The Iraqi general famous for surrendering his army to US forces in the 1991 Gulf war, Sultan Hashim, has died in prison in the country’s south.
Hashim was regarded among the few competent officer corps personnel who had survived Saddam’s purges. He was defence minister when Saddam fell in 2003.
Twelve years earlier, in March 1991, Hashim entered the Safwan military airfield in southern Iraq. Saddam’s military was just dealt one of the heaviest defeats since World War II and the airfield was surrounded by US forces. Hashim, along with six subordinates, accepted US terms for surrender from Gen H. Norman Schwarzkopf.
Hashim died of a heart attack on Sunday at the age of 74 in Nasiriyah Central Prison in southern Iraq, local media reported.
He was listed as number 27 on the US’s most-wanted list and was assigned the eight of hearts in the infamous US government-issued deck of cards listing prominent officials.
Hashim, who is from a prominent family in Mosul, surrendered to US forces after the 2003 invasion following negotiations and was later tried in an Iraqi court and sentenced to death in 2007. There were efforts by members of parliament, including then speaker Salim Al Jabouri, to secure a pardon for the former military head.
His sentence was meant to be carried out at 3am on the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks but, the US failed to hand him over. Officials cited then-president Jalal Talabani’s public disapproval of the sentence. Talabani, who was opposed to the death penalty, had also taken a moral stance against the execution of Saddam.
However, there were reports that the US move was also due to Hashim secretly negotiating with the US prior to the invasion. Indeed, when the invasion came the Iraqi military largely melted away with little opposition to the encroaching international troops.
In September 2003, Hashim handed himself in to the US commander in Iraq’s north David Petraeus, who went on to lead international forces in Iraq and later become CIA head. In exchange, the US dropped him from the most wanted list.
"I offer you a simple, yet honourable alternative to a life on the run from coalition forces in order to avoid capture, imprisonment and loss of honour and dignity befitting a general officer. I officially request your surrender to me. In return, I will accept this from you in person," Gen Petraeus said a letter given to Hashim at the time.
"Although we find ourselves on different sides of this war, we do share common traits. As military men, we follow the orders of our superiors. We may not necessarily agree with the politics and bureaucracy, but we understand unity of command and supporting our leaders in a common and just cause," said Gen Petraeus.
"However, the collapse of your regime necessitates your thoughtful reconsideration of support. I am concerned that your perceived resistance to the coalition's efforts to bring back this country's honour is detrimental and will result in further and needless loss of lives."
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
