Amer Mohammad Rashid

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
  1. List established pursuant to security council resolution 1483 (2003)
  2. "Iraq's 'Missile Man' surrenders to U.S.", CBC News, published April 29, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  3. "Iraq's 'Dr Germ' detained", BBC News, published May 12, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  4. Zucco, Tom. "Troops dealt an old tool", The St. Petersburg Times, published April 12, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  5. Agence France-Presse. "Stop producing extra oil: Iraq tells Arabs", published March 25, 2003, accessed March 21, 2007.
  6. http://www.charlesduelfer.com/blog/?p=64
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