One Version of the Story

Free Speech News brings to our attention this story about Qusay Hussein's son, Mustafa, who was killed in the raid that killed his father and uncle Uday. It was written by Lisa Walsh Thomas of Unknownnews.net:

Mustafa Hussein: Genesis of a legend

"The four people in the villa, who defended themselves with only small arms for approximately four hours, included an aide to one of the brothers and Qusay's 14-year old son, Mustafa."

...

"But, according to information available as of July 27,[...] 14-year old Mustafa, grandson to Saddam Hussein, held off eighty or more soldiers until he too was finally overcome and shot to death.

...

"There is surely a devastated mother somewhere, a best friend, a girl who had caught her breath once upon speaking with the teenager. Maybe it will come out that there are keepsakes, first shoes, a lucky soccer ball, a piece of artwork from a child artist. That we have to leave to the movies. OR to those who preserve all they can of their heroes. "

...

"Whereas Saddam, Uday, and Qusay — unless they have been demonized out of any semblance to truth — were cruel to their own people, young Mustafa is probably squeaky clean. We don't yet know, but it could be difficult for those forces against Iraqi insurgence to convincingly paint any fourteen year old as 'evil.'"

It's interesting to read some insight into the life of this 14-year-old boy (I've blogged about him here and here), although I'm not certain of the veracity of the sources Ms. Thomas cites (and she doesn't identify them). She paints Mustafa with a fairly glowing brush, of what was, and what could have been.

I sincerely hope that he was a young man thrust into a deadly situation, but had not yet risen (or sunk) to the levels of evil of his father, uncle, or grandfather. I hope this, yet I do not feel it is likely. It would be nice to believe he had a lucky soccer ball, or a girlfriend, but it seems more likely to me that he had a lucky AK-47 and was preparing to follow in his family's traditional treatment of women. I may be wrong - I hope so - but I would love to know of more verifiable accounts.

Read the whole thing. I don't think I agree with a number of the facts presented, simply because they're unverified or hearsay, but it's definitely thought-provoking.