April 24 — Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is believed to have surrendered to U.S. authorities, ABCNEWS has learned. Aziz was last reported to be in Baghdad. Intermediaries for Aziz had been talking to U.S. officials about conditions for a surrender on Wednesday, intelligence sources told ABCNEWS.
In the deck of playing cards picturing 55 former Iraqi leaders wanted by the United States, Aziz was the eight of spades.
Icon of the Old Regime
With his Groucho Marx appearance, Aziz was probably the most familiar face of Saddam Hussein's regime other than Saddam himself, and one of the longest-lasting as well.
Aziz became familiar to Western television viewers as Iraq's foreign minister and Baghdad's de-facto spokesman during the first Gulf War. He was most recently deputy prime minister, but perhaps his most remarkable feat was surviving as an adviser to Saddam for more than 20 years.
His ties to Saddam went back to the founding of the Baath Party in the 1950s, and he played a key role in many of the most important moments in Iraq's history. He enlisted U.S. aid during the Iran-Iraq war, and also forged ties with the Soviet Union.
Aziz's background was unique among Saddam's inner circle. He came from a Christian family from Mosul in northern Iraq, and from humble circumstances — his father was a waiter.
Some attributed his survival to his lack of a power base in Iraq, which meant he presented no threat to Saddam. You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
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