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| Iraq |
| Did we get Sadaam and Qusay? |
| 2003-06-20 |
| Baghdad has been swept by rumors that the United States captured President Saddam Hussein earlier this week. This is believable to me because on Tuesday, (Wednesday in Iraq) Bush said, "And this is for certain: Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to the United States and our friends and allies." The rumors stemmed from published reports within Iraq that a unit of the U.S. Fourth Infantry Division secretly captured Saddam and his younger son Qusay in a farmhouse in Tikrit earlier this week. U.S. Central Command has denied the reports while acknowledging the capture of Sadam's secretary. The Iraqi newspaper Sada Al Watan, available on the Internet, reported that a U.S. force found Saddam, Qusay and the president's secretary Abid Hamid Mahmoud Tikriti in the Sunni city of Tikrit on Wednesday. The newspaper said the United States brought the three men to Baghdad airport and flew them to an unknown location for interrogation. Sada Al Watan said the United States concealed the capture of Saddam and Qusay to prevent attempts by loyalists to free them. The United States has acknowledged capturing Tikriti, Middle East Newsline reported. U.S. officials denied that Saddam, believed to be financing the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces, was captured. Perhaps he was dead. I notice they don't mention Qusay. But they acknowledged that U.S. military intelligence had thought that Saddam and Qusay were in the same house as Tikriti. The officials said military intelligence concluded that Tikriti helped facilitate Saddam's escape from Baghdad in April. A U.S. official was quoted by the Kuwaiti daily Al Ra Al Aam on Friday as saying that the United States would have been unable to keep Saddam's capture a secret. Maybe, but that's not exactly a denial that they captured him now is it?. They've confirmed that they believed they were together and failed to specifially deny that they captured him. I'm seriously getting my hopes up! Tikriti was reported to have been arrested on Monday. Over the last two months, the United States has launched an intensive search for Saddam. The operation has been led by a unit termed Task Force 20, which includes elite military forces supported by the CIA. The fate of Saddam's elder son, Uday, has also remained uncertain. Last month, Iraqi opposition sources said Uday was in contact with U.S. authorities over the terms of his surrender. Maybe the terms were to give up Papa and Qusay. Meanwhile, Central Command reported fresh casualties in attacks by Iraqi insurgents. On Thursday, a U.S. soldier was killed and two others were injured in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a military ambulance in Iskandariya. |
| Posted by:Becky |
| #12 Hold his corpse until the day before the 2004 election. Schedule an emergency National Television Broadcast the night before the election. Tell the children to avert their eyes... |
| Posted by: Brian 2003-06-21 00:46:38 |
| #11 Eh... not sure I understand why the US forces would deny having caught him if they indeed have caught him... If only to stop the remaining insurgents, it seems to me likely that they'd likely want to announce it as soon as possible. Either his capture or his death. Could the rumours and not-entirely-convincing-denials be just a propaganda ploy? Making his remaining supporters lose heart? |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-06-20 21:16:40 |
| #10 Can I happy dance...can I huh...can I huh..pretty please. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-06-20 17:46:35 |
| #9 AAAAckkk! I mean Saddam! Darn...doesn't do much for my credibility. But I still think they got him. |
| Posted by: Becky 2003-06-20 16:54:36 |
| #8 oops..."Sadaam"...not Saddam..or Sadaam or Saddamn-it. I'm just sooo excited! |
| Posted by: Becky 2003-06-20 16:51:21 |
| #7 Well...I think they got them! Yes I do. I really do. I think that because of what Bush said on Tuesday which corresponds to the same time frame (Wednesday in Iraq). It's not like Bush to say something he can't back up. Maybe he got a little too excited and let the cat out of the bag...just couldn't help himself, he's only human after all. The sad part is that if they did catch them, they probably won't tell us right away, so I won't be able to gloat. I imagine they'd like to have a little one on one time with Saddaam and Qusay before they start worrying about if their handcuffs are too tight or they haven't been getting enough beauty sleep. |
| Posted by: Becky 2003-06-20 16:46:58 |
| #6 "Give him to the women" (shudder) |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-06-20 16:10:02 |
| #5 Unless Tikriti was in France, Saddam probably wasn't in the same house. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2003-06-20 16:09:33 |
| #4 What the hell do you do with him once you have him ? Give him to France ? |
| Posted by: PeaBrane 2003-06-20 15:59:28 |
| #3 i think it was blount, said that we'll be hearing more about senior captures in the coming days - wont get my hopes of for Saddam, but even if its "chemical" ali that would be a good thing. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-06-20 15:56:06 |
| #2 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,89583,00.html Link to quote that Bush made on Tuesday. |
| Posted by: Becky 2003-06-20 15:38:28 |
| #1 i think it was blount, said that we'll be hearing more about senior captures in the coming days - wont get my hopes of for Saddam, but even if its "chemical" ali that would be a good thing. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 6/20/2003 3:56:06 PM |