Incase some of ya missed it, here's an interesting read:
From here: [url]http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/4/21/103502.shtml[/url]
Exerpt:
[b][red]Secret War: How the CIA Defeated Saddam Hussein[/red][/b]
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Monday, April 21, 2003
[red]The unprecedented collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, quashed with dizzying speed and negligible casualties, was not the result of good luck or overwhelming force of arms. It was largely due to cell phones manned by CIA psy-ops agents conducting a telemarketing campaign selling surrender to the enemy’s top commanders.
Amazingly, as part of the operation, some of those "human shields" who went to Iraq were really CIA agents sent to deal with Iraqi generals thinking of defecting as well as to identify the military targets where Saddam put them.
According to a credible account in a Lebanese newspaper it says was based on information confided by top U.S. sources, the campaign resulted in the defection of the top ranks of the Republican Guard and the Iraqi army, who defected en masse, leaving their troops to melt away as U.S. forces advanced on Baghdad, saving the lives of thousands of coalition forces.
It was no secret that U.S. military intelligence agencies were making phone calls to Iraqi generals urging them to surrender once the invasion began. As far back as February, the media were reporting details of the top-secret operation. On Feb. 25, the Chicago Tribune wrote of the operation under the headline "US Targets Iraqis' Resolve with Psychological Warfare."
On March 24, USA Today went even further by reporting that U.S. intelligence officials were contacting "Iraq's generals and leaders of Saddam Hussein's ruling Baath Party with promises of safety, asylum and a role in Iraq's new government if they defect, mount a coup or agree not to use biological or chemical weapons."
Moreover, according to the newspaper, the CIA operation had begun three months earlier, in late December.
"Initially, U.S. officials were so confident that they could persuade Iraqi leaders to surrender that they delayed the start of the war," USA Today reported. "And although those early efforts were largely unsuccessful, the communications have resumed even as U.S. forces carry out air and ground assaults inside Iraq, according to three intelligence and two military officials directly involved in the communications efforts …
"U.S. intelligence officials say they recently recruited a senior member of Saddam's inner circle who is secretly providing them with valuable information on the movements and actions of Iraqi leaders. The same Iraqi official is trying to persuade other members of Saddam's leadership to surrender."
Even Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spoke about the operation in late March. "Is there contact between coalition forces and Iraqi forces? The answer is, most certainly. There has been over the past period of weeks, and those discussions have intensified."
According to press reports at the time, U.S. military and intelligence personnel had established remarkably close contact with Iraq's top military leaders. Said USA Today, "The Americans don't just know these generals' home and office telephone numbers; the CIA, it's been reported, has a robust Rolodex of e-mail addresses, cellphone numbers and other high-tech means to contact both the warriors and their family members."[/red]
Very interesting read....
Mike