Major General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti | |
|---|---|
طاهر جليل حبوش | |
 Habbush as a Major General in 1989 | |
| Director of theIraqi Intelligence Service | |
| In office 1995–2003 | |
| Preceded by | Sabawi Ibrahim al-Tikriti |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Director of theDirectorate of General Security | |
| In office 1997–1999 | |
| Preceded by | Taha Abbas al-Ahbabi |
| Succeeded by | Rafi Abdul Latif Tulfah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-01-01)1 January 1950 (age 76) |
| Occupation | Police officer Intelligence officer |
| Awards | Mother of All Battles Medal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Iraq |
| Branch/service | Ministry of the Interior |
| Years of service | 1970–2003 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Unit | Iraqi Police Iraqi Intelligence Service |
| Battles/wars | |
Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti (Arabic:طاهر جليل حبوش التكريتي; born 1950) is a former Iraqi intelligence official who served under the regime ofSaddam Hussein. In 2001, he was Iraq's head of intelligence and as such, informedMI6 in January 2003 (shortly before the start of theIraq War) that Iraq had noweapons of mass destruction.[1] He was the "Jack of Diamonds" in theUS deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards[2] and is still a fugitive with a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his capture.[3] It is believed that al-Tikriti at some point operated from Syria and most likely played a direct role in the day-to-day operations of theinsurgency againstU.S.-led Coalition forces under the command ofIzzat Ibrahim al-Douri.[4]
Habbush is the putative signatory ofan alleged memo to Saddam Hussein, published in December 2003 and dated 1 July 2001, recommendingMohamed Atta to lead an attack team to destroy unspecified targets. The memo if genuine would corroborate allegations of Iraqi involvement in theattacks of September 11, 2001 which were led by Atta.[5] The memo is believed to be a forgery. According toNewsweek, "U.S. officials and a leading Iraqi document expert [say] the document is most likely a forgery, part of a thriving new trade in dubious Iraqi documents that has cropped up in the wake of the collapse of Saddam's regime."[6] InThe Way of the World, authorRon Suskind alleges that theBush administration itself ordered the forgery. Habbush then supposedly signed the letter, having already been resettled inJordan with $5 million from the US.[7]