Posted on 06/22/2003 3:37:13 PM PDT by dixiechick2000
WASHINGTON, June 22 — Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee expressed a guarded hope today that United States missiles might have hit a convoy thought to have been carrying Saddam Hussein.
Asked about a reported missile attack Wednesday on a convoy in western Iraq, Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the committee, said that he would "not be surprised" to learn that Mr. Hussein had been killed.
It was an intriguing comment from a man who regularly receives top-secret briefings, though Mr. Roberts, Republican of Kansas, quickly added that he had received no confirmation regarding Mr. Hussein.
Mr. Hussein is believed to have escaped at least two previous bombing attempts on his life, and the vice chairman of Mr. Roberts' committee, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, said it was too soon to reach conclusions.
"But with this very aggressive effort that we have been mounting," Mr. Roberts said on Fox TV, "I would not be surprised" to learn Mr. Hussein was dead.
And King Abdullah of Jordan told a television interviewer that he understood Mr. Hussein had been traveling in the part of Iraq where the attack was reported to have occurred.
Those developments came a day after President Bush addressed publicly, for the first time, the recent guerrilla-style attacks on American soldiers, which have killed at least 17 American troops since May 1. Mr. Bush blamed Hussein loyalists and their "terrorist allies" for the attacks.
The attacks have led to a far-reaching new campaign to root out resistance and a focused effort to determine Mr. Hussein's fate. Senator Roberts said that United States forces have arrested 600 Baath Party loyalists and members of Mr. Hussein's former security agencies. The threat to American troops, he said, had been bolstered by "a lot of people coming in from outside the country."
The arrest last week of one of Mr. Hussein's closest aides, Abid Hamid Mahmud Tikriti, raised hopes that the former president, who disappeared in the United States-led assault on Baghdad, might now be found.
The Observer of London reported today that American specialists were performing DNA tests on remains found in debris left by a missile attack Wednesday near the Syrian border, to see whether they could be those of Mr. Hussein or one of his sons.
Separately, King Abdullah said that he had heard reports that Mr. Hussein was "moving around the northwestern area" in taxis and pickup trucks.
The persistent uncertainty over Mr. Hussein has raised fear among many Iraqis that he might yet return, complicating the United States' mission to restore stability.
"I wouldn't underestimate the fear that Saddam still shadows his people with," King Abdullah said on the ABC News program "This Week."
American officials say Hussein loyalists are behind much of the recent resistance, though they see no signs of central coordination.
"Dangerous pockets of the old regime remain loyal to it," Mr. Bush said Saturday, "and they, along with their terrorist allies, are behind deadly attacks designed to kill and intimidate coalition forces and innocent Iraqis."
Prewar suggestions by Mr. Bush and his aides that Mr. Hussein had links to terror groups are among several such assertions now drawing mounting criticism from Democrats.
Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Friday that they plan a "thorough review" of administration handling of the prewar intelligence. Mr. Roberts said today there would likely be three more closed hearings, and one public hearing, before a report is issued in at least a few months.
Democrats, who had pressed for a full investigation, say they want to know whether United States intelligence or the administration had exaggerated the threat from Iraq.
Senator Roberts said that from what he knows, Mr. Bush did not exaggerate available intelligence. "I know of no interference on the part of the president, or no conclusion that's not backed up by good evidence," he said on Fox TV.
Democrats, initially cautious about criticizing a popular president, appear increasingly to see the issue as a potential vulnerability for Mr. Bush.
"We were misled," Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor and a Democratic presidential hopeful, said today on the NBC News program "Meet the Press." The United States was led to war, he said, "based on facts that turned out not to be accurate. I think that's pretty serious."
Last week, another presidential hopeful, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, said that Mr. Bush "misled every one of us."
Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic National Committee chairman, said that Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion on March 16 that Mr. Hussein might have "reconstituted nuclear weapons" left the administration with a "huge credibility gap."
