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U.S. Negotiates Directly With Iraqi Commanders (buildings designated as safe zones for defectors)
Washington Post ^ | March 21st, 2003 | Dana Priest and Walter Pincus

Posted on 03/21/2003 7:46:46 PM PST by Sabertooth

In an intensified effort to divide Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from his inner circle, U.S. military and intelligence officers in recent days have communicated with Iraqi commanders and they have secretly designated buildings in the capital for defectors to occupy, promising they will not be targeted in U.S. airstrikes, senior U.S. officials said today.

U.S. military and intelligence officers also have gained promises from some Iraqi commanders that they would not fire chemical weapons at American ground forces, the officials said, although U.S. officials said they are monitoring one Republican Guard unit outside Baghdad that they believe has been issued artillery shells filled with chemical agents.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraqidefectors; roadtobaghdad; warlist
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To: justshe
Try again. It's on the Google News page now, but it keeps jumping around.



21 posted on 03/21/2003 9:10:19 PM PST by Sabertooth
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To: sinkspur
Somebody studied Sun-Tzu before this war.

They must be doing something at all that training the top commanders go to... I doubt it is sitting around and playing with their toes.

22 posted on 03/21/2003 9:57:41 PM PST by AFPhys (((PRAYING for: President Bush & advisors, troops & families, Americans)))
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To: sinkspur
I agree with all you siad. It raises the questions:

Why did the US, or anyone else, wait this long?

Why didn't anyone else clean up their own backyard?

Not to put down the US military, but the iraquis appear more and more clownish every time they appear or are heard.
23 posted on 03/21/2003 11:28:06 PM PST by EERinOK
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To: Sabertooth; *war_list; W.O.T.; 11th_VA; Libertarianize the GOP; Free the USA; knak; MadIvan; ...
OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST
24 posted on 03/21/2003 11:56:35 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (Where is Saddam?)
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To: Sabertooth
Thanks, Saber ! Good news ! . . .

Still, Iraq experts said they believe Hussein, even if he has survived, could face potential assassination from inside his ranks. The Iraqi leader's normal protection devices failed him on Thursday, leading to the surprise U.S. air attack on the residential compound in Baghdad. For someone obsessed with security, the attack could be disorienting at a time when Hussein is also supposed to issue commands to thwart the military attack by U.S. and British forces.

"Saddam is obsessed with his own security and spares no expense, including his own time and attention, to ensure his safety," said Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst who has written a book on Iraq. Hussein has employed separate rings of bodyguards and security service personnel, many of whom are members of his clan and are sworn to protect him.

Pollack said yesterday that the airstrike on the bunker, "even if it did not hurt him, probably did a lot of damage in a psychological sense."


25 posted on 03/22/2003 2:34:46 AM PST by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Saddam! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
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