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Saddam Hussein's two sons may have been found in Iraq after a four-hour shoot-out took place in the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Apparently, members of the 101st Airborne and the Special Forces group dubbed "Task Force 20" killed four high-ranking Iraqis, which may have been Uday and Qusay Hussein, as well as one of their teenage sons and the former General Izzat Ibrahim Ad-Duri who was Vice chairman of the Baath Party in charge of Iraqi forces in Mosul.
The signals coming out of official US channels is sort of mixed, but most still lean towards the demise of Saddam's sons. For instance, Pentagon officials are claiming "there is an 80% chance Saddam's sons have been found and killed". However, a National Security Council member speaking anonymously stated, "Uday and Qusay have met their maker". Another report mentioned the bodies of the dead were so damaged from the shoot-out (which included aerial attacks from helicopters) that we may not even know the outcome until DNA tests are performed.
Anyway, all I can say is let's hope they did in fact capture or kill these individuals because getting rid of Uday and Qusay Hussein would be one of the most positive developments since we occupied Iraq in April. One thing is for sure, it would definitely serve as a large political triumph for the United States in terms of convincing average Iraqis that the former government will not be coming back. As far as its effect on the ongoing guerilla war in Iraq goes, I don't think it will impact that as much because the Baath Regime by nature is designed to operate in small cells independent of a central authority.
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Saddam Hussein's two sons may have been found in Iraq after a four-hour shoot-out took place in the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Apparently, members of the 101st Airborne and the Special Forces group dubbed "Task Force 20" killed four high-ranking Iraqis, which may have been Uday and Qusay Hussein, as well as one of their teenage sons and the former General Izzat Ibrahim Ad-Duri who was Vice chairman of the Baath Party in charge of Iraqi forces in Mosul.
The signals coming out of official US channels is sort of mixed, but most still lean towards the demise of Saddam's sons. For instance, Pentagon officials are claiming "there is an 80% chance Saddam's sons have been found and killed". However, a National Security Council member speaking anonymously stated, "Uday and Qusay have met their maker". Another report mentioned the bodies of the dead were so damaged from the shoot-out (which included aerial attacks from helicopters) that we may not even know the outcome until DNA tests are performed.
Anyway, all I can say is let's hope they did in fact capture or kill these individuals because getting rid of Uday and Qusay Hussein would be one of the most positive developments since we occupied Iraq in April. One thing is for sure, it would definitely serve as a large political triumph for the United States in terms of convincing average Iraqis that the former government will not be coming back. As far as its effect on the ongoing guerilla war in Iraq goes, I don't think it will impact that as much because the Baath Regime by nature is designed to operate in small cells independent of a central authority.
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V3-Dev wrote:
I don't think it will impact that as much
- because the Baath Regime by nature is designed to
- operate in small cells independent of a central
- authority.
those two I believe are part of that central authority...no?
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If I want your Opinion I'll beat it out of you.
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Hornet57 wrote:
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- V3-Dev wrote:
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-- I don't think it will impact that as much
-- because the Baath Regime by nature is designed to
-- operate in small cells independent of a central
-- authority.
-
- those two I believe are part of that central
- authority...no?
Yes, they are part of the former central authority. Where did I say they weren't Hornet? My point was that the Baath regime structure going all the way back to its early days as a clandestine group who eventually overthrew the Iraqi monarchy has the ability to function as independent cells without specific orders coming from any sort of centralized command.
Therefore, this is why you have the current guerilla warfare situation that is occurring in Iraq today, and the killing or capture of Saddam' sons really won't impact this insurgency, especially considering these individuals conducting attacks on the US have nothing to lose and no future whatsoever in Iraqi society to begin with.
Overall, the biggest impact of their demise would be in the political sphere because like I said it would convince many Iraqis that the US is really being sincere when they say the former regime is dead and not coming back, as well as proving to them that they will in fact stay the course in Iraq.
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whats weird is that Russian news sites had this news about 2 hours before (maybe more) it was posted on CNN.
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"Generals dont run; during peace this prompts laughter, during war this prompts panic."
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V3-Dev wrote:
- Hornet57 wrote:
--
-- V3-Dev wrote:
--
--- -
- Yes, they are part of the former central authority.
- Where did I say they weren't Hornet? My point was
- that the Baath regime structure going all the way
- back to its early days as a clandestine group who
- eventually overthrew the Iraqi monarchy has the
- ability to function as independent cells without
- specific orders coming from any sort of centralized
- command.
My point was that they are not part of the central structure anymore and the small cells need funding to operate. So the attacks will subside conciderably.
-
- Therefore, this is why you have the current guerilla
- warfare situation that is occurring in Iraq today,
- and the killing or capture of Saddam' sons really
- won't impact this insurgency, especially considering
- these individuals conducting attacks on the US have
- nothing to lose and no future whatsoever in Iraqi
- society to begin with.
Nobody is going to fight if they have no backup...face reality will you.
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<center>
If I want your Opinion I'll beat it out of you.
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This is bad news! Who's going to run the Iraqi national football team now? [img]/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-surprised.gif[/img]
<center><marquee><font color="red"><font size="2"
<style="Verdana">"The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception." - Mark Twain, 1917<font color="red"><font size="2" style="Verdana"><center><marquee>
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Hornet57 wrote:
- My point was that they are not part of the central
- structure anymore and the small cells need funding
- to operate. So the attacks will subside
- conciderably.
Saddam's sons not being part of the central authority in Iraq any longer (which I have already stated repeatedly above) simply proves my position that the Baath regime is capable of operating in a compartmentalized fashion without receiving orders from any senior-level commanders. As for the monetary issues, there are millions if not billions of US dollars and Iraqi dinars floating around the country. Therefore, it would be absurd to think that Saddam's sons were distributing it all from this single house they were allegedly held up in. It is more likely these funds have long been distributed throughout Iraq to lower-level Baath officials to nurture the ongoing guerilla activities which have become a daily occurrence.
- Nobody is going to fight if they have no
- backup...face reality will you.
Speaking of reality Hornet, before you start making anymore frivolous comments on aspects of guerilla warfare you obviously know nothing about, I suggest you run down to the nearest library and check out every book you can on topics like Vietnam. Then maybe you will have at least some familiarity as to how a true insurgency is really conducted. Furthermore, like I mentioned above, you would either have to be somewhat delusional or simply ignorant (leaning towards the latter) to think that all of a sudden the capture of Uday and Qusay Hussein is going to put an end to attacks on US soldiers by insurgents who appear to be getting more sophisticated and more bold as everyday passes.
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Olegious wrote:
- whats weird is that Russian news sites had this news
- about 2 hours before (maybe more) it was posted on
- CNN.
Well, I am unaware of when CNN (I don't really watch them on TV or read them online) or Russian news agencies began reporting on this matter. However, I do know the Reuters newswire was releasing information on it early this morning around 9-10 AM EST as the battle was apparently taking place. I also believe Hornet's favorite news network Al-Jazeera was providing coverage on the incident very early on too.
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MisterNiceGuy wrote:
- This is bad news! Who's going to run the Iraqi
- national football team now?
MNG, don't forget now he also held a seat in parliament, ran Iraq's most popular newspaper and headed the national Olympic committee.
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