The New York Sun's Eli Lake has a big scoop about Jordanian King Abdullah:
WASHINGTON - Lawyers for Ahmad Chalabi are prepared to prove in an American court that Jordan's King Abdullah attempted to sell arms to Saddam Hussein in 1992 when he was only a prince and not heir to the throne.
A handwritten letter to Saddam from his late son Uday, dated February 9, 1992, lists prices for old Soviet military equipment and says that then-Prince Abdullah recommended Uday contact an intermediary identified as "Jack al-Khayyat," who could arrange the sale.
The letter says the proposal was made to Iraqi sources in Jordan through Mr. al-Khayyat. Prince Abdullah sought to import the equipment and then sell it to Iraq for cash payments. On offer were T-72 tanks for $50,000 a piece; MIG-29 fighter jets for $1,000,000 a piece; transport planes for between $200,000 and $300,000 apiece as well as troop carriers fitted with 100 mm cannons, and helicopters.
Saddam declined the sale, saying that his treasury was depleted, in a three-line note written at the end of the document.
It will be fascinating to see whether this story gets any legs.
Could this be why Abdullah has been complicit in the smear campaign against Ahmad Chalabi?
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:33 AM
