These guys are drawing conclusions based on the condition saddam was found in.  
Not to steal our military's thunder, but woulden't it be funny if he became victim of his own folowers ideology?
Indications Saddam Was Not in Hiding But a Captive

[whacko]

Sounds plausible, except that the source is Debka.com, the most reliably UN-reliable news source I know of.

How many captors leave their prisoner a loaded pistol?

[whacko][whacko]

Didn't they get the location from interrogations, and not some informant?

Oh wait, The informant got captured so he could bargain for the money!

No wait, I bet the government (US) was behind all of this...

I have to go now...  I found out that aluminum thermal blankets from CheaperThanDirt.com work better than tin foil, and I can cover my whole body!

If he was being held and then turned over for the ransom there would not have been the weapons, and you can be DAMM sure that the $750,000 would not have been found.

I call..
[img]http://w3.gorge.net/jasong/pictures/bsmeter.gif[/img]

Ditto the BS, You don't go from clean shaven  to a beard like that in the three weeks that he would have been "held captive" in the article.

Fucking stupid.


[i]<1. The length and state of his hair indicated he had not seen a barber or even had a shampoo for several weeks.>[/i]
[b]What would he need with a barber??????? Just one more person who might give away his position.[/b]



[i]<2. The wild state of his beard indicated he had not shaved for the same period>[/i]
[b]That AIN'T no three-week beard![/b]



[i]<3. The hole dug in the floor of a cellar in a farm compound near Tikrit was primitive indeed – 6ft across and 8ft across with minimal sanitary arrangements - a far cry from his opulent palaces.>[/i]
[b]Duuhhhh.... it was a HIDEOUT - not a living quarters! [brick]

Probably just a place to holeup for a few hours when a patrol ever came nearby.

Even more importantly - there's no WAY that could have been used to house him in captivity - like the report says, there was no food, water, sanitation or any other [b]living[/b] necessities to keep even a hostage alive down there.[/b]



[i]<4. Saddam looked beaten and hungry.>[/i]
[b]"Beaten"???? If they mean [u]defeated[/u] - well OF COURSE!!! How else should he have looked? Full dress uniform, scarf & beret?

"Hungry"??? Oh well, I guess THAT'S proof he was a prisoner, he was caught between meals.[/b] [rolleyes]



[i]<5. Detained with him were two unidentified men, two AK-47 assault guns and a pistol, none of which were used.>[/i]
[b]The presence of cowardly stooges don't prove anything. If they were like any of the THOUSANDS of men surrendering throughout the entire groundwar - their passive inaction in the face of 600-strong American force bearing down on their position was entirely predictable.

And what's Saddam doing with a sidearm if he was held prisoner???????

(ah yes, that was the 'drop-gun' we planted on him at capture right?)[/b]



[i]<6. The hole had only one opening. It was not only camouflaged with mud and bricks – it was blocked. He could not have climbed out without someone on the outside removing the covering.>[/i]
[b]You mean he had help hiding? WOW!!!! What a shocker!!!

Gee, I'm certainly convinced now.[/b]



[i]<7. And most important, $750,000 in 100-dollar notes were found with him – but no communications equipment of any kind, whether cell phone or even a carrier pigeon for contacting the outside world.>[/i]
[b]No cellphones? No communication equipment of any kind!?

Hey, they're right! Actually I would have thought he'd have a ham radio set up with a 200 ft transmitting tower so he can talk to all his Fedayeen leaders all over Iraq.

Of course he'd have to use coded transmissions being as how there were 200,000 AMERICAN TROOPS COMBING ALL OVER IRAQ WITH THE MOST ADVANCED, HIGH-TECH, SATTELITE-SUPPORTED ELECTRONIC-COMMUNICATIONS DETECTING EQUIPMENT ALL FOCUSED ON THE AREA AROUND HIS HOMETOWN OF TIKRIT!!!![/b]

[stick]

Read that article earlier today. I'd like some of whatever their analists are smoking to come up with those conclusions. They're so full of crap the crap @ DU needs refilling.

I dont know much about Debka.com
I thought they were an Jewish/Israeli publication.

They are, but the most important thing to know about Debka is that

A. They have sensational scoops

B. They are always wrong. I can't recall a Debka story that panned out to be true.  Not a single one.