Peter Arnett Exclusive In Playboy's April Issue Arnett's "Blood and Betrayal" Article Recounts How Uday Hussein, Saddam's Eldest Son, Planned a Revolution that Nearly Changed the Fate of Iraq NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- In "Blood and Betrayal," an article in the April issue of Playboy magazine (on newsstands Monday, March 7), Peter Arnett reports for the first time prewar Iraq's internal power struggle and the secret insurrection plans of Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday. The article is the result of an 18-month investigation that began the last week of March 2003 as bombs fell on Baghdad. By piecing together hundreds of pages of Uday's private documents and interviewing dozens of sources who were close to Saddam's firstborn, most of whom have never before spoken to a reporter, Arnett presents a surprising new take on the would-be dictator. Following are selected passages from "Blood and Betrayal" that reveal much that was unknown about the regime's final days: -- THE SECRET INSURRECTION PLANS: "Uday Hussein was the biggest proponent of regime change inside Iraq. During the previous 10 years, he had slowly assembled the elements of power-media, military and political management-designed to overthrow his tyrannical father." -- THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: "Uday's continued family meddling brought about the biggest internal crisis the regime had ever faced. New information suggests that Saddam gave the go-ahead for a terrible punishment to be inflicted on his errant offspring." -- MAKING THE FEDAYEEN HIS OWN: Shortly before his death, Uday received a top-secret letter from the commander of the Saddam Fedayeen backing Uday in a coup d'etat. The letter proved that "Uday and his plotters were the real authority in the shrinking domain of Baathist Iraq." -- UDAY'S POWER TRIP: "His national soccer players had to win every major game to avoid a beating from his henchmen. His TV anchors would wind up in jail for presenting a routine news item that Uday did not like. A teenage girl had to surrender her virginity if she caught Uday's eye, and his eye roved constantly. They all complied with Uday's demands. To demur was to invite unpleasant physical retaliation." DATASOURCE: Playboy CONTACT: Lauren Melone, +1-212-261-5000, or Theresa Hennessey, +1-312-373-2444, both of Playboy

Copyright