Senator Joseph Biden, ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, while saying that the administration had exaggerated Iraq's ties to Al Qaeda, defended Mr. Bush's assertion that Iraq likely had banned weapons. Based on what was widely accepted, he said, "the administration was right in saying he had those weapons.`
Senator Rockefeller said that he knew of no case in which the White House had exaggerated intelligence on Iraq. But he said he was concerned about its since-discredited assertion that Iraq had attempted to buy uranium from Niger.
"That was discounted very early," he said. "It was 10 years out of date, it was a forged signature, and yet it did appear in the State of the Union" speech by Mr. Bush in January.
Hope the bugger is dead...
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, said that Mr. Bush "misled every one of us."
Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic National Committee chairman, said that Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion on March 16 that Mr. Hussein might have "reconstituted nuclear weapons" left the administration with a "huge credibility gap."
As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.
O.K., I remember that one of Clinton's wars was based on claims of genocide that turned out to be mostly fabricated. Does anyone remember the specifices (I realize that it has only been a few years, but I have tried to block most of the Clinton years out of my memory).
DNA tests after missiles strike 'Saddam convoy'
Guardian, UK - 23 hours ago
... and Uday following full DNA tests. It was not known when the tests would be completed,
but the sources indicated it was 'imminent'. The attack on the convoy ...
DNA tests on to confirm Saddam's death - The Hindu
US troops strike convoy 'carrying' Saddam: report - Sydney Morning Herald
SADDAM 'KILLED' AS CONVOY IS BOMBED - Sunday People
US troops hit ‘ Saddam convoy ’ ?
Times of Oman, Oman - 31 minutes ago
The Observer weekly said US experts were carrying out DNA tests on human remains
recovered from the convoy, struck by missiles last Wednesday as it headed out ...
Senators Optimistic That US Missiles Hit Hussein's Convoy
New York Times - 2 hours ago
Asked about a reported missile attack Wednesday on a convoy in western Iraq ... The Observer
of London reported today that American specialists were performing DNA ...
US Lawmakers Hopeful of Getting Saddam - Reuters
US lawmakers hopeful of getting Saddam - Reuters AlertNet
US hopeful of getting Saddam - The Mirror
DNA tests on Saddam remains'
ITV, UK - 15 hours ago
... out DNA tests on human remains, believed to belong to Saddam Hussein and one of
his sons, according to reports. The remains were retrieved from a convoy of ...
Iraq weapons 'will be found' - BBC News
Convoy of luxury vehicles struck by missiles after satellite- ...
WorldNetDaily - 21 hours ago
DNA tests are being conducted on human remains recovered after US missiles launched
last week destroyed a convoy of luxury vehicles believed to have been ...
Dead or alive? Why America needs to know whatever happened to ...
Independent, UK - 1 hour ago
... The Observer said yesterday that DNA tests are being made on remains from a convoy
of vehicles hit by US Hellfire missiles on 18 June, after "firm" information ...
Saddam-sightings 'everywhere'
News24, South Africa - 4 hours ago
... The Observer weekly said US experts were in the process of carrying out DNA tests
on human remains recovered from the convoy, struck by missiles last Wednesday ...
'Small groups' behind Iraqi attacks
Financial Times (subscription), UK - 4 hours ago
... Iraq where US forces last Wednesday attacked a convoy that may have been carrying
Mr Hussein and one of his sons. US forces are reported to be carrying out DNA ...
Saddam, Dead or Alive?
Hindustan Times, India - 11 hours ago
... out DNA tests on human remains believed by the US military officers to be those of
Saddam Hussain and one of his sons. The remains were retrieved from a convoy ...
Papers ask where is Saddam?
BBC News, UK - 16 hours ago
... carrying out DNA tests on human remains believed to be those of Saddam Hussein and
one of his sons. The remains are said to have been retrieved from a convoy ...
If they are cautiously advancing the idea, it's a done deal.
Hopefully, the guy is worm food.
Do they have worms in Iraq?
Sen. Roberts should know, huh?
I crossed my fingers that it wasn't another wedding party wipe out on our part. - tom
Islamic worms.
They surface five times a day to pray.
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