U.S. believes 'Chemical Ali' gives orders

WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence indicates at least one of Saddam Hussein's top deputies is alive and is commanding some of Iraq's military efforts.

But senior Bush administration officials said Saturday there was no intelligence that would conclusively determine whether Saddam or his sons, Qusai and Odai, were alive, dead or wounded.

State-run Iraqi television reported that Saddam held two meetings Saturday with senior government members and Qusai Hussein, who had been regarded as his father's likely successor.

Video footage from the meetings was not shown during the initial broadcast. An evening report aired a brief clip showing Saddam chairing a meeting in a military uniform, but American officials said there was no way to tell whether the footage was current or taped before the war began.

One U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said one other high-level Iraqi leader was known to be alive: Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid al-Tikriti, known to his enemies as "Chemical Ali" for leading a deadly 1988 campaign in northern Iraq against rebellious Kurds that included chemical weapons attacks.

Ali Hassan was not thought to be present in the war's opening strike that was aimed at Saddam, the official said. Since the war began, he moves frequently but is still able to provide some direction to Iraqi military and security forces.

Described as one of Saddam's chief enforcers, Ali Hassan is believed to be commanding Iraqi military and security efforts in a large portion of southeastern Iraq. The Bush administration has said it wants Ali Hassan tried for war crimes.

The official also said that as of Saturday morning, the six fighting divisions of the veteran Republican Guard, most of which are guarding the approaches to Baghdad, appeared ready to fight.

Ali Hassan commands the southern sector facing U.S. and British troops in Kuwait. His 1988 campaign against rebels in northern Iraq, in which thousands of Kurds were killed, also earned him the monicker "butcher of the Kurds." He was linked to crackdowns on Shiites in southern Iraq as well.

Ali Hassan served as governor of Kuwait during Iraq's seven-month occupation of emirate in 1990-1991.