Is the release of the photos right? Do you think it will help us in Iraq? FoxNews.com Thursday, July 24, 2003 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to release pictures of the bodies of Saddam Hussein's much-feared sons before 12:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, Fox News has learned. Reuters reported Thursday that one of its reporters in Iraq had already been shown the photographs, and the bodies were definitely those of Uday and Qusay Hussein (search). Reuters said a U.S. military source showed two photographs of the two men to the reporter, who was familiar with the appearance of both men, and the reporter said the faces were clearly recognizable, despite serious facial injuries suffered by Uday. The reporter was able to identify Uday despite a wound that destroyed part of his nose and upper lip. Qusay's face did not show any sign of wounds. Defense officials told Fox News that Uday possibly took his own life due to a "major head wound" suffered during the raid on a house in Mosul on Tuesday. Both bodies have visible shrapnel wounds. While suicide is a possibility, officials said they will wait for autopsy results before making any conclusions. Military sources told Fox News that Uday and Qusay "looked" to have tried to change their appearance. Uday appears in the pictures seen at the Pentagon with a shaved head and a long beard, a new addition to his look. Qusay has longer hair -- perhaps down to his shoulders -- than he had been previously seen with, as well as a fuller beard than he had earlier. One official told Fox News that based on the photos at the Pentagon of Saddam's sons, while the bodies are battle-damaged, they are "clearly identifiable." In Baghdad, some members of Iraq's Governing Council (search) were shown the brothers' bodies, which are being kept at Baghdad International Airport (search), said a spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority. The authority also was talking with council members about how to release pictures of the bodies to the public, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity. Many Iraqis likely will be skeptical of the U.S. account without proof of the brothers' deaths. "There isn't the slightest doubt in our minds that these are the bodies of Uday and Qusay," the spokesman said. They were killed Tuesday when 200 U.S. troops stormed a house in Mosul where the two were supposedly staying after repeated attempts to enter the building. Troops used helicopters, grenades, heavy machine guns and anti-tank missiles after repeatedly coming under fire from people inside the building. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that the U.S. military planned to release the photographs to the public "soon." The U.S. military used dental records and X-rays of previous injuries to Saddam's sons to confirm that they were dead. For Uday, dental records matched 90 percent -- a 100 percent match could not be made because of injuries sustained in Tuesday's attack. The dental match for Qusay was 100 percent, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said. "Autopsies will follow, but we have no doubt we have the bodies of Uday and Qusay," he said. "The Saddam Hussein regime will never come back to power." Senior defense officials on Wednesday confirmed to Fox News that four formerly high-ranking Iraqi officials in coalition custody were shown the bodies for a positive ID. One of those was former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. Another was Abid Hamid Mahmud Al-Tikriti, Saddam's top aide who surrendered June 17 and was the ace of diamonds in the U.S. military's 55-most-wanted deck of cards. Only 18 of the original 55 most-wanted are still at large. Uday and Qusay were Nos. 2 and 3 on the list.
Is the release of the photos right? Do you think it will help us in Iraq? I think it's a good move. One of the big things we have to deal with is that the population is still scared of Hussein and his regime. Showing proof that the regime is not just missing but dead is important. Ultimately, the population probably won't feel comfortable until Saddam is found, but this helps a bit.
I agree with Major....it does make us a bit hypocritical, but is a necessary evil to help sway the masses in Iraq. DD
So, no more whining about when they showed our dead troops? Not that I'm comparing the sons to our brave troops, but it does strike me as a tad hypocritical. That being said, I do understand why we'd need to do it.
In that part of the world, they see dead bodies on tv all the time. To them, it's not that big a deal, of course this is a big deal because it is Saddam's sons. I think we should just release it to the Media for them to have proof and then let Al Jazeera or Abu Dahbi or whatever put the pictures on TV.
I agree with what you say, but there is a minor difference. We were not calling to see the pictures of our troops. We did not say that we wanted proof they were dead.
i'm sure you probably already know this, but if anyone is interested the pics are on cnn.com they aren't that bad... just shows their faces
Are you sure about that, I saw two portrait pictures last time I checked. Odai was supposed to have shot himself because he has a gun shot wound in the head.
i was expecting it to look a little worse. I've seen pics of stuff a lot worse so to me it doesn't seem as bad i guess. go to foxnews.com and it's on the front page
I found them on CNN, there was a link with warnings. So on Fox, they just threw them on the front page. They are the Al Jazeera of cable news over here.
Maybe Odai should of been on MTV Cribs before his demise. "While millions of Iraqis suffered dire poverty, Odai lived a life of fast cars, expensive liquor and easy women. When U.S. troops captured his mansion in Baghdad, they found a personal zoo with lions and cheetahs, an underground parking garage for his collection of luxury cars, Cuban cigars with his name on the wrapper, and $1 million in fine wines, liquor — and even heroin. Odai's obsession with sex was evident everywhere: The house was adorned with paintings of naked women and photographs of prostitutes taken off the Internet, complete with handwritten ratings of each. There were bags and boxes of pills and medicines everywhere — ginseng sexual fortifiers, heartburn medication, the anti-depressant Prozac — and an Accu-Rite HIV (news - web sites) Antibodies Screening Test Kit was in Odai's office. Nearby was a domed house believed to be the residence of Odai's concubines, a bastion of bad taste with statuettes of couples in foreplay, couches with fluffy pillows and a swimming pool with a bar. "
One guy in Iraq was sayin that the Americans should not of killed them, they should of waited for the sons to run out of ammo then take them aliceve so the Iraqi people could put them on trial. I don't agree with this but this is what a civilian said in Iraq
I like how they released the pictures of those two enjoying the eternal celestial dirt nap. It reminds me of something the Russkies did in Lebanon. When the PLO took some of their diplomats hostage, the Russkie gathered up some PLO folks and cut them into numerous gorey pieces. They left the pieces with the PLO folks and a few moments later the PLO released the hostages with profuse apologies. That's all those folks over there understand, is brute force. I think it will show the hoodlums attacking our troops in Iraq we mean business and if you want to become a martyr....we will be more than happy to punch your ticket to hell via small arms fire.
Somewhere there's an islamic militant saying the exact same thing Keep taking an eye for an eye, make the whole world blind.
