Saddam's son Odai rejects Bush ultimatum

Saddam Hussein's elder son today rejected the US ultimatum for the Iraqi leader and his family to leave Iraq, saying President Bush should instead resign.

In a statement distributed by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Odai Hussein said Bush was "unstable" and that the US leader "should give up power in America with his family."

Odai also warned that a U.S.–led attack will force Iraq to broaden the war against the United States.

Any attack on Iraq, he said, would leave "the wives and mothers of those who fight us constantly crying ... They should not believe there is a single safe spot for them inside Iraq or outside Iraq."

Odai had been tipped as his father's successor until an attempt on his life in 1996, which left him seriously injured. He is now the leader of a pro–government militia, Saddam's Fedayeen, as well as chairman of the Iraqi Olympic Committee and the soccer federation.

Despite a waning of his political fortunes, he remains a powerful figure in Iraq.

His brother Qusai, however, is now widely thought to be Saddam's right–hand man. He is in charge of Saddam's personal protection and the elite Republican Guard Corps.