AP - By GREG MYRE
 18/01/2001

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- President Saddam Hussein has never so much as hinted at
relinquishing power, but when Iraqis speak in hushed tones about a possible successor, the
focus turns to his two very different sons: the flamboyant, scandal-plagued Odai, and the
discreet, seldom-seen Qusai.

At Saddam's direction, his sons have assumed increasingly prominent roles, creating a
widespread but unspoken belief that he'll eventually designate one as his political heir.

But which one?

Odai, 36, who has a reputation as a womanizer with a violent temper, seemed a strong
candidate before he was badly injured in 1996 by attackers who raked him and his red
Porsche with automatic gunfire on a Baghdad street.

Qusai, 34, -- who is so low-key that most Iraqis wouldn't recognize him -- now holds far
more important posts. He runs the Republican Guards, the country's best-trained and
equipped troops, and handles the elite Special Security Organization that protects his father.

Saddam wants to keep power in the family, rather than allow it to pass to his Baath Party,
said one source who closely follows Iraqi politics. Qusai, with his leading role in the security
forces, has the upper hand, though Saddam hasn't explicitly revealed his choice, the source
added.

By all accounts, the sons inherited ambition and ruthlessness from their father, though Odai
and Qusai's public personalities are polar opposites.

Tales of Odai's excesses are legion. He beat to death a presidential bodyguard at a 1988
party on an island in the Tigris River in one widely reported incident. In another, he shot an
uncle in the leg during an argument at a 1995 soiree.

Odai's former body double and his ex-secretary both defected to Europe with lurid tales of
his rampages. The secretary, Abbas al-Janabi, told The Associated Press in 1998 that he
witnessed his former boss kill four men and torture others.

Odai has denied the allegations. Today, when critical stories appear in newspapers outside
Iraq, Odai's paper Babil reprints them verbatim -- but places a question mark above the
article.

He regularly writes anti-American editorials in his paper and appears comfortable speaking
before television cameras.

The Americans "did not accomplish what they wanted (in the Gulf War), and the
international arena has changed since 1991. Superpowers back in
1991 are not the same now," he said at a recent session of parliament, where he's a member.

Odai won 99.99 percent of the vote in his constituency last year when he ran for a seat in the
rubber stamp parliament. Some had wondered whether he would bring new attention to the
assembly, but he rarely attends its meetings.

Odai, who's several inches taller than his father, is partial to leather jackets and open-neck
collars, and is one of the relatively few Iraqis who wears a beard, or several days worth of
the kind of stubble a Western movie star might sport.

While Odai's exploits are gossip fodder, Qusai's image is that of a powerful
behind-the-scenes figure who shuns publicity. In a country obsessed with security, his
position speaks volumes of his father's trust.

Qusai's job also directly ties him to the repeated violent crackdowns against dissidents, real
or suspected, say Iraqi exiles and human rights groups.

Qusai, who is much shorter than his father, sports the ubiquitous Saddam-style mustache, is
never quoted in newspapers and Iraqis can't recall ever having heard his voice on television.

In contrast to Odai, who is divorced and retains a reputation for promiscuity, Qusai wed the
daughter of a senior military commander and the couple has three sons and a quiet private
life.

There are no visible signs of sibling rivalry, according to Iraqi political analysts. However,
fierce jealousies have turned into lethal feuds among Saddam's assorted relatives elevated to
important posts during his more than three decades in power.

"Some people look at the government as a family system, but that's not true," insisted A.K.
Hashimi, a senior figure in the Baath Party. "The government has too many functions to be
run by a single family."

Saddam's sons "have some responsibilities, but if they are qualified, why
shouldn't they have these positions?" he said.

Outside Iraq, the United States calls for Saddam's ouster and has attempted, with no apparent
success, to forge a viable opposition among Iraqi dissidents.

But Saddam has different plans. The rise of his sons marks the first sign of a younger
generation holding prominent positions in a land where Saddam, 63, surrounds himself with
long-serving aides mostly in their 60s.

Saddam's health is a taboo subject in Iraq, but Odai's recuperation from his shooting has
been well documented, including recent televised footage of him riding a horse. He also
maintains his high profile through Youth TV, a station specializing in pirated Hollywood
movies such as "Charlie's Angels."

And Odai also has a paramilitary force called "Saddam's Commandos," though it's better
known for bizarre antics than military prowess. Members wear black masks and have been
shown on television butchering cats, dogs and wolves and then eating the raw meat.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com