...or is he? :p
Sorry about copying your thread Griff38, but this subject screams "POLL!!" :D
Is Saddam dead? Is he wounded?
20 $ say he is either dead or badly wounded. My proof? --> rationality.
We all know how important Saddam is considering the moral of his troops. Saddam must know this himself as well.
If Saddam has half a brain, he must realize how important it is for him and the war that his people are convinced he is still in control.
Saddam has been on tv twice after the missiles hit the complex where he allegedly was meeting with his 'generals'.
Twice he has spoken to his people without in any way mentioning the attempted(?) murder. That seems very suspicious. It's not like the US drops a few tons of explosives on him every day, right?
Also: a FAILED attempt by the US to kill The Great Saddam, who obviously is protected by Allah himself, is something that the Iraqi propaganda-machinery would surely find useful.
Saddam is dead or badly wounded. His appearances on tv were recorded earlier "just in case".
He spoke of some battles, but hey... it's not like it comes as a great surprise that the US-army (and the others) attacked the city that Saddam mentioned.
Who knows how many recordings he has made... might be one for every thinkable situation.
Face it folks, Saddam bit the dust.
No he's still alive is my guess. Otherwise we wouldn't be encountering this resistance. He was reported to have been carried out of the building on a stretcher with an oxygen mask but he was moving so I think he's just badly wounded. But the tapes were made earlier is my opinion.
That 1rst night when we dropped the 1rst bombs. We were told he and his sons were sleeping in a special deep bunker constructed recently by German engineers. The US claims to have a sellout very close to Sadam who called his CIA contact from a special phone to say Sadam was in this bunker. So the tops spooks woke Bush up in the middle of the night and said we have a chance to hit him. The bunker was designed to handle 2000 lbs bombs. So, get this, 1rst the US sent two f117 stealths each carrying a single 5000 lbs bomb. At the same time Navy ships at sea programed 36 or 41 cruise missles to slam into the rubble pile that would be made by the two 5000 lbs bombs.
(36 or 41, this has been reported by 2 different sources)
Can you imagine what it must have been like to have 10000 lbs go off at once? And then 10 or 20 minutes later 36 cruise missle slam into the same spot(i think we learned that 1 from Palastinian suicide bombers). Oh well so much for the aid and rescue workers who arrived to see if there were survivors.
But after all this the CIA say they are sure he is still alive.
He was apparently wounded, the 1rst clip of him after the bombing he was hurtin, but in the most recent video he is much more robust and lively. He must have recieved injuries but they were not life threatening.
well reports saying he needed a blood transfusion would indicate that he was badly wounded. had that been the case he's probably well protected now. maybe in a bunker thats underneath somewhere they wouldn't bomb, like a school or something.
i think the tv appearances were pre-recorded. he probably recorded quite a few in case he does die.
What reports say he got hurt? Is it the same guy who conveniently leaked the info about that chemical weapons factory in the desert that no-one has heard of or seen since? (gimme some footage, damn it! :swear: )
You may be right, but that makes Saddam an idiot. IF he is actually alive and capable of giving speeches, surely he would comment on recent happening instead of proclaiming the same ol' crap about how "victory is near" and how "Iraq's brave, honourable men are crushing the feeble attempts of the American Dogs and humiliating them in every thinkable way.
He needs to keep the morale of his troops high, that's the only way they might have a chance to prolong this war. If the people suspect he is dead it's game over.
As I see it, there are only 2 options:
1) He is alive but a moron
2) He is dead or too badly wounded to make a recording and all his stunt doubles have retired.
i hope he is dead, but i think he is alive, but not in control.
it has become most likely that the tv appearances were pre-recorded.
in the message sadam praised some of his army personel and a couple of the names he mentioned had actually surrended 2 days previously.
as homer simpson would say "d'oh!"
for me that proves that the tv appearances were pre-recorded and he could well be dead or badly wounded.
yes that or just isnt exiting his rat hole. i beleive they were pre-recorded, but still i cant see him dead yet.
My 2cents is that he is badly moved and will exile any momet now.
/me is hoping the war will end anytime soon. The soilders of the 2 countries have really nothing to do with this battle. Its just a simple powerplay between 2 "leaders" why aren't they there... Just like in the medevil where the king would lead his troops into battle and actually have COMBAT SKILLS..
Well for all i care put sadam and bush into a locked room keep them there for 72 hours and see who lived to tell the story.
Just like in the medevil where the king would lead his troops into battle and actually have COMBAT SKILLS
YEAH! And...and like that dude in Independece Day! Ooooh.. he owned in Space Balls too! He should be the next president!! Go Lone Star GoOO! :bounce1: :bounce1: :bounce1:
(I'm sorry...too much coffee. :o )
Originally posted by Master Axel
no
Would you explain a little bit more?
I think Saddam is still alive and he will use chemical weapons if he still is alive. Hopefully he won't.
OK, if Sadam is dead, who is running the show now?
If the Bush propoganda machine has said it once they must have said it a hundred times in the last 30 days. When Sadam goes the whole thing will colapse bla bla, all his people are to scared to do anything while he is still around bla bla. They will be so happy we are here when he is gone bla bla.
So, if the Bush admin is correct about this, Sadam is alive.
On the other hand if he is dead and the regime has still not colapsed, then Bush has been shoveling us propoganda about how Iraq wants us there. And how Iraqis will welcome us and revolt against Sadams regime once he is dead.
But after wading through about ten sources of information on this subject I concur with the CIA & State dept.
Sadam is still alive. Why should he confirm to his enemies that he is?
Some much needed information on how the Iraqis are feeling right now. (
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=172697)
Originally posted by griff38
Sadam is still alive. Why should he confirm to his enemies that he is?
My reasoning is this: it would be disastrous for the moral of the troops if they thought Saddam was dead.
He needs to prove to them that he is alive. If there's some other way to do that (other than tv) and he has already done it, (which I doubt) then...fine.
Whatever we might think about Saddam, we must keep in mind that he is not stupid. He's just mean.
Some links for those who want more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2888429.stm)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2884769.stm)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq_safwan030322.html)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2882439.stm)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2887545.stm)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2886163.stm)
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1048313130742&p=1012571727172)
IMO i think he's just injured and can't talk now, or maybe he just left the country. though i dont think he would.