There was a recent, excellent, documentary on Saddam Hussein called "Uncle Saddam". Anyone interested in the craziness over there should watch this, as it has been making the rounds on cable television in the US. Son Uday, the perpetrator of the athlete torture, was actually imprisoned by his own father at one time and possibly slated for execution. Intervention on the part of President Hussein of Jordan may have saved him. However, Uday is more or less "next in line" in terms of power.
Another interesting Iraqi custom is intermarriage between second cousins and sometimes first cousins. Saddam's first wife was a cousin. The familial links are strong, as many of Saddam's top people are relatives. Which, of course, hasn't stopped him from enacting his own form of justice on them. There was a case where he had two of his daughter's husbands executed. bob
