Toronto-- It's likely that the occult-obsessed Saddam Hussein would lay claim to having had a hand in Monday's massive sandstorm in Baghdad, if only anybody asked.
Thousands of Baghdad residents were left suffocating as their city was brought to a virtual standstill.
Nearly 1,000 cases of suffocation were reported at the city's Yarmuk hospital, with one 60-year-old woman reported to have died. Hundreds of other people visited private clinics and family doctors for emergency treatment as a fog-like cloak of orange dust saturated the city.
Baghdad was rendered a ghost town as commuters stayed home. Those daring to venture out onto the sand shrouded streets had to wear a mask or cover their mouths with a scarf.
No flights could take off when the sandstorm closed the capital's main airport.
Visibility during the storm was recorded by police as barely 15 meters (yards ahead).
Ironically, the freak storm forced a delay to crucial negotiations in talks on what was supposed to be Iraq's first post-Saddam Hussein constitution.
Saddam's specialty in occult talents was "studying the sands".
During so-called sand studies, the Black arts dabbling former Iraqi president conjured up jinn (genies) to do his bidding.
Said to have inherited some of his mother Sabha's psychic prowess, Saddam was believed by many to have seven jinn lined up for his personal protection. according to these people, the Butcher of Baghdad spoke on a daily basis with the king and queen of the jinn, who actually advised him.
There are no reports whether Saddam watched the sandstorm from his windows at a U.S. military base in Qatar, where he awaits trial for war crimes.
While Saddam's sand studying days may be over, his more corporeal needs are being looked after by wife, Sadja, who is believed to be part of a network of Saddam front companies operating in amman.
U.S. officials said Sajda, who is also Saddam's cousin, has served as a conduit for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from other members of Saddam's family to the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. The funding originated in Damascus, was sent by courier to Jordan and went from there to Iraq.
In april 2004, U.S. officials took Sajda to meet Saddam at the U.S. military base in Qatar. arriving aboard Saddam's private jet from Syria, Sajda announced that the guy in bvds was not her husband, but rather his double.
Meanwhile, the sands of time are running out for the Butcher of Baghdad.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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