from:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...ol=968793972154
Saddam's top aide got Belarus passports: U.S.
DOUGLAS JEHL
NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON—The senior lieutenant to Saddam Hussein who was detained in Iraq last week obtained passports from Belarus for himself and others, possibly including Saddam's sons, two U.S. government officials said yesterday.
Belarus, part of the former Soviet Union, is an authoritarian country with close ties to Russia and its intelligence services, including the former KGB. It has been regarded by U.S. officials in the past as a possible refuge for other fugitives. The Russian intelligence services had a long and close relationship with Saddam's government.