein not to invade Kuwait, but I had to support the decision of the majority," he said

Image: File picture of former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz   Photograph: Reuters