Deck stacked with 'most wanted'
Associated Press
U.S. commanders will begin distributing a deck of cards to their troops in Iraq showing the faces of "55 individuals who may be pursued, killed or captured." Those include, from left, Saddam Hussein, his sons Qusai and Odai, and his secretary Abed Hameed Hmoud.
Los Angeles Times
DOHA, Qatar — The U.S. military is now in the playing card business. Game? It's 55-card pickup.
U.S. commanders will begin distributing a deck of cards to their troops in Iraq showing the faces of "55 individuals who may be pursued, killed or captured." Those include, from left, Saddam Hussein, his sons Qusai and Odai, and his secretary Abed Hameed Hmoud. Associated Press
Brig. Gen. Vince Brooks announced at a briefing yesterday that the armed forces will begin distributing a unique deck of cards to thousands of U.S. troops serving in Iraq. The cards feature pictures of "55 individuals who may be pursued, killed or captured," Brooks said.
A card deck consisting of 55 images of the "most wanted" Iraqi leaders is being distributed to U.S. troops on duty in Iraq. The U.S. military designed the deck.
Posters and handbills of a "most-wanted" list of leaders of Saddam Hussein's toppled regime also will be handed out.
In the card deck, Qusai Hussein is the ace of clubs. His brother, Odai, is the ace of hearts. The ace of spades is, of course, their father, Saddam.
Aside from the Hussein trio, there appears to be no pecking order of who is assigned to what pasteboard. The ace of diamonds, for instance, is Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, Iraq's presidential secretary. Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, perhaps the most recognizable Iraqi face other than Saddam, is the eight of spades.
The deck, sure to be an instant collector's item, does not contain the visage of Mohammed Said Sahaf, the Iraqi information minister who boasted of battlefield successes even as American troops were at the gates of Baghdad.
There is only one woman in the deck — Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, described as a scientist associated with weapons of mass destruction. All four queens are men.
The deck may also contain portraits of some Iraqi leaders who are dead.
"The population will probably confirm that for us," said Brooks. "The list does not exclude leaders who may already have been killed or captured."
