The Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, has split Iraq into four military divisions for the purposes of fending off any US-led invasion.
"The Revolutionary Command Council issued a decree today \ that forms four regional leaderships under President Saddam Hussein to take the necessary steps to repulse and destroy any foreign aggression . . . and securing the domestic front," the state Iraqi News Agency said.
The decree, numbered 61 and signed by Saddam, divides Iraq into four districts: northern Iraq, southern Iraq, central Iraq, and Baghdad and other areas to the north including Tikrit.
It appoints Saddam's younger son Qusay, supervisor of the elite Revolutionary Guards, in charge of Baghdad and some other central areas. The other leaders of the regions are the Revolutionary Command Council's deputy chairman Izzat Ibrahim for northern Iraq, council members Ali Hassan al-Majid for southern Iraq and Mizban Khodr al-Hadi for the central Euphrates area.
Saddam has retained personal control over Iraq's remaining missiles. The decree said every military chief would have under his command several armed forces divisions and Ba'ath Party militia branches.
"Each command of a region is in charge of defence affairs within its geographic boundaries and to lead and use all the financial, human, \ party organisation, the people and military division to confront any foreign aggression aimed at Iraq's sovereignty, independence and security as well as maintaining internal security."
The decree said the air force, air defence units and surface-to-surface missile units would remain under Saddam's direct command.
The command of other security services and Saddam's Fedayeen militia were kept in the hands of Saddam's elder son Uday, "but in the event of communication or transport cuts, these services and Saddam's Fedayeen will receive their orders from the commander of the region or his aides".
The men appointed are among Saddam's most loyal acolytes.
Qusay Hussein was born in 1966 and has traditionally kept a lower profile than the more flamboyant Uday. His influence mushroomed after the 1991 Gulf War.
Today, apart from controlling the Republican Guards, he also holds sway over the intelligence services and a special force providing security for Saddam himself. This makes him arguably the second most powerful man in the country.
Ali Hassan al-Majid who will try to defend Basra is known to foes as Chemical Ali. He is Saddam's feared cousin and hatchet- man who earned his nickname in the 1980s when Iraq used chemical weapons against the Kurdish minority in the north.
Human rights groups accuse him of genocide and war crimes. A former army motor-cycle messenger believed to be in his early 60s, he was the military governor of Kuwait after Iraq invaded.
As interior minister after the 1991 Gulf War, he crushed the Shia revolt in the south.
Izzat Ibrahim who takes control of northern Iraq, including Kurdish areas, is Saddam's right-hand man and one of the most ruthless enforcers of his rule. He has survived serious illness and assassins' bullets. Born near Tikrit in 1942, his father was an ice seller.
Today, he is deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. His daughter was briefly married to Uday.
- (Reuters)