Ali Hassan al-Majid: Difference between revisions

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Al-Majid was born in either 1941 or 1943. He is a first cousin of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whose father, Husayn al-Majid, was the brother of Ali's father, Hasan al-Majid. Both Saddam and Ali Hasan al-Majid were born in al-Awja, Iraq, a village near the city of Takrit. They both hail from Sunni Arab families from the al-Bejat clan, which is part of the larger al-Bu Nasir tribe.

Unlike his cousin, al-Majid served in the Iraqi army. By the late 1960s, he was a motorcycle messenger and member of the Ba'th Party. When a 17 July 1968 coup toppled the government and brought the Ba'th into power in Iraq, a distant relative of al-Majid, General [[~~Ahmad~~ Hasan al-Bakr]], became the new president. However, real power in the new regime lay in the hands of Saddam and the Ba'th Party security services that he oversaw. In 1980, Saddam appointed al-Majid, who had been promoted to general in the army, as the head of the General Security Service—thus making him one of the most powerful men in Iraq. He eventually was chosen as the director of the Revolutionary Command Council, the regime's top consultative body.

Unlike his cousin, al-Majid served in the Iraqi army. By the late 1960s, he was a motorcycle messenger and member of the Ba'th Party. When a 17 July 1968 coup toppled the government and brought the Ba'th into power in Iraq, a distant relative of al-Majid, General [[Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr]], became the new president. However, real power in the new regime lay in the hands of Saddam and the Ba'th Party security services that he oversaw. In 1980, Saddam appointed al-Majid, who had been promoted to general in the army, as the head of the General Security Service—thus making him one of the most powerful men in Iraq. He eventually was chosen as the director of the Revolutionary Command Council, the regime's top consultative body.

It was his close family ties to Saddam that underlay al-Majid's power and position in Iraq. This was in keeping with Saddam's policy of placing family members, members of his extended tribe, and other Sunni Arabs from the Takrit area in the regime's most important positions. Al-Majid retained the post of head of the General Security Service until 1987, one of the few individuals Saddam allowed to head that or any other sensitive agency for a long period of time. Despite this, al-Majid later confessed that he still feared Saddam, who had done away with close relatives before when he distrusted them.

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 Al-Majid was born in either 1941 or 1943. He is a first cousin of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whose father, Husayn al-Majid, was the brother of Ali's father, Hasan al-Majid. Both Saddam and Ali Hasan al-Majid were born in al-Awja, Iraq, a village near the city of Takrit. They both hail from Sunni Arab families from the al-Bejat clan, which is part of the larger al-Bu Nasir tribe.
-Unlike his cousin, al-Majid served in the Iraqi army. By the late 1960s, he was a motorcycle messenger and member of the Ba'th Party. When a 17 July 1968 coup toppled the government and brought the Ba'th into power in Iraq, a distant relative of al-Majid, General [[Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr]], became the new president. However, real power in the new regime lay in the hands of Saddam and the Ba'th Party security services that he oversaw. In 1980, Saddam appointed al-Majid, who had been promoted to general in the army, as the head of the General Security Service—thus making him one of the most powerful men in Iraq. He eventually was chosen as the director of the Revolutionary Command Council, the regime's top consultative body.
+Unlike his cousin, al-Majid served in the Iraqi army. By the late 1960s, he was a motorcycle messenger and member of the Ba'th Party. When a 17 July 1968 coup toppled the government and brought the Ba'th into power in Iraq, a distant relative of al-Majid, General [[Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr]], became the new president. However, real power in the new regime lay in the hands of Saddam and the Ba'th Party security services that he oversaw. In 1980, Saddam appointed al-Majid, who had been promoted to general in the army, as the head of the General Security Service—thus making him one of the most powerful men in Iraq. He eventually was chosen as the director of the Revolutionary Command Council, the regime's top consultative body.
 It was his close family ties to Saddam that underlay al-Majid's power and position in Iraq. This was in keeping with Saddam's policy of placing family members, members of his extended tribe, and other Sunni Arabs from the Takrit area in the regime's most important positions. Al-Majid retained the post of head of the General Security Service until 1987, one of the few individuals Saddam allowed to head that or any other sensitive agency for a long period of time. Despite this, al-Majid later confessed that he still feared Saddam, who had done away with close relatives before when he distrusted them.