Saddam's diamond-buying spree suggests he may flee

Saddam Hussein's personal jeweller has been in Thailand on a secret mission to buy millions of dollars' worth of diamonds, according to a report in The Sunday Times. The trip has prompted speculation that the Iraqi leader may be planning to flee or to send his family into hiding.

Quoting "sources with knowledge of the trip", the report says the jeweller travelled to Bangkok via Jordan and bought the diamonds in the Thai capital in a pre-arranged deal. This was his second trip, Saddam's son Uday having sent him there three months ago to buy a ring from an American dealer for 750,000 dollars, the report adds.

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[Mike]

Wow, he is liquidating his money fast! A $750k ring? He can send some of that cash my way...

Saddam's worth an estimated $20 Billion. He's got this money in all sorts of front companies, Swiss accounts, and so on. This is a small purchase and probably a routine one. He's had plenty of time and opportunity to errrr....arrange his finances in case he has to leave in a hurry.