Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
modified humvees and so-called little-bird
attack helicopters-to prepare for a potenhave
approached U.S. troops with so many
unsubstantiated reports of Saddam's presence
in the area that commanders refer tö
them as Elvis sightings. "He's out there in
the d~sert;' a powerful sheik in the townof
Sinjar, 60 miles west of Mosul, told Lieut.
Colonel Henry Arnold. "He's with the
Bedouins."
Operating on intelligence more reliable
than the sheik's tip, members of Task
Force 20, the U.S. military's special-operations
unit charged with nabbing high-value
targets in Iraq, quietly descended on an
airstrip near Mosul .last Wednesdaybaéked
by MC-130 combat Talon planes,
tial assault. A battalion from the 101st Airborne
Division, based in Sinjar, was on
alert to sealoff escape routes leading to the
Syrian border. But that day Saddam was
not to be found. "We shoot a lot of dry
holes. It's the law of averages;' says a Pentagon
official. "But his number's going to
comeup."
After four months of failedhits and false
leads, the U.S. pursuit of Saddam accelerated
to a dead sprint, propelled by improved
cooperation from Iraqis folloWingthe deaths
of the hated Uday and Qusay. "In the last
week and a half, we've had a significant increase
in human intelligence;' said Lieut.
General Ricardo Sanchez, .cQ~nmander of
coalition ground forces in Iraq. The U.S.
isn't waiting passively for info. Americim
forces set up listening posts in basements
near suspected Saddam hideouts; using
electronic-communications devices rather
than radios to avoid being tracked. A senior
U.S. military official says the U.S. increased
checkpoints in targeted 'qeighborhoods
to discourage fugitives from moving and to
stir up anxiety among locals in hopes of
getting more of them to talk.
In Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, soldiers
from the 4th Infantry Division swept up
people with connections to Saddam in a
drive to gather information on his location
and to deny him the guards, couriers and
safe houses he has presumably used since
disappearing from public view after the fall
ofBaghdad. On Friday, U.S. troops in Tikrit
arrested three Iraqis with ties to Saddam's
inner circle, including a former army officer
who is closely related to some of the
"ghosts" -a cohort of Saddam's escorts
who, as TIME reported July 28, 'vanished
after the fall of Baghdad and are suspected
of helping protect Saddam and coordinate
the resistance to U.S. forces.
U.S. officials believe that Saddam, who
was heard on an audiotape last week hailing
his sons as "martyrs who sacrificed themselvesfor
the sake of God:' will probably make
a retaliatory last stand if cornered. "He said
this week his sons were martyred by infidels:'
says a senior military official. "He hàs to
avenge them. I don't care what kind of guy
this is. Once you've lost your sons and a
grandson, what's left?" Theofficial, who is
involved in the operations to track down
Saddam, is convinced that Saddam's
game now is for Arab history. The
aim: to create a lastirigimpression
as a heroic martyr. "The
sons fought hard .. They went
out tough. He can do no less."
The noose around Saddam
began to tighten on
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