Tariq Aziz, the Eight of Spades, has died in an Iraqi hospital. He was 79.
The smooth, debonair diplomat Aziz was the international face of Saddam’s regime, and the only Christian; he joined the Ba’ath Party in 1957 to help Saddam overthrow the British-installed monarchy. He was sentenced to Death by Hanging in 2010 for his role in the regime, but was spared by Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, a result of the Vatican’s appeal for mercy.
To be honest, I’m not quite sure whether I should feel closure that a member of Saddam’s inner cabal has left us, or whether sadness is in order, due to his religious upbringing…also if he had reconciled with God Almighty (and NOT Allah!) first.
In any case, he is gone. Pray for his family, which apparently is still Christian.