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Senior Officials Think Saddam May Not Have Survived

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by MadMax, Mar 20, 2003.

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  1. Smokey

    Smokey Member

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    Buck, I saw the samething (typing while you posted).
     
    #21 Smokey, Mar 20, 2003
  2. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

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    But if it is him, he gave no indication that it was filmed after the bombs fell...this could have been filmed months ago...heck...he probably has a whole library of films with him giving speeches just in case he is taken out.
     
    #22 Supermac34, Mar 20, 2003
  3. Smokey

    Smokey Member

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    I wonder if the US will take out the Iraqi TV tower so Saddam's speeches can't be aired. Iraqi TV is hilarious.
     
    #23 Smokey, Mar 20, 2003
  4. arkoe

    arkoe (ง'̀-'́)ง

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    I won't believe it until we have a body. They said the same thing about bin Ladin when they first started bombing caves, and we all saw where that got us.
     
    #24 arkoe, Mar 20, 2003
  5. Chance

    Chance Member

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    Get them. Sick Tate on 'em.
     
    #25 Chance, Mar 20, 2003
  6. DrLudicrous

    DrLudicrous Member

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    I think they'll try to take them over instead of blowing them up, I know that's the plan with the radio stations there.
     
    #26 DrLudicrous, Mar 20, 2003
  7. treeman

    treeman Member

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    They will try to spare Iraqi civilian infrastructure (including communications) wherever possible. No need to destroy TV/radio though; Commando Solo can beam images and radio into Iraqi homes if they decide to anyway.
     
    #27 treeman, Mar 20, 2003
  8. Castor27

    Castor27 Moderator
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    reports last night were that the US had already taken over the national radio broadcasts and were telling the Iraqi's that this was the day they have been waiting for.
     
    #28 Castor27, Mar 20, 2003
  9. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61791-2003Mar20.html
    Rumsfeld: Iraqi Leadership Position Hit


    By PAULINE JELINEK
    The Associated Press
    Thursday, March 20, 2003; 11:52 AM


    Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday the United States hit a senior Iraqi leadership position in its initial strikes, but did not say whether Saddam Hussein survived.

    Asked whether an Iraqi television broadcast after the attack showed Saddam or a double, Rumsfeld replied, "There is debate about that."

    The assault "was the first. It will not likely be the last," Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon.

    Iraq may have set fire to two or three oil wells in the South, he said.

    The Pentagon assessed the damage Thursday from its initial strikes against targets in Iraq and primed for a broader assault involving 250,000 U.S. and coalition forces.

    The war's opening salvos were aimed directly at Iraq's leaders, including Saddam.

    Commanders relied on more than 40 cruise missiles launched from Navy ships and submarines in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, and 2,000-pound precision-guided bombs dropped by Air Force stealth fighter jets, military officials said.

    A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said military intelligence was picking up signs and "circumstantial evidence" that Saddam and his senior leadership were either incapacitated or out of communication with battlefield commanders. It was too early to say if they were killed or wounded.

    "We are seeing no coordinated response to our first attack," the official said. "It's little things here and there. Some individual commanders are hunkering down while others are launching small attacks and setting fires."

    Military officials "believe it is significant that there is a lack of coordination and significant resistance to what we did," the official added.

    Rumsfeld was asked whether military planners knew Saddam's location Wednesday night.

    "We had what I would characterize as very good intelligence that it was a senior Iraqi leadership compound. We do not know what the battle damage assessment" will be, he said.

    Officials said the surprise attack was the product of a complex operation that benefited from electronic spying and other intelligence, special military operations, and changes in technology that permitted military chiefs to more quickly reconfigure the cruise missiles for a special, pinpointed attack.

    Rumsfeld warned Iraqis not to go to work, but to stay in their homes and listen to coalition radio broadcasts.

    "The day of your liberation may soon be at hand," Rumsfeld said. "The days of the Saddam Hussein regime are numbered. We continue to feel there is no need for a broader conflict if the Iraqi leaders act to save themselves and to prevent such further conflict."
     
    #29 MadMax, Mar 20, 2003
  10. AroundTheWorld

    AroundTheWorld Member

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    :D
     
    #30 AroundTheWorld, Mar 20, 2003
  11. A-Train

    A-Train Member

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    Ahh....leave it up to Clutch to mix in an Office Space reset in a war thread. :)

    I won't be satisifed until I see a soldier walking across the desert with Hussein's head impailed on the staff of a United States flag...
     
    #31 A-Train, Mar 20, 2003
  12. treeman

    treeman Member

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    I agree. Unlike killing Osama in a cave in Afghanistan, we should be able to verify whether or not Saddam is killed (even though we don't have any of his DNA, there should be witnesses). The entire Baath regime will visibly crumble, and it will be obvious that Qusay is trying to call the shots. Or Uday, if he tries to wrest control from his brother.
     
    #32 treeman, Mar 20, 2003
  13. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Member

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    My question is: Even if Saddam survived, wouldn't it still be in his best interest to throw a body double out there. In either case, Iraqi civilians who want to believe his propoganda will believe its him, but if he throws out a body double, America doesn't know. If he goes out himself, we know for certain that he made it, at least.
     
    #33 JayZ750, Mar 20, 2003
  14. haven

    haven Member

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    If he someone manages to get captured alive, then things are going to get messy. If we try him with a military tribunal, there's going to be a lot of b****ing. If we surrender him to the Hague, then it's going to be a legal circus.

    Better if he dies in the war, whether by a bomb or a bullet. If he surrenders to soldiers, you've got a real problem. I wonder how far our soldiers would go? Or I wonder if he'd be killed in an "escape" attempt after capture.
     
    #34 haven, Mar 20, 2003
  15. Possum

    Possum Member

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    We can only hope!
     
    #35 Possum, Mar 20, 2003
  16. treeman

    treeman Member

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    He is not getting out of this alive. Even if he leaves Iraq, Mossad will follow him to the end of the earth... Which is one reason he didn't leave. As for capturing him - why would we want to do that? Unlike an Al Qaeda operative, he has no real important knowledge that we would want to extract. Others in his regime have such knowledge, but not him. He's a dead man.

    BTW, I would expect that being a Saddam body double is about the least healthy career on the planet right now.
     
    #36 treeman, Mar 20, 2003
  17. Mango

    Mango Member

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    Are you thinking of a <i>Dave</i> type of scenario?


    How long do you think they could keep a lid on it before the truth started to leak out?
     
    #37 Mango, Mar 20, 2003
  18. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"
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    ....[​IMG] ...............[​IMG]
    "You have caught me! I surrender!" ............ "No, *I* surrender. I am Saddam!"
     
    #38 B-Bob, Mar 20, 2003
  19. treeman

    treeman Member

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    LOL!
     
    #39 treeman, Mar 20, 2003
  20. treeman

    treeman Member

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    Orbat is reporting that Saddam may have been wounded, and several top generals have been killed.

    www.orbat.com
     
    #40 treeman, Mar 20, 2003
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