BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister has appealed to President Bush to hand over Sad dam Hussein’s cousin, known as “Chemical Ali,” and two other former regime officials sentenced to hang for a 1980s crackdown against Kurds, two government officials said Thursday.
The formal request from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki threatened to strain relations with U.S. officials and incite a backlash from Sunni Arabs as sectarian violence is ebbing.
Sunni leaders have led a campaign to spare the life of one of the condemned men, former defense minister Sultan Hashim al-Taie, who is widely viewed by Sunnis as a respected career soldier who was forced to follow Hussein’s orders.
The U.S. military has refused to relinquish control of al-Taie, Ali Hassan al-Majid, nicknamed “Chemical Ali,” and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, an ex-deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces, until the Iraqis can resolve a dispute over commuting al-Taie’s sentence.
