07 Feb 2007, 1:09 pm
Zhaouzhou wrote:
Occam's razor: there never was any Saddam double to begin with. It was a propaganda lie.
Yes, there were. The website you linked to, which absurdly claims to "expose 9/11," says this:
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So, if anyone was to be caught, the chances are 100 to 1 the first to be nabbed would be a clone. Yet, US forces scouring the country did a strangely dismal job of catching them.
Who said the doubles looked exactly like him? More likely they looked fairly similar and were designed to fool people at longer range. They did exist and Iraqis themselves have testified to it.
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US forces initially failed to find Saddam in raids on two locations near ad-Dwar. But, said Odierno, troops threw up a subsequent cordon and after a local search operation unearthed the fugitive.
Hold on a moment. Their 'actionable intelligence' led to raids on two prime locations, but only when they failed to find the most wanted man in the world did they bother to throw a cordon around the area?
Pardon me for being such a poor military strategist. But wouldn't any military or police hunt aimed a specific location surely throw a cordon BEFORE going in -not after? That way if the target moves then at least they still have him boxed in? This seems obvious to you and I, but clearly we don't have what it takes to rise to the top of the US military.
Hold on a moment. Their 'actionable intelligence' led to raids on two prime locations, but only when they failed to find the most wanted man in the world did they bother to throw a cordon around the area?
Pardon me for being such a poor military strategist. But wouldn't any military or police hunt aimed a specific location surely throw a cordon BEFORE going in -not after? That way if the target moves then at least they still have him boxed in? This seems obvious to you and I, but clearly we don't have what it takes to rise to the top of the US military.
Saddam Hussein was an extremely high value target. Capturing/killing him was very important. Cordoning off the area takes time, and if Saddam is not at the target you think he is but is still in the area it could very well tip him off and make him run for it. By moving in without cordoning off the area you remove this risk.
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The last thing you want is a 600-strong Raider Brigade stomping all over the rat hole. So you send them on a nearby wild goose chase --the Wolverine 1 & 2 locations. Meanwhile your very special ops team slips the rat into his rat hole to be pulled out moments later. With everyone trying to look surprised when they 'find' him.
You can discount those stories about Saddam moving location every few hours. Nobody is that foolish. Any fugitive knows travel presents the highest risk.
You can discount those stories about Saddam moving location every few hours. Nobody is that foolish. Any fugitive knows travel presents the highest risk.
When escaped Nazi war criminals such as Adolf Eichmann were worried about being caught by the Israels they moved very frequently.
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Even Col. James Hickey, heavy-handed war criminal and Saddam bloodhound commanding the 4th Infantry's 1st Brigade, told Reuters: "If they try to move, they run the risk of running into one of our patrols."
This is true since the U.S. had just cordoned off the area. It is also generally true to a lesser extent. However the longer a fugitive stays at a location the more likely he is to live out his welcome (Saddam was actually betrayed by a local).
Hickey is not a war criminal by the way. This is what the link describes in reference to him:
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Family members at one of the houses, in the village of al Haweda, said they were given five minutes to evacuate before soldiers opened fire.
(source link)
This tactic is actually REQUIRED under the Geneva Convention. It is done to protect civilians from being harmed by armed combat. What are soldiers supposed to do when engaged in an urban zone? Just kill the civilians too, like the terrorist do?
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Despite this, last week British sources leaked to Newsweek that Saddam had been dumb enough to be driving around in a battered old cab.
As opposed to what? Being escorted around by his elite Republican guard in a limousine?
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Supposedly, Saddam somehow hid in the very area being most thoroughly searched. And remained there though the zone, since early August had been hotter than a hornet's nest. Despite the US forces, insurgents were free enough to hit helicopters at will. Yet Saddam remained, we are told.
Yes, and he was well hidden, and moving around constantly. Do you want to see the rat hole he was in when he was caught? Here it is:
He remained in the area because he had supporters in the area. As the article itself says, it was difficult to get around because of patrols.
...
I don't feel like fisking this whole thing.
