Iraqi prime minister wants two others executed with Chemical Ali

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government is refusing to execute the Saddam Hussein henchman and cousin known as "Chemical Ali" unless the death sentences of two other Saddam-era officials also are approved.

The dispute pits the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki against the three-member presidential council, which moved last week to block the two other executions in what was seen as a possible attempt to appease minority Sunni Arabs.

The standoff underscores the often unclear lines of authority in Iraq and is another blow to Iraq's beleaguered judicial system.

Already Wednesday, two former Health Ministry officials were released after being cleared on charges that they helped Shiite death squads operate by giving them access to hospitals and ambulances. There are widespread allegations of witness intimidation in those proceedings.

In the case of the executions, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a telephone interview that al-Maliki's administration would not take custody of al-Majid alone and that it wanted all three men.

The U.S. has custody of al-Majid as well as the two others, Hussein Rashid Mohammed, the former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces, and former defense minister Sultan Hashim al-Taie. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said Wednesday that no request had yet been made to turn al-Majid over to Iraqi authorities.

Last Friday, Iraq's three-member presidential council -- President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, along with the Sunni and Shiite vice presidents -- endorsed the death sentence of al-Majid, who earned the grim nickname "Chemical Ali" for gassing Kurd civilians during a brutal crackdown on their region in the 1980s.

The endorsement was thought to be the last step before carrying out al-Majid's sentence -- death by hanging -- within a month.

He and the two other Saddam deputies were condemned in June after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their part in the Kurdish campaign, known as Operation Anfal.

Al-Majid won little sympathy when his sentence was handed down, but al-Taie and Mohammed were seen by some as career soldiers who were just following orders.

Many Sunni Arabs thought al-Taie's sentence was evidence that Shiite and Kurdish officials were persecuting the nation's once-dominant minority. Saddam and many of his closest advisers were Sunnis.

Sunni leaders, including Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, launched a campaign to spare al-Taie, and the presidential council last week agreed not to execute either him or Mohammed.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, finds that unacceptable.

"The prime minister refuses to split the death sentences issued by the Iraqi High Tribunal," al-Dabbagh said.

"He wants them to be carried out together. He believes that the death sentences issued by the High Tribunal are irreversible and unchangeable and the (tribunal's) do not need the approval of the presidency council, which has no right to change the sentences."

It was not immediately clear what will happen if al-Majid is not executed within the month his sentence is supposed to be carried out, or if the presidential council will revisit the two other cases.

Al-Majid would be the fifth former regime official hanged for alleged atrocities during Saddam's nearly three-decade rule.

Nearly five years after Saddam was toppled in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, sectarian and insurgent violence persists.

But the bloodshed has been greatly reduced since early last year, and more attention is shifting to rebuilding and reconciliation -- even in northern Iraq provinces where al-Qaida in Iraq retains its strongest presence.

On Wednesday, local governors from Iraq's seven northern provinces aired out their complaints to Cabinet ministers in a rare meeting, held at a U.S. military base outside of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.

Strained connections between Iraq's national government and provinces have long kept the two at odds. Local authorities often gripe that Baghdad's bureaucracy and political procrastination have stalled economic growth.

Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq, said the timing of the effort is key: To sustain the security gains in Iraq, jobs must be created.

"I think we have six months to make a difference. This today is the starting point," Hertling said.

He gave a grim prediction if progress is not made. "I'm going to see more soldiers hurt and killed, and we're not going to be able to reduce the number of forces over here ... because there will be more people out there planting bombs and shooting at people."

During the meeting, Raad Rashid al-Tamimi, the governor of Diyala province listed his concerns: finishing a fuel distribution plant in Baqouba, increasing electricity capacity and digging irrigation canals.

"We want to use the land but it's destroyed," al-Tamimi said of his fertile but sectarian and tribal violence-stricken province. "We want Diyala to return to being the country's breadbasket."

Other governors complained that security issues still made it difficult for their banks to get cash from the central banks, food ration cards are not delivered on time and corruption at all levels keeps tankers from delivering fuel.

In response, ministers and other Iraqi officials pledged to try to fix problems. Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, the highest-ranking Iraqi official at the meeting, said local authorities will get money and help from Baghdad, but they will be held accountable.

"These budgets must be spent according to procedure," he said.

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Johnson contributed to this report from Camp Speicher, Iraq.