Internet Rumors Fly ... Saddam Was Killed by American First Strike !

NewsPundit.net ^ | 3/20/2003 | Douglas Oliver

[ex-Texan]

Internet Rumors Fly ... Saddam Was Killed by American First Strike !

Breaking news in the first hours after the initial strike on Bagdad: The Washington Post reported late tonight the details about a CIA report that it had "a fix a Saddam Hussein" that brought about the cruise missle attack. (March 20, 2003)

About ninety minutes after the attack an Iraqi appeared on televison claiming to be Saddam and read a prepared speech from pages of notes. Rumors are flying that the person reading the written speech was not Saddam Hussein.

Regarding the American first strike, I quote a brief excerpt from the Washington Post report:

* * * Shortly before 4 p.m. yesterday, Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet offered President Bush the prospect -- improbable to the point of fantasy, yet suddenly at hand -- that the war against Iraq might be transformed with its opening shots. The CIA, Tenet said, believed it had a fix on President Saddam Hussein.

Hussein and others in "the most senior levels of the Iraqi leadership," ordinarily among the most elusive of men, had fallen under U.S. surveillance. The intelligence was unforeseen and perishable, presenting what one administration official called "a target of opportunity" that might not come again. Not only did the agency know where Hussein was, Tenet said, but it also believed with "a high probability" that it knew where he would be for hours to come -- cloistered with advisers in a known private residence in southern Baghdad. * * *

When Bush signed the launch order at 6:30 p.m., it had a hastily prepared insert. The first shots would strike through the roof and walls of an anonymous Baghdad home and deep beneath it in hopes of decapitating the Iraqi government in a single blow.

"If you're going to take a shot like this, you're going to take a shot at the top guy," said a government official with knowledge of the sequence of events. "It was a fairly singular strike." * * *

A few hours later it was learned that Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blain had called a top level meeting of his Cabinet to discuss "new developments" in the Iraq war for the early morning of hours of March 20th.

In the meantime, rumors were flying on the Internet that Saddam and his closest military advisors were probably killed in the first strike by U.S. forces.

I find it strange that the reports from Iraq have quieted down after the first strike. There apears to be a total news black out in the media. This independent reporter has no first hand knowledge of the effectiveness of America's first strike on Bagdad. But I hope and pray that the rumors flying on the Internet are true.

[DB]

The guy on TV sure didn't look like Saddam.

If he was in an underground bunker, its going to take awhile to find out if he's dead.

[stlnative]

Do you think it is the same person?
The left picture his from his video this morning, the middle picture is both pictures laying over each other, the right picture I believe was taken less than 2 days ago. (not a very good overlay...but it makes me wonder if it is the same Saddam in both pictures)

[Straight Vermonter]

The Saddam on the right seems to be much more jowly.

[JudgemAll]

Jaw bones and cheek bone line patterns seem quite different.

[des]

No chin dimple and has an astigmatism

[ambrose]

If the guy on the left really is Saddam, I'd bet that his dispensing optician was one of those tossed in the shredder...

[stlnative]

That might be my editing... I think the eyes are different, he seems to have smaller eyes in the left picture (maybe it is just the glasses throwing me off). I was just fooling around and thought I would try overlaying the pictures just to see what it would look like.

[DB]

Doesn't Saddam have a small dimple in his chin? At least one of his sons has one as well (don't remember the other son's picture).

Your far right video picture shows no such feature.

[stlnative]

your right about the dimple in the chin... it is not showing up in the left picture... but really shows up in the right picture.

[Orlando]

That so-call Saddam on TV is not the real Saddam,,
I believe the real Saddam is dead, Killed by the bombs.

I would put the word out on radio in Iraq that Saddam and
most of this generals are dead.

Then wait .

[DB]

The guy who escaped recently that was a double for one of Saddam's sons also had no dimple in his chin while the actual son does.

[justa-hairyape]

Great pictures. The BBC World is reporting now that US intelligence actually targeted a high level meeting between Iraqi Military leaders that could have included Hussien. Some buildings were struck and some nearby vehicles were struck. I think the key aspects in the photos are the chin and the eyes. You cannot fake the Natural Born Killer Stare in the real Hussiens eyes. Also, the mustache on the fake Saddam has its color slightly off compared to the eyebrows. As others on Freerepublic have reported.

As usual, the leftist saddam lapdog media is claiming that since the real Saddam had a 'post strike' speech shown on state TV, the US strikes obvously failed. Obviously the Saddam lapdog media has missed the two key points. First - We struck at the Captial of Baghdad. Their air defense is useless against our cruise missiles and stealth fighter bombers. Second - Even if Saddam did survive, others key military leaders may have not.

[stlnative]

Kuwait Under Alarm - Told to put on Gas Masks

[Joe 6-pack]

I know guys that can pluck their eyebrows and thin them out over a few day's time. I don't know of any who can grow them bushier in the same time frame.

[justa-hairyape]

Yep, Apparently some missiles landed in Northern Kuwait. Media all excited because their socialist hero Saddam got a couple off. Everyone in the area put on gas masks. BBC World was playing this up to the hilt.

[Remember Ruby Ridge]

Doesn't Saddam have a butt-crack chin?

[Tennessee_Bob]

RE: Astigmatism - I remember reading the other day that he doesn't let the press photograph him wearing his reading glasses.

[goldstategop]

Butt ugly reading glasses. I guess he couldn't afford a TelePrompter for the speech.

[Claire Voyant]

The Nose looks totally different.

George Tenet gave Bush the info......George Tenet is inept...imho. Let's pray he gave Bush good advice.