Posted on 07/29/2003 9:29:45 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
U.S. Would Take Saddam Dead or Alive
By PAULINE JELINEK .c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - In the end, Saddam Hussein probably will be the one to decide whether he's taken dead or alive, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. They played down talk that his capture might be imminent.
On Capitol Hill, Bush administration officials drew angry responses when they refused to give senators rough estimates on the amount of money and troops it will cost to continue to occupy Iraq.
At the Pentagon, officials were asked about a flurry of comments this week from commanders on the ground in Iraq indicating that Saddam was running out of places to hide.
Since Saddam's sons Odai and Qusai were killed last week, Iraqis have been coming forward with more and better tips on his whereabouts, Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said at a joint press conference with Lt. Gen. Northon Schwartz, operations director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Pressed on commanders' assertions that they are closing in on Saddam, Schwartz said: ``I think we should not focus excessively on Saddam Hussein. ... Do I believe that we will ultimately apprehend Saddam Hussein? I think that is the case.''
Whether he will be taken dead or alive is another question.
Di Rita said he knows of no instructions that troops try harder to do one or the other.
``This is a decision that's taken on the ground,'' said Schwartz, adding that it's tactical, complex and depends on circumstances as well as ``the character of the target.''
``Given that array of considerations, the commander on the ground makes a decision on whether it is capture or kill,'' he said.
``The decisions made by the individual being pursued will prevail in most cases if he doesn't wish to be taken alive,'' said Di Rita. ``In many cases it's difficult to take them alive.''
Some Iraqis said it would have been better if U.S. troops had captured Saddam's hated and feared sons so they could stand trial for decades of alleged atrocities and others said they might have had valuable information on weapons programs and other issues.
Commanders said the pair chose to fight to the death. And if Saddam's purported words are any indication, he too, might choose that option.
A new audiotape attributed to him and broadcast Tuesday on Arab satellite station Al-Arabiya acknowledges the deaths of the sons last week and says they will be martyrs in heaven.
``Even if Saddam Hussein has 100 children other than Odai and Qusai, Saddam Hussein would offer them the same path,'' the voice on the nine-minute tape said. ``Thank God for what he destined for us, and honored us with their martyrdom for his sake.''
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, who met with President Bush and his senior advisers, told reporters that ``the impression that I got is that the noose is getting closer to Saddam Hussein.''
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House budget chief Joshua Bolten told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the ongoing U.S. role in Iraq will be expensive but worth the cost.
When pressed for specifics, both men declined to say what the administration thinks the costs will be in 2004 and beyond. Bolten said President Bush's 2005 budget, to be presented early next year, would not initially include any funds for U.S. operations in Iraq because they are too unpredictable.
``Give me a break, will you?'' responded Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, the panel's top Democrat. ``When will you guys start being honest with us?''
When Wolfowitz said it is ``very misleading'' to raise the issue of honesty, Biden replied that it is a matter of ``candor. ... You know there's going to be at least 100,000 American forces there for the next calendar year and you're not asking us for any money.''
In less confrontational tones, committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., told the officials that the administration should provide ``at least some idea of what is likely to be required of the American taxpayer.''
At a separate hearing, the Army chief of staff nominee, retired Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, said ``the fact of the matter is we will be in Iraq a long time.'' He was responding to a question on personnel needs during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., reminded Schoomaker that Bush has said the United States will remain in Iraq no longer than needed to bring stability to the country.
At the Foreign Relations hearing, the acting Army chief of staff, Gen. John Keane, said there are about 148,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a figure unlikely to change much in the near future even if some foreign troops arrive.
The military's costs this year were averaging $3.9 billion a month, officials have said.
``We don't have any reason to expect a dramatic change in that number,'' Bolten said, though he expressed reluctance to rely on that figure beyond the next couple of months.
The testimony comes as the administration is projecting this year's federal deficit will be a record $455 billion, soaring in 2004 to $475 billion. Next year's figure does not include estimated costs of activities in Iraq.
It also comes as Americans struggle to reconstruct Iraq and win over the population, and as U.S. forces suffer a steady trickle of casualties.
Some troops in Iraq for many months - and their families - have expressed impatience. And some lawmakers of both parties have criticized the administration's rationales for the war and its postwar policies.
Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee, among the Senate's most moderate Republicans, said ``we just haven't seen the proof'' of links the administration has claimed existed between Iraq and the terror network al-Qaida.
Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., accused the administration of ``constantly trying to pretend that Sept. 11 and Iraq are the same issue.''
AP congressional reporter Alan Fram contributed to this report.
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