Amer Mohammad Rashid al-Ubaidi (Arabic: عامر محمد رشيد العبيدي; born 1939 in Baghdad)[1] served as Oil Minister under Saddam Hussein. A former general in Iraq's army, he also advised Hussein on other matters, and was sometimes referred to as "Missile Man" in reference to his expertise with weapons delivery systems.[2] He is the husband of Dr. Rihab Taha (a.k.a. "Dr. Germ"), a microbiologist active in research into the production of bioweapons.[3] Iraqi government news sources indicated that he retired from his positions in 2002, at the age of 65.[2]
Rashid was the six of spades in the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards issued by the United States during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[4] After the invasion commenced, he issued a public statement calling for other Arab nations to decrease oil production, in order "to make the cost of war high for the Americans."[5] American troops raided his Baghdad home on April 14, 2003 in an effort to take him and his wife into custody, but both evaded capture.[3] He surrendered to coalition forces on April 28, 2003,[2] and his wife surrendered on May 10, 2003.[3]
Rashid was quietly released in April 2012.[6]
References
- ^ List established pursuant to security council resolution 1483 (2003)
- ^ a b c "Iraq's 'Missile Man' surrenders to U.S.", CBC News, published April 29, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Iraq's 'Dr Germ' detained", BBC News, published May 12, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
- ^ Zucco, Tom. "Troops dealt an old tool", The St. Petersburg Times, published April 12, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
- ^ Agence France-Presse. "Stop producing extra oil: Iraq tells Arabs", published March 25, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
- ^ http://www.charlesduelfer.com/blog/?p=64