May 23) - Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, is considering surrendering to U.S. forces, but so far has been reluctant to do so because of a tough negotiating posture by the U.S. government, according to a third party with knowledge of the discussions.

U.S. officials in Washington had no comment.

Uday Hussein, who is hiding in a Baghdad, Iraq, suburb, wants to know what the charges against him will be, and the process for interrogation and custody, the person familiar with the discussions said. He is working through intermediaries. U.S. officials don't seem especially interested in cutting a deal, because they assume Uday will be caught sooner or later, the person said.

Uday was commander of Iraq's feared paramilitary unit known as the Saddam Fedayeen, and he was also chairman of the Iraqi Olympic Committee. He is No. 3 on the coalition's most-wanted list, after his father and his brother, Qusay.

Uday fears that Iraqi citizens will kill him if they find him, and may instead choose the safety of a U.S. prison, the person said, adding that Uday frequently changes his mind about surrendering. "He doesn't have good choices," the person said.

In surrenders negotiated so far, it appears the U.S. has given no guarantees regarding prosecution and sentencing. In some cases, it has offered to protect family members of those in custody, who fear reprisals from Hussein loyalists. Some are being offered help in leaving Iraq.

Thursday, U.S. forces took into custody Aziz Salih al-Numan, who was No. 8 on the most-wanted list. He was the Iraqi governor during the 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait, and is also accused of having been involved in the torture and killing of rebels during a 1991 Shiite uprising in the south of Iraq. He is the highest-ranking Iraqi official now in custody, and is one of nine top leaders whom the U.S. wants to see tried for war crimes. So far, 25 of the top 55 most-wanted Iraqis are in coalition custody.

Saddam Hussein is also alive and in suburban Baghdad, the person familiar with Uday's surrender discussions said he has been told by a Saddam relative. He added that the deposed leader is in questionable mental health. The U.S. government has asked intermediaries for help in finding him or negotiating a surrender, but this person knows of no progress.

Before Tariq Aziz, Iraq's former deputy prime minister, surrendered, he told his family and others that Mr. Hussein's sons took more than $1 billion in gold from Iraq's central bank, the person said. It has already been reported that the sons took more than $1 billion in cash.

Copyright © 2003 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Quoted:
Fuck him, feed him fish.