Many senior members of the Iraqi government during his rule were drawn from Saddam's own Tikriti tribe, the Al-Bu Nasir, as were members of his Iraqi Republican Guard, chiefly because Saddam apparently felt that he was most able to rely on relatives and allies of his family.
Mnogi viši članovi iračke vlade tijekom njegove vladavine birani su iz Sadamovog rodnog plemena Al bu Nasira, kao i članovi Iračke republikanske garde, prvenstveno jer je Sadam mislio da se najviše može osloniti na rođake i saveznike iz svoje obitelji.