The Iraq war version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has its first big winner. The US state department yesterday announced that the person who led the American military to Uday and Qusay Hussein will receive a $30-million reward.
The White House spokesperson Richard Boucher said that the sum of $30-million — $15-million for each brother — was the highest ever paid under the state department’s ”reward for justice” programme. He said that there was still $25-million on offer for information leading to the capture or death of Saddam Hussein.
The Hussein brothers were killed last week after a firefight lasting four hours at a villa in the northern city of Mosul. Photos of their dead bodies were published to convince sceptical Iraqis that the pair had indeed been killed.
The state department did not name the recipient as a matter of policy. But, in the tradition of pools winners and lottery millionaires, helpful neighbours have already fingered Sheik Nawaf al-Zaidan. He and his family decamped from his home, the house where the brothers were found, on the morning of the shoot-out. They have not been seen since.
The money can be paid as a wire transfer, a deposit or even cash, a state department spokesperson said yesterday. If the lucky recipient wants to identify himself, thereby discovering all the relatives he never knew he had and reuniting with long-lost friends, that is up to him, she added.
The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, still has to officially ratify the payment but this is a formality.
The recommendation to pay the full $15-million for each son was made by the defence department earlier this week. Part of their calculation may be the knowledge that news of a jackpot payout on the brothers could prompt a tip-off on Saddam himself.
Whether the winner of the payout will choose to remain in Iraq or head for the United States is unclear. If he chooses to leave, he would receive assistance in resettling from the state department. – Guardian Unlimited Â