Behind the political power, there are always countless unknowns. Saddam Hussein's name once terrified the whole world, and his family is as gripping as a suspense blockbuster. The fate of Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, was controlled to death by a distant cousin, Zaidan. How did this cousin go from street gangster to deadly betrayer?
The fate of Saddam Hussein's family is always accompanied by intrigue and betrayal. Saddam's two sons, Uday and Qusay, were important figures in the Iraq War, and their names were printed on the playing cards by the U.S. military, representing the ace of hearts and the ace of clubs, respectively, second only to their father's ace of spades. This is not only because of their high position, but also because of their heinous deeds over the years.
Uday, as Saddam's eldest son, was raised to be a ruthless tyrant from an early age. His childhood was filled with memories of brutality, and he was even taken by his father to watch the execution of the sentence when he was in kindergarten. As he grew older, Uday's personality became more brutal and unkind. At school, he made his classmates disappear because of a trivial matter, and some of those unfortunate souls even became food for the beasts he raised.
And when Uday entered society, his evil deeds were even more lawless. Whether it is robbery or captivity, it seems to have become his daily routine. It is said that he once snatched the daughter of a high-ranking official home and toyed with him. When he was in charge of sports management, he tortured athletes, casting fear in Iraq's sports world.
Compared with Uday's flamboyance, Qusay is more somber and scheming. Not only did he inherit his brother's brutality, but he also showed extraordinary abilities in military and intelligence. Since 1999, Qusay has been in charge of Iraq's most elite force, the Republican Guard, and has become almost the de facto leader of the military. Although his methods are not as overt as Uday's, they are in fact no less cruel. He once ordered the execution of thousands of prisoners because the prison was overcrowded.
It was these two brothers who eventually died at the hands of their own people. When the Iraq War broke out in 2003, Saddam Hussein and his sons were quickly defeated. In the process of fleeing, Uday and Qusay often brutally disposed of the bodyguards around them because of excessive suspicion, which also caused them to lose many loyal supporters. Against this background, a distant cousin named Zaidan began to come into the sights of the Saddam family.
Originally a small businessman, Zaidan gradually amassed a lot of wealth through his association with Saddam Hussein's family. But his ambitions didn't stop there. When the U.S. military offered a $30 million reward for the capture of Saddam's family, Zeidan saw a turnaround. He decided to betray and informed the US military of the hiding place of Uday and Qusay.
In July 2003, based on intelligence provided by Zaidan, the U.S. military discovered Uday and Qusay, which were hiding in Mosul. After a fierce shootout, the two brothers were killed. This betrayal not only ended the lives of Uday and Qusay, but also symbolized the complete collapse of Saddam's regime.
Zaidan's actions have caused huge controversy in Iraq. Some call him a hero because he helped end the reign of two tyrants; But many more despised him as a traitor, believing that he had betrayed his blood and country for money. And Zaidan himself, although he received US dollars, has since been spurned by everyone and lives in the shadows.
The deaths of Uday and Qusay were not only the end of two lives, but also the end of a bloody regime. Their lives were filled with violence and terror, and their deaths were equally filled with the smell of iron and fire. What is the ultimate price of Game of Thrones? What is the inner world of those who are desperate in the face of power?
From the brutal rule of Uday and Qusay to their tragic ends, we see not only the tragedy of individual fate, but also the brutality of the power struggle. Although Zaidan's betrayal brought an end to the fall of the Saddam family, it also reflected that in the game of power, there are no permanent friends, only eternal interests. This history not only reminds us of the horror of power, but also profoundly reveals the complexity and fragility of human nature. In the face of power, everyone can become a victim, and the wheel of history is always bloody.