Damn, they think he's alive!

[SuiteDisney]

$&%$*&$%(*

 

[Laz]

So is Private Lynch!!!!

I still wouldn't want to be in Saddams shoes! He must feel like Hitler did! I am worried that he is going to do something horrible tonight, like send waves of children towards our troops strapped with bombs. Remember Hiltler used children to defend Berlin.

MAY GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS!!

 

[Geoff_M]

They think he MAY be alive. The tape isn't a smoking gun. Saddam said on the tape "Perhaps you remember the valiant Iraqi peasant and how he shot down an American Apache with an old weapon,..." For starters, I don't think that the Apaches that have been shot down were done so by a "peasant". I recall it was due to "withering fire" from Iraqi regular army units outside of Baghdad. Iraqi TV made a point of showing the numerous bullet holes around the outside of the craft. Iraq also claims that they shot down large numbers of American aircraft and this could also be part of that "fiction".

On the whole it sounds like another tape filled with generalities.

Also, him being alive may not be a bad thing. For starters he's far from a military genius and we can take comfort in that if he still can call the shots. Also, if I'd have my druthers, I'd prefer him in front of a liberated Iraqi tribunal instead of getting an "easy exit"!

 

[MJames41]

Geoff, well said.

I would also like to add that if he is alive, it would be easier to prove that his regime has collapsed, by parading him in chains. One of my fears is that he is dead, they have buried his body, and we will not be able to prove it to the Iraqi people, which would prolong the guerrila war (since many might have a fear of him coming back).

 

[MrsMud]

I am very interested in what the experts make of this tape. I really thought (still think, actually) that he's dead, although some good points have been made about why it may be better if he's still alive... Guess we'll just have to wait and see...

 

[Lanshark]

The military has said from the beginning that the Apache was not shot down by a farmer. That story was started by the Iraqis. Since most believe that these messages were filmed before the war isn't it conceivable that this too was filmed talking about the farmer then at an opportune moment the story was released by the Iraqis.

 

[Geoff_M]

Lanshark,

He may well be alive, but there are still a couple of questions....

1) Voice print match. Was it a double on the tape?

2) The Iraqis also claim that they've shot down dozens of US aircraft, which by all appearances is totally bogus. It's possible that the tape was made before the war and the "Apache" comments happened to roughly match a questionable claim that the Iraqi regime has made since the conflict started.

 

[figmentvi]

I agree *********** #%#&*#

However, I'm also a little relieved. Because I just had this really bad feeling that he had left the country long before the war started. Maybe this appearance means he still is in Iraq, which means our guys can.......

Get that you know what and make him pay

Hey my Figment's back !!

 

[kbeverina]

On the tape of him walking around--was there any audio? Was he heard speaking? If not, I'm thinking that was a double and he purposely didn't speak so his voice couldn't be analyzed.

I lean more towards the speeches being authentic, but there's a lag time because he moves somewhere else by the time they're released in case we figure out where they were made. If they were made after the war began. The reference to the helicopter is compelling, but did the government claim it was a peasant or the locals? If it was the government, maybe they knew the content of pre-recorded tapes and tried to shape the story to fit the tape. It's a stretch, but possible if it was the government who said it was a peasant.

If he's dead or badly wounded, obviously the remaining ministers would not want to remove that element of fear the people have in rising up in support of coalition troops.

I wonder about the Republican Guard troops that unexpectedly moved right toward coalition troops and then surrendered--were they directed to do that by someone on the inside of the Iraqi government, someone we've turned? If so, I think it's possible we do know Saddam's status and just aren't saying.