May not start.. Saddam may run away...
--------------------------------
Saddam's diamond-buying spree suggests he may flee
London, Mar 9 (ANI): Saddam Hussein's personal jeweller has been in
Thailand on a secret mission to buy millions of dollars' worth of
diamonds, according to a report in The Sunday Times. The trip has
prompted speculation that the Iraqi leader may be planning to flee
or to send his family into hiding.
Quoting "sources with knowledge of the trip", the report says the
jeweller travelled to Bangkok via Jordan and bought the diamonds in
the Thai capital in a pre-arranged deal. This was his second trip,
Saddam's son Uday having sent him there three months ago to buy a
ring from an American dealer for 750,000 dollars, the report
adds.
Saddam has been a perennial member of Forbes magazine's list of the
world's richest people. Before the 1991 Gulf War he was said to be
worth 10 billion dollars, but that estimate has now been reduced to
2 billion dollars, following sanctions imposed by the United
Nations on Iraq.
Since the Gulf War he has not left the country, and only a week ago
he declared in a defiant address that he would never desert in the
event of war. But if, as reported, he is converting some of his
fortune into jewels that can be transported easily, he may not mean
what he says. (ANI)
