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Ali Baher al-Saidi
The head of the mysterious Tracking and Pursuit Department is a former member of Saddam Hussein’s regime who has succeeded in integrating the transitional government, despite restrictions against former Baathists. Like his friend Saidi, Brigadier Majid is motivated by self-interest. Less interested in committing to stable ideological principles than in advancing in his professional career, he does not hesitate to work under a variety of governments, regardless of their political principles. He often adopts ambiguous attitudes, for example behaving in alternately friendly and threatening ways toward the journalist Mahmoud, who possesses precious information about Hadi and the Whatsitsname. Although Saidi accuses Brigadier Majid of being part of an assassination squad at the service of the Americans, it is unclear whether the Brigadier actually takes part in violence. Indeed, he often demonstrates the exact opposite: a commitment to peace. For example, he shuts down the astrologers’ activities when he discovers that they have been involved in a car bombing in Bataween, and he generally seems dedicated to catching dangerous criminals. However, the difficulty of understanding the character’s true motives sheds a dark light on his personality. After the dissolution of the Tracking and Pursuit Department, the Brigadier feels alone, abandoned by his team, but succeeds in avoiding retirement by working for police headquarters outside of Baghdad. Brigadier Majid’s ability to survive in this cutthroat political system underlines his resourcefulness and his capacity to manipulate others in order to achieve personal goals.
Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid Quotes in Frankenstein in Baghdad
The Frankenstein in Baghdad quotes below are all either spoken by Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid or refer to Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
But there were two fronts now, Mahmoud said to himself— the Americans and the government on one side, the terrorists and the various antigovernment militias on the other. In fact “terrorist” was the term used for everyone who was against the government and the Americans.
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Chapter 11
Quotes
He turned to Mahmoud and said, “Brigadier Majid is one of the people you’ll have to get used to dealing with.”
Mahmoud said nothing but waited for further explanation because he didn’t plan to see Brigadier Majid and would try as far as possible to make sure that kind of meeting didn’t happen again.
“There are people like him in our world,” said Saidi, “and we have to learn how to deal with them tactfully, how to get along with them, how to accept that they exist.”
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Yes, for a year or more he’s been carrying out the policy of the American ambassador to create an equilibrium of violence on the streets between the Sunni and Shiite militias, so there’ll be a balance later at the negotiating table to make new political arrangements in Iraq. The American army is unable or unwilling to stop the violence, so at least a balance or an equivalence of violence has to be created. Without it, there won’t be a successful political process.
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Anyway, the best way to protect yourself from evil is to keep close to it. I humor him so he doesn’t stand in the way of my political ambitions, and so he doesn’t put a bullet in the back of my head, fired by one of those fat guys with shaved heads, in response to an order from the Americans.
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Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid Quotes in Frankenstein in Baghdad
The Frankenstein in Baghdad quotes below are all either spoken by Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid or refer to Brigadier Sorour Mohamed Majid. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 6
Quotes
But there were two fronts now, Mahmoud said to himself— the Americans and the government on one side, the terrorists and the various antigovernment militias on the other. In fact “terrorist” was the term used for everyone who was against the government and the Americans.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11
Quotes
He turned to Mahmoud and said, “Brigadier Majid is one of the people you’ll have to get used to dealing with.”
Mahmoud said nothing but waited for further explanation because he didn’t plan to see Brigadier Majid and would try as far as possible to make sure that kind of meeting didn’t happen again.
“There are people like him in our world,” said Saidi, “and we have to learn how to deal with them tactfully, how to get along with them, how to accept that they exist.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Yes, for a year or more he’s been carrying out the policy of the American ambassador to create an equilibrium of violence on the streets between the Sunni and Shiite militias, so there’ll be a balance later at the negotiating table to make new political arrangements in Iraq. The American army is unable or unwilling to stop the violence, so at least a balance or an equivalence of violence has to be created. Without it, there won’t be a successful political process.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Anyway, the best way to protect yourself from evil is to keep close to it. I humor him so he doesn’t stand in the way of my political ambitions, and so he doesn’t put a bullet in the back of my head, fired by one of those fat guys with shaved heads, in response to an order from the Americans.
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