Peter Arnett Exclusive In Playboy's April Issue
March 03 2005 - 11:23AM
PR Newswire (US)
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
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