Dubai, July 24: The former Iraqi information minister known for his spirited defense of everything to do with the Iraqi regime before its fall was critical of the two sons of Saddam Hussein who died in a fire fight with US forces. "Both Udai and Qusai carried out acts, I think, that alienated many Iraqis. Any person notes, observes ... Sons of officials shouldn't be like this," Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said in an interview with an Arab television channel. Sahhaf offered no specifics. Iraqi exiles have long said Udai Hussein murdered and tortured personal enemies as well as those of the regime. Qusai Hussein was accused of helping engineer the destruction of the southern marshes in the 1990s to crush Shiite Muslims living there. He also oversaw Iraq's notorious detention centres. "I think, and now we talk after their death, and this is a negative thing, but in truth, many of their acts had a negative effect on the regime," Sahhaf said.
He added he did not think the two were leading attacks on US forces in Iraq. The effect of their deaths on those responsible for the attacks was ``psychological ... Not an operational one,'' he said. Bureau Report