The top two spades are the two most recognizable figures in the deck – Saddam himself (ace of spades) and Ali Hasan Al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali (king of spades). Sadaam, of course, was the president of Iraq and No. 1 on the American most-wanted list. US forces captured him in 2003 and in 2005 he was charged for crimes against humanity. He was executed in 2006.
“Chemical Ali” was No. 5 on the most-wanted list and a cousin of Saddam’s. He was known as “Chemical Ali” after the use of sarin nerve gas on Kurdish villages in 1988. According to Reuters, he received a total of four death sentences – one for the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, one for his role in crushing a Shiite revolt after the Gulf War, one for killing and displacing Shiite Muslims and one for his role in a military campaign against the Kurds. He was executed in January 2010.
