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.

[Claire Voyant]

Who in Bush's cabinet would give the Washington Post this story...George Tenet probably.

[ravinson]

I think Saddam's either dead or badly injured, and his successors are now scrabbling to keep the myth of his good health alive while they grab the jewels and head for the hills.

[ravinson]

Now FOX NEWS is reporting that Saddam was believed to be at the "nondescript house" south of Baghdad that was hit at dawn -- when Saddam may have presumed that he would be safe from air strikes.

[weegee]

I think Saddam's either dead or badly injured, and his successors are now scrabbling to keep the myth of his good health alive while they grab the jewels and head for the hills.

Problem is they can't take Saddam's Billion Dollar Mosque (the one made to resemble his fingerprint) with them. I'm sure there are assets they can grab though (wasn't there a recent article about Saddam stockpiling diamonds).

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I don't think it was Saddam.

No chin dimple, the shoulders are too slender, and a big tip off is that the real Saddam has ' corn teeth'.

[6ppc]

The one on the right has a dimple in his chin. The other one doesn't

[laredo44]

The ear on the left and the one on the right definitely look different.

[Roy Tucker]

I tend to agree that the guy on the right is not Saddam. I think that was the set-up in advance, in case we bombed the TV station while fake Saddam was broadcasting. I suspect we will see a few more.

I think it is more interesting that it was his son Qusay who got the message out after the attack ordering his troops to be martyrs for Iraq. (You first, Qusay). I think we may have gotten Saddam or at least injured him.

[katana]

If someone can do a digital enhancement, a good point of comparison will be the ear lobes. They are like finger prints. Whenever I've had visa photos taken, they always said that my ears had to be visible as it is one thing which is used for photo matching. Off hand, I think it's the same guy and that lighting and the glasses caused the differences you see.

[Nubbin]

That guy on the right is not Saddam, it's Mr. Whipple!

[Claire Voyant]

Looks like George Tenet screwed up AGAIN. He really is a waste of skin if he changed Bush's plans and didn't get Saddam.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Do you have any pictures from the Dan Rather interview? That would be an interesting comparison...

[Pravious]

However much the TV photo looks (or doesn't look) like Saddam, it's certainly a fact that it was NOT a live broadcast. I was watching it "live" and saw a very obvious crossfade - something impossible, of course, with a live shot.

Given that it WAS taped - what would have been the point of using a double? Plus, would Saddam's ego allow him to use a double at such a moment to address his people? After all, this is the guy who filled the country with images of himself.

[zippoman]

Looks the same to me. The chin dimple could be accounted for by the way he's opening his mouth while speaking. Cheeks look the same, nose looks the same, eyebrows same. Also keep in mind that the picture on the right has much better definition than the video picture on the left. Looks like we missed.

[reloader]

I believe that son is called Uday, which is pig latin for "Do", which is short for his full given name "Do-Do".
Those crafty iraqis and their code.

[katana]

I agree that by all indications the broadcast was a tape and, based on the lack of reference to the attack of an hour before, it was probably made prior to it as a boiler-plate response. I think it's likely that was Hussein but we'll have to see what if any encores come in the next few days.

I also think there will be lots of rumors floated that the old bas***d is dead and whether, when, and how he rises to the bait will say a lot about the success of last night's mission.

Finally, and I am not one who believes this war has anything to do with the 1993 assassination attempt on POTUS no. 41, that event did set the ground rules for going after Saddam and his sons personally.

[b4its2late]

Jim Miklashefsky(sp), NBC, Pentagon said that they think maddas is still alive and has not assumed room temperature.

[ez]

FWIW, the picture of the dude in front of the "Johnny Carson" curtains last night on Al Jazeera was not Saddam, and the picture Fox shows of Saddam and W. together is not Saddam.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Yeah, Saddam has a butt chin.