May 20, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424

BAGHDAD, May 19: Saddam Hussein is hiding in Iraq with a small group, probably including his sons, and issuing orders to trusted supporters as he plots a return to power, according to former Iraqi generals returned from exile.

The generals, who were in exile for years and now play a key role in working with US forces to purge the Iraqi public service and security apparatus of Saddam die-hards, said the deposed president had ordered a name-change for his Baath party.

Major-General Tawfiq al-Yassiri told Reuters that Saddam had changed its name in the last few days to “Auda”, meaning return.

“Saddam used his authority as the secretary-general of the party. He is hiding with a small group that probably includes his two sons,” said Yassiri, who helped lead a rebellion against Saddam in 1991.

Saddam was trying to spread chaos in Iraq, which is now under the control of the US forces that ousted him last month after three weeks of war.

“Saddam Hussein prepared for every eventuality, including the total collapse of his regime. He does not leave anything to chance and has ample means of communication,” Yassiri said.

“He uses different tools at his disposal to issue orders for his followers to spread chaos.”

The general said most old Baath leaders were gone, but a new generation, including sons of the old guard, was helping Saddam.

Iraqi Major-General Saad Obeidi, a psychological warfare specialist now working with US forces, said Saddam’s success would depend on how the US-installed administration ran Iraq.

“Time has always been the backbone of Saddam’s strategy. He is a man who knows the psychology and sociology of Iraq. The looting and disorder we see now fall in his favour,” said Obeidi, a psychological warfare specialist.

“Americans have to act fast. People will forget all about the Baath Party if order and prosperity return.”

The Baath party, whose name means resurrection, was founded in Damascus in the 1940s by three Arabs educated at the Sorbonne university in Paris. It came to power in Iraq in 1968 and used force to crush all opposition.

Speculation about the whereabouts of Saddam and sons Qusay and Uday has swirled since Baghdad fell. Several top aides are in US custody and Washington has said it is confident he will be found if he is still alive.—Reuters