TARIQ AZIA - IRAQ

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06498255
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: March 31, 2016
• Case Number: F-2015-01885
• Publication Date: July 2, 1997

Approved for Release: 2016/02/10 C06498255
IRAQ
Tariq AZIZ
(Phonetic: ahZEEZ)
Deputy Prime Minister (since 1979); Member, Revolutionary Command Council (since 1977)
Addressed as: Mr. Minister
Tariq Aziz is one of President Saddam Husayn's most important counselors, particularly on international
and political issues. He remains de facto Foreign Minister, a position he formally held during 1983-91.
as a member of
Iraq's minuscule Christian community, he could not take power in Muslim-dominated Iraq, even if he so
asnired Posing no threat to Saddam he retains a nosition of trust in the President's cabinet
Demonstrating Diplomatic �an
Aziz's mastery of English and
cosmopolitan demeanor should not be construed as pro-Western sentiment. Aziz dominates Iraq's Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and the country's diplomacy
In the fall of 1996 it was Aziz who traveled through Democratic Party of
Kurdistan (KDP)-held territory on his way to Turkey and to Russia to display the full extent of his
government's alliance with the KDP.
A Closet Moderate?
Before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 viewed Aziz as generally advocating a
moderate foreign policy. He was the official most closely associated with Iraq's attempt to improve its
standing with the international community during 1988-90. Aziz consistently worked to mend relations
with the United States before ties were officially reestablished in 1984. He was also a chief advocate of
Egypt's reintegration into the Arab fold in the late 1980s. During that time, he supported a negotiated
settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and urged the PLO to adopt moderate positions
From 1992-1994 Aziz advocated cooperating with the UN Special Commission to lift sanctions against
Iraq
We believe that, although he probably
still tries occasionally to present moderate views to the President, Aziz never pushes them too far and will
support whatever decision Saddam makes, while dealing faithfully with the consequences of Saddam's
actions.
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Becoming More Hard-Line
Aziz's rhetoric has followed a decidedly harder line during the past two years:
Press reporting indicated he once told UNSCOM Chairman Rolf Ekeus during a 1995 meeting that Iraq
had fulfilled all of its UN-authorized requirements and that the lifting of the embargo was long overdue.
Press and media accounts in 1996 quote Aziz as stating that UNSCOM and the US government are one and
the same.
According to
press reports, other advisors to Saddam, including his son Uday, favored a confrontational approach to UN
sanctions. Uday attempted to undermine Aziz's position by publicly lambasting the Deputy Prime Minister
in Uday's newspaper, Babil, blaming Aziz for failing to lift the post-war sanctions. Aziz has little contact
with Uday or Saddam's other powerful son Qusay
Background
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Aziz is generally considered one of Iraq's most ardent Baath Party ideologues, and his party credentials
are impeccable. He participated in the 1968 coup that brought the Baathists to power. During the 1970s,
while serving first as Minister of Information and then as a member of the Revolutionary Command
Council and the party's Regional Command, Aziz helped Saddam undermine former President Ahmad al-
Bala and to take his place in 1979 Saddam made Aziz Deputy (b)(1)
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Aziz speaks excellent English
and his wife, Violette, have two sons, Ziad and Saddam.
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LP 97-106686
2 July 1997
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Approved for Release: 2016/02/10 C06498255