Part III: The Wrath of Uday

If Georges earned admiration and respect among Iraqis through his daring mastery of the MiG-21, he earned similar accolades among Westerners by single-handedly saving two British prisoners of war from execution.

During the first Gulf war, two British pilots were captured by Iraqi forces. Saddam chose Georges to be in charge of the POWs because General Sada spoke fluent English and had enough technical knowledge about airplanes that he could make use of whatever Intelligence was gleaned from the prisoners. Georges was determined to ensure that the prisoners were not harmed. This task became increasingly difficult when Uday Hussein, Saddam's son, marched into Georges' office and demanded that the prisoners be executed as "war criminals."

But Georges held firm. The men had been put under his authority. They would be treated within the parameters of the Geneva Conventions. Uday and Georges spent hours arguing and Georges knew that, at any moment, Uday could simply kill him without fear of reprisal. He was Saddam's son-no one would dare to stand in his way.

Georges finally managed to convince Uday that, if they were to slaughter the prisoners the West would take it personally. "It will no longer be a war on Iraq," Georges explained, "It will be a war between America and your family-they will come for you one by one-is that what you really want?"

Georges was later arrested by the secret police for his defiance but spent only a week behind bars. He escaped the confrontation unscathed-and so did the prisoners of war entrusted to his care.