To: Happy2BMe
April 8 As U.S. officials tried to determine whether Saddam Hussein survived a massive bombing in Baghdad, the battle for control of the Iraqi capital raged Tuesday with American forces blasting government targets and foiling an apparent Iraqi counterattack. A U.S. warplane dropped four bunker-buster bombs and blasted a smoking crater 60 feet deep at a building Monday in the capital where U.S. officials believed the Iraqi president was meeting with at least one of his sons and other members of his inner circle.
PRESIDENT BUSH said he didnt know whether Saddam was alive after a thunderous explosion rocked the upscale al-Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad.
I dont know whether he survived, the president said. The only thing I know is that hes losing power, Bush said at a news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair after a meeting at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast.
And despite suspicions at the Pentagon that Saddam may have been killed, there were no signs of any unusual security measures at the site Tuesday. A reporter had no problem examining it, watching the rescue operation or speaking to neighbors.
The daylight airstrike by a single B-1B bomber broke windows and doors up to 300 yards away, ripped orange trees out by the roots, hurled steel beams 100 yards and left a heap of broken concrete, mangled iron rods and shredded furniture and clothes.
Iraqi rescue workers using a bulldozer to search the rubble said that three bodies had been recovered those of a small boy, a young woman and an elderly man and that the death toll could be as high as 14.
At this point in time, Im not aware of anyone from coalition forces that have walked the site, said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar.
When thats possible, well have more information about what exactly happened there, Brooks said at a news briefing Tuesday. Until then, we can only go with things we can gain information on. And we believe the strike was effective in hitting the target, creating the desired effect, but we dont know all the circumstances of what happened to those who were contained inside.
Brooks said it will take some time and perhaps detailed forensic work to establish who was killed.
Theres lots of digging and DNA tests involved, a U.S. official told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Separately, NBCs Andrea Mitchell reported that the investigation could be hampered because U.S. officials do not possess Saddams DNA.
2ND ATTEMPT
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, speaking to reporters Tuesday, made no mention of Saddams fate, and rejected any suggestion that Iraq would surrender to American forces drawing a noose around the regime. They will be burnt. We are going to tackle them, he said.
U.S. intelligence sources told NBC that the Pentagon was confident that Saddam and his sons were in the building before it was bombed. The information was considered so reliable that it justified a massive attack in a residential area despite the administrations emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties, they said.
A U.S. official told the Associated Press that Saddam was known to frequent the building, apparently because he thought coalition forces would not target him so close to a civilian center.
Those close to Saddam have said the Iraqi leader is so obsessed with security that very few people would know about his movements. He maintains dozens of residences and uses doubles to keep people guessing.
Coalition strikes have aimed at top Iraqi leaders from the very start of the war.
On March 20, the opening night of the war, President Bush authorized a strike on a suburban Baghdad compound where Saddam and his sons were thought to be staying. But U.S. intelligence officials suspect he survived.
URBAN WARFARE
Tuesday, U.S. forces set up a base in Baghdad as they stepped up their efforts to stamp out Iraqi resistance and extend American control of the city of 5 million people.
Some Iraqi forces staged a counterattack after dawn, sending fighters to overrun U.S. forces holding a strategic intersection. U.S. troops strafed the Iraqis from planes overhead and with mortar and artillery fire.
Within an hour, U.S. tanks retook the intersection. At least 50 Iraqi fighters were killed, and two U.S. soldiers were reported wounded, one seriously, by snipers on rooftops, military officials said.
Col. David Perkins of the 3rd Infantry Division said about 500 Iraqi forces took part in the counterattack. They were a combination of special Republican Guard, Fedayeen and Baath Party loyalists a lot of civilian-dressed fighters, he said.
To: sharktrager
"Separately, NBCs Andrea Mitchell reported that the investigation could be hampered because U.S. officials do not possess Saddams DNA." Do FIRST COUSINS count? (Chemical Ali)
12 posted on
04/08/2003 8:06:50 AM PDT by
Happy2BMe
(HOLLYWOOD:Ask not what U can do for your country, ask what U can do for Iraq!)
To: sharktrager
"Separately, NBCs Andrea Mitchell reported that the investigation could be hampered because U.S. officials do not possess Saddams DNA." Oh, I'm sure we can track down one of his mistresses who hung on to a stained blue burka. :-)
23 posted on
04/08/2003 8:12:58 AM PDT by
Coop
(God bless our troops!)
To: sharktrager
"Iraqi rescue workers using a bulldozer to search the rubble said that three bodies had been recovered those of a small boy, a young woman and an elderly man ......
Also 2 small helpless kittens, a sweet little puppy dog, and several historic artifacts.......
Sorry for the inconvenience to any freindlies.......
60 posted on
04/08/2003 9:32:05 AM PDT by
showme_the_Glory
(No more rhyming, and I mean it! ..Anybody got a peanut.....)
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