Saddam, sons have fled: Ex-aide

The Peninsula ^ | 4/7/2003 7:17:0 | Agencies

[loudmouths]

As US forces tightened their grip on Baghdad, President Saddam Hussein, along with his two sons, fled the capital three days ago for his home town of Tikrit, 175km to the north, media reports said.

[dfwgator]

Tikrit is going to look like Dresden pretty soon.

[Nagilum]

I'll second that...I'd support a Dresden of Tikrit because the people there are probably the only ones in the country where most would actually fight for him.

Of course they won't, but I say torch it...

[Hodar]

Saddam is such a liar.
"I would never set fire to the oil wells; this is Iraq's future"
"I will never accept exile, nor flee; I will stay and fight"
"I have no biological or chemical agents"

Maybe he should try to get the Democratic nomination....

[stuartcr]

I'm not sure the non-combatants in Tikrit would agree.

[chance33_98]

“I have been informed that once he had firm evidence that the Americans were closing in on Baghdad, he fled to his home town of Tikrit,” claimed Haitham Rashid Wihaib, Saddam’s former Chief of Protocol in The Mail.

Uh...I thought baghdad bob said we weren't in Baghdad? Guess saddam is not listening to his own reports :)

[CholeraJoe]

President Saddam Hussein, along with his two sons, fled the capital three days

In a Hefty bag maybe.

[TLBSHOW]

dead is what they are along with saddam!

[Kenton]

Yeah, Tikrit has been saved for last. It's Sodom's home town and the home of the Ba'ath Party. Perhaps this is where the gloves come off and we get to see the MOAB.

[KriegerGeist]

"Maybe he should try to get the Democratic nomination...."

I'm serious when I say that he could beat Kerry and perhaps AlGore in the primary.

[hispanarepublicana]

I wonder if this is where the II Marine Expeditionary is headed....there is a thread in Breaking News that they have been secretly laying in wait NW of Baghdad, near the Jordanian border.

[loudmouths]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,931167,00.html

Fresh US force will blaze a trail to Saddam's town

[Dave S]

As much as I would love to firebomb or nuke Tikrit, we want to be able to show a body that is recognizably Saddams. Without that it will be hard to get the people to believe he is really gone. Toasting him Dresden style wouldnt accomlish that objective.

[Blood of Tyrants]

He would get at least a third of the Rat vote if he did.

[Only1choice____Freedom]

>>"Maybe he should try to get the Democratic nomination...."

What do you mean? She's already a Senator from New York!!??

[smokinleroy]

Saddam wants his mommy!!

[templar]

I'm not sure the non-combatants in Tikrit would agree.

That's what they get for being non-combatants. If you're gonna be killed anyway, take as many with you as you can. But, maybe, that's one of the reasons we're trying to minimize civilian deaths.

[LS]

This is, if I had to guess, EXACTLY where they are headed.

[stuartcr]

Personally, I don't think non-cambatants deserve to be dresdened. Just because they happen to have been born there, doesn't make them an enemy. I'm glad we're trying to minimiz their deaths.

[scooter2]

Maybe he should try to get the Democratic nomination....

Knowing how screwed up the DNC has become, he'd probably make it.

[Imagine]

"What Tanks?" Saddam Hussein April 7, 2003

[theDentist]

Tikrit, eh? Isn't Tik-rit an Iraqi word meaning "Land of MOAB Craters"?

[1Old Pro]

Tikrit is next. Figures they'll have alot of rts there.

[bert]

....I'm not sure the non-combatants in Tikrit would agree...

Non combatant can be defined by the commander. That is, any one there is by definition a combatant.

[stuartcr]

Even a 3 yr old?

[TommyDale]

Saddam is too truthful to run for the Democratic nomination, which shows where the other Democratic candidates stand when it comes to telling truth.

[bert]

yes

[stuartcr]

How?

[trebb]

If he's dead, that's OK, but I would really hope to capture the scumball alive.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Saddam, sons & immediate family members are not in Baghdad. They're in Syria and have been there for days. From there, they'll probably run to another Arabic country which will try to keep a lid on their presence. Buying their way with gold, diamonds, etc. BTW.

[strela]

Your source for this information?

[Ditto]

Maybe he should try to get the Democratic nomination....

Do you think he's really crazy enough to try to get in Hillary's way?

[stuartcr]

It would be better to positively ID him as dead, capture alive would do nothing other than result in him getting a cell next to Noriega.

[trebb]

It may not be as satisfying to us if he were captured alive, but I think (from what I've heard of his ego and phobias) that it would be much more humiliating and punishing to him.

[stuartcr]

Hopefully so.

[TommyDale]

I would rather they take him in a plastic bag. If he survives and is captured alive, we would have to endure a trial, etc. There is always a chance he could get a jury of Democrats to find him innocent.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Check the second bullet as you scroll down that is found in this story. Have a nice day. Do NOT reply to this message, there is not point.

Click here.

[strela]

Check the second bullet as you scroll down that is found in this story.

OK, done. The second bullet in the story reads as follows:

(fair use quote from the BBC article)

• US Secretary of State Colin Powell says Washington will select emerging leaders in post-war Iraq to help create a new interim Iraqi authority. The UN would not play a leading role in the political transformation of Iraq, he said.

I'm still a bit fuzzy on how this information corroborates the statement you made in Post 30, namely:

(MMTU, Post 30) Saddam, sons & immediate family members are not in Baghdad. They're in Syria and have been there for days. From there, they'll probably run to another Arabic country which will try to keep a lid on their presence. Buying their way with gold, diamonds, etc. BTW.

There appears to be a bit of a disconnect here, and I'm simply trying to figure out where it is coming from.

Have a nice day.

I do try.

Do NOT reply to this message, there is not point.

Sorry, but I felt I had to. I would like to understand the basis of your reasoning for the claim you made in Post 30 that Saddam and his sons is in Syria, when I have heard nothing from the world press or the Coalition to corroborate that claim. And sadly, I still do not understand it. Call me an idiot.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Story changed since I posted the link. The second bullets said something about Rumsfield saying Saddam may have gone to Syria. It has since changed since you posted your reply. Sorry about that. Should have copied it over.

[strela]

No problem - I understand completely. (I'm getting pressure at work to use a URL in some printed material that we send out, and I'm resisting because URLs change and our customers would be angrier at us for providing a bum link than they would for not providing any link at all).

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Here's something that might interest you. Check below:

Click here.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Your source for this information?

I won't have much to say, but when I do you might want to pay attention. However, you do have a free choice to understand or remain as you are.

Try reading this:

Click here for more information.

[strela]

Uh dude, the war is (essentially) over. Thank you though for your concern about my attention span.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

First of all I'm not a dude. And, when someone challenges my intellect and integrity it is forever. You'll learn that.

[strela]

First of all I'm not a dude.

Riiiiight ...

And, when someone challenges my intellect and integrity it is forever.

If anyone enters this thread who has actually done that, I'll be sure to point out your warning to them (or simply let them read it for themselves). As for me, I reject your apparent assumption that I "challenged" you to anything simply because I requested that you back up a claim you made in a post in this thread with fact. I would suggest that you not expect anybody to take whatever you post at face value simply because you posted it.

You'll learn that.

I have indeed learned something from this exchange. I'm not at all sure that it is actually the message you intended to impart, though.

Good day.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Good. The post can be referenced later. No further comment.