Hunting Down Saddam Read Online Free PDF

be seen again.
    And this was the problem. It appeared that Saddam might well have been killed and his body destroyed beyond all recognition—in fact, it seemed probable that this was the case. But where, then, was the all-important proof? Within a day, possible Saddam look-alikes began to appear. There was simply no telling whether he was alive or not, and thus Saddam’s army was itself doubtful whether to resist the anticipated invasion, or to give up and surrender, saving their lives.
    For days following the bombing, Iraqi officials were effectively doing their job, broadcasting that Hussein was alive and well. This type of propaganda continued throughout the war. Later, Baghdad Bob, a self-appointed spokesman and ultimately a spot of comic relief, joined the fray, reporting to Iraqi citizens and the rest of the world that not only was Saddam Hussein alive and well, but that there were absolutely no Americans or any foreign troops in Baghdad. Directly behind him and all around him, American and British tanks and troops proved otherwise.

T ASK F ORCE VIKING
    Concede Nothing
    On March 20, 2003, at 1930 hours local Iraq time, five MC-130 “Combat Talon” transport planes from the U.S. Air Force’s 352nd Special Operations Group lifted off from a runway in Constanta, Romania. The first three specially modified transport planes held members of the 10th SFG (A), the last two were loaded with members of the 3rd Battalion, SFG (A).
    All were now part of the same task force, the “Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–North,” or CJSOTF-N. For security, the planes split into two groups, and flew different routes. The first three Talons flew a tedious, low-level, three-and-a-half-hour route, nicknamed “The Ugly Baby,” north along the Syrian–Iraq border before banking east and into the northern tip of Iraq.
    The three planes were cross-loaded with half of the members of five ODAs (Operational Detachment Alpha, or A-Teams) on each plane, and half of a B-Team, or ODB, on each plane, along with the B-Team’s communication augmentation and equipment. Altogether, there were about sixty A-Team operators and fourteen to sixteen B-Team members. If one of the birds went down, only a part of each A-Team and a part of the B-Team would be lost.
    Correspondingly, the commander of the newly formed CJSOTF-N, COL (Colonel) Charles Cleveland, flew in the first MC-130, and the Company SGM Tim Strong followed behind in the second. Keeping the commander and the sergeant major on separate planes was part of the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for Special Forces.
    Task Force VIKING

    CJSOTF-N, or Task Force VIKING , was comprised of members of the 3rd and 10th Special Forces Groups (Airborne). They infiltrated into northern Iraq through two routes: The “Ugly Baby,” through Turkey into the As-Sulaymaniyah region, and through “SAM Alley,” along the Syria-Iraq border, into the Duhok Airfield, northeast of Mosul. Courtesy: CIA World Factbook 2003
    CJSOTF-N was code-named Task Force VIKING. Their motto was “Concede Nothing.” They would live up to that name in the weeks to come. True to their fearless credo, one of TF VIKING’s fire bases—a temporary front-lines camp where Special Forces soldiers live while in their AO (Area of Operations)—Fire Base Zeb, had a cardboard sign fashioned by a Green Beret from ODA 065 that read:
    â€œWE’RE 065 AND THIS IS AS FAR AS THOSE BASTARDS ARE GOING!”
    SAM Alley
    The 352nd Special Operations Group’s adept pilots flew the “Ugly Baby” route from Constanta, Romania, totally blacked out, with no lights at all, first along Jordan’s border, then along the Syria–Iraq border, before banking straight east into northern Iraq into what SF operators deemed “SAM Alley.” SAMs, or surface-to-air missiles, were one of the main concerns during the white-knuckled infiltration into Iraq.
    AAA