Possible bombing of Saddam Hussein and sons

[spiritof1202]

MSNBC.COM
April 8 — A U.S. Air Force warplane dropped four enormous bombs on a residential complex where “extremely reliable” intelligence indicated that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and one or both of his two sons were attending a meeting, senior administration officials told NBC News late Monday. The sources would not rule out the possibility that Saddam could have moved before the bomber struck, but they said it was likely that he and his sons were dead.

BASED ON information from an intelligence source on the ground in Baghdad, U.S. military officials were confident that Saddam and his son Qusay were attending a meeting in the neighborhood with other top Iraqi leaders, senior officials told NBC’s Carl Rochelle at the Pentagon and Andrea Mitchell at the State Department. They said they believed it was possible that Saddam’s other son, Uday, also was there.

The intelligence information was considered so reliable that it justified a massive attack in a residential area despite the administration’s declared emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, diplomatic sources told Mitchell.

Officials quickly called in an Air Force B-1B bomber to strike the location. The warplane dropped four GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition weapons, the 2,000-pound smart bombs known as “bunker busters,” leaving giant holes in the ground, the officials said.

Diplomatic officials and officials at the Pentagon told NBC News that they were highly confident that they killed everyone at the meeting, but they said it could take a day or two before they knew for sure.

Linky

[DanS]

Saddam and Sons put out of business?

[GePap]

Blah... March attack redux.

[ravagon]

Interesting. Where did they call up a B1 from so quickly? I didn't think they based any of those outside Diego Garcia ... in the middle East theatre anyway.

[Ned]

FOX is reporting that the video showing Saddam in his walkabout was analyzed to determine where Saddam was. It is the same neighborhood where yesterday's attack took place. But this told them where to send their "assets" to find Saddam.

[GePap]

I thought all his latest appearances were canned, cause he had ALREADY been killed..are the folks at the Pentagon admittng they didn't get his the first time?

Now, that is news.

[Ned]

FOX Major General Air Force (ret.) said that the B1 was among a group of planes orbiting Baghdad. These plane are on call by forward air controllers on the ground.

The plane that hit Saddam did so within minutes from intel confirming the target.

BTW, the B1 can carry 30 GBU-31's. There may have been more than 4 dropped. But this is just me speculating.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by ravagon
Interesting. Where did they call up a B1 from so quickly? I didn't think they based any of those outside Diego Garcia ... in the middle East theatre anyway.

There are bombers flying around in circles on call for contingencies, perhaps this was one of the contingencies that they were prepared for.

[Lefty Scaevola]

I like this quote from the AP version of the story
"but U.S. officials said they had evidence the target had been destroyed. 'There is a big hole where that target used to be,' "

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by GePap
I thought all his latest appearances were canned, cause he had ALREADY been killed..are the folks at the Pentagon admittng they didn't get his the first time?

They did that a few days ago, IIRC.

[chequita guevara]

Truth is the first casualty of war. Given how many other false pronouncements have been made, I'll only believe this when there is proof. It's too bad if he is dead. I'd have liked to see him stand trial. Then he could name names.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Then he could name names.

The French probably wouldn't like that. Not to mention all those Russian companies that sold him hardware in violation of the sanction regime.

[Ned]

The site was a residence attached to a restaurant. Abu Dabi TV showed video of an attack on a restaurant yesterday. Whether this is the same as the attack on Saddam has not been confirmed.

The video is being replayed constantly by FOX.

[monkspider]

I wouldn't hold my breath on this.

[Bird]

If he is not dead, I guarantee you he wishes he were. Rightly or wrongly, he was warned. Get this over.

[JohnT]

Using the powers of prognostication that powered me to ninth place on the Final Four tourney, I will predict that he is....


dead.

(You read it here first.)

[Frogman]

It sounds like they are beginning to question the intellegence. Its hard to believe he would call a meeting of the top 30 people in his regime a half mile from the US troops. I think the mood in the pentagon is hopeful but doubtful.

[JohnT]

Perhaps it was somebody getting back at an especially nasty neighbor:

"So you think it's my responsibility to rake up the leaves that your tree drops on my lawn, eh? I'll show you!!!"

[monkspider]

Originally posted by JohnT
Perhaps it was somebody getting back at an especially nasty neighbor:

"So you think it's my responsibility to rake up the leaves that your tree drops on my lawn, eh? I'll show you!!!"

[Ned]

The troops are so close, that I don't know why we don't go over to the site and take control.

Here is a map. The site is in al Mansur. Our troops are in the new palace.

[red_mustard]

Saddam is so ****ed. The battle of baghdad is turning into a route epic magnitude. All the fears about stalingrad or somalia are proving to be dead wrong. Some 20% of the city is now controlled or been swept by coalition forces.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
The French probably wouldn't like that. Not to mention all those Russian companies that sold him hardware in violation of the sanction regime.

Nobody's that dumb. What you do is sell the weapons to an international dealer, who sells to a dummy corporation in some tax haven, who sells to another dummy corporation in some other tax haven, with the lading documents and destination altered. Then the stuff mysteriously appears in the port of choice, with paperwork for a humanitarian shipment of grain.

[red_mustard]

Some damn expensive grain

Wonder how they smuggle tanks?

[Tattila the Hun]

As water tanks? Like in WW I? (Hence the name...) They could use water tanks...


"Hey, we ordered water tanks. What are we supposed to do with T-66's? Our people will die of thirst..."

[Lord Merciless]

Originally posted by red_mustard
Some damn expensive grain

Wonder how they smuggle tanks?

On container ships, amid food shipments.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by red_mustard
Some damn expensive grain

Wonder how they smuggle tanks?

Just one more piece of cargo in a glorified box.