Operation Red Dawn Totally Explained

Everything about Operation Red Dawn totally explained

Operation Red Dawn was a military operation conducted by the United States Armed Forces on December 13, 2003 in the small town of ad-Dawr in Iraq, near Tikrit. The operation resulted in the capture of the country's former president, Saddam Hussein, and put to rest rumours of his death. The operation, and its two main objectives, were thought to be named for the 1984 film Red Dawn. Major Brian Reed, the officer who wrote up the Op Order for the mission, and named it, said that there was no connection whatsoever with the film. But another officer, U.S. Army Capt. Geoffrey McMurray, told USA TODAY that he was the soldier who picked the name and confirmed its connection to the film.(External Link

) The operation was assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, the Raider Brigade. Six hundred soldiers participated, including cavalry, engineers, artillery, air support, and special forces, under the overall command of Colonel James Hickey of the 4th Infantry Division.
Soldiers entered two sites (codenamed Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2) outside the village of ad-Dawr but failed initially to find Saddam. A subsequent cordon and search operation found the fugitive leader hiding in a so-called "spider hole" at a small mud-walled compound. He was taken into custody at 20:30 local time. He was armed with a pistol, but offered no resistance during his capture. The soldiers also found a AK-47 rifle, US$750,000 in $100 bills, Bounty chocolate bar , and a McVitie's taxi chocolate biscuit.. Two Iraqis, believed to be Saddam's former cook Qais Namuk and his brother, were also taken into custody. Hussein was later moved to an undisclosed location as soldiers continued to search the area.

Local Reactions

Iraq

Shiite and Kurd

As word of Saddam's capture spread, crowds of Iraqis began celebrating in the streets, dancing, firing guns into the air and honking car horns. A few hours after the announcement, a loud explosion jolted the Iraqi evening near the Palestine Hotel, where many international journalists are based. Thick smoke and fire billowed from the site, but authorities quickly realized it was caused by stray bullet that hit gasoline canisters on the truck. No one was injured. Jalal Talabani told the Islamic Republic News Agency, "With the arrest of Saddam the financial resources feeding terrorists have been destroyed and his arrest will put an end to terrorist acts in Iraq." Ahmed Chalabi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, said Sunday a group led by Kosrat Rassoul of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan helped U.S. forces find Saddam's hiding place.

Sunni

Hours after the capture, but before it was announced, a car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi police station in Khaldiyah, killing at least 10 Iraqis and wounding 20 others, most of them policemen, U.S. officials said. Iraqi officials reported a higher casualty toll.
In the retaliation to this attack, the Sunni militant or Baathist believed carried out.

Christian and Iraqi minority

Some Christians in United States whom under pressure under Saddam celebrated the news. According to them, it was the prize for their Christmas. The Iraqi Republican Guard and its Special Unit also attacked the churches, killing the priests, and made Christian homeless.

International reactions

Middle East

The government of Afghanistan welcomed the capture of Saddam Hussein, whose hands are stained with the blood of many innocent Iraqis. The capture of Saddam Hussein is a warning to terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar.

A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the official BNA news agency, said it should restore unity and "cohesion" among the Iraqi people to build "a promising future in a prosperous Iraq enjoying security and cooperating with its neighbors to promote stability and development" in the region.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said," I don't think anyone will be sad over Saddam Hussein. His arrest doesn't change the fact that his regime was finished, and it's the natural consequence of the regime's fall. The Iraqi regime had harmed the Iraqi people and had pulled the Arab region into several storms."

Iran's Vice President Mohammed Ali Abtahi expressed satisfaction Sunday over the capture of Saddam Hussein, whom he described as a "criminal" who committed many crimes against the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq War.
"I am happy they've arrested a criminal, whoever it may be, and I'm even more happy because it's a criminal who committed so many crimes against Iranians," Abtahi told reporters in the first official Iranian reaction to the arrest Iran, Iraq's arch enemy, joined in the call for justice. He added,"Iranians have suffered a lot because of him and mass graves in Iraq prove the crimes he's committed against the Iraqi people."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told that Saddam can no longer stand in the way of rebuilding the country he destroyed.
Israel said Monday that Saddam Hussein’s capture was a lesson to its Arab enemies to abandon “terrorism”, as Egypt prepared to renew efforts to persuade Palestinian factions to halt anti-Israeli attacks.
Israel had regarded Saddam’s regime as its chief strategic enemy until his toppling in April.

The government spokeswoman said they hopes that a page has been turned and that the Iraqi people will be able to assume their responsibilities as soon as possible and build their future according to their will. The first and last word concerning the capture of Saddam Hussein or his fate must be given to the Iraqi .

Kuwait Information Minister Mohammed Abulhassan said,"Thank God that he's been captured alive, so he can be tried for the heinous crimes he's committed. Kuwait today feels more relaxed and assured after the departure of this tyrant and after all are certain now that he'll never return. The Kuwaiti people are happy for the Iraqi people. It is the end of the rule of tyranny. Saddam's capture is a turning point and an opportunity for Iraqis to unite."

The situation was tense following news of the US capture of Saddam at the weekend, people being stunned at how easily the former Iraqi leader had apparently been captured.
However, the capture of Saddam didn't necessarily spell US victory. "The capture of Saddam won't save the US from the world's condemnation for supporting the greater enemy, [IsraeliPrime Minister Ariel] Sharon," said Selim Al-Hoss, former Lebanese Prime Minister.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and his government made no comment. However Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a senior leader of the militant Hamas group, said the United States would "pay a very high price for the mistake" of capturing Saddam.
Disbelief and gloom seized many Palestinians on Sunday at news of Saddam Hussein's capture while Israel, which came under Iraqi Scud missile attack in the 1991 Gulf Warhailed the United States for capturing Saddam.
The former Iraqi ruler was a hero to many Palestinians for his stand against Israel and its U.S. ally, as well as for giving financial aid to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers and others who died in a three-year-old uprising. For Israel, he was a menace over the horizon who long bankrolled the enemy and the Iraqi leader rained 39 Scud missiles on Israeli cities during the 1991 Gulf War.

"Saddam Hussein was a menace to the Arab world," said the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

Syrian Information Minister Ahmad al-Hassan told about Syria's position on Iraq isn't based on the fate of individuals. We want an Iraq that preserves its territorial integrity, its unity and its sovereignty.

Asia

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan quoted as saying, "We hope this will pave the way for the Iraqi people to have a government of their own, a government by the people and for the people of Iraq."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao hopes that the latest development of the situation in Iraq is conducive to the Iraqi people taking their destiny into their own hands, and to realising peace and stability in Iraq.

Sing Tao Daily � The desperate capture of Iraqi former president Saddam symbolizes the bad fate of a corrupt dictator and also the best Christmas present this year for US President George Bush, but for the Iraqis who have undergone a baptism of fire in the war, the days of peace are still far away, and the road of reconstruction is as long and arduous as before.

South China Morning Post � With Hussein's capture, Iraqis can at last begin to close this brutal and tragic chapter in their history.

The Indian government's response to the capture of Saddam Hussein has been measured and guarded. When US Secretary of State Colin Powell called Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha on Monday to discuss the capture of Saddam, whom Washington has named a tyrant, Sinha is said to have reacted in a manner that didn't echo the effusion flowing from the rest of the world. In the words of an official with the foreign ministry, Sinha "maintained a stiff upper lip".
Sinha, in his brief conversation with Powell, merely expressed hope that such developments would contribute to the stabilization of Iraq. Powell told Sinha that the capture would bring "a change in the existing situation and lead to greater respect for the Iraqi Governing Council."

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, the reaction was muted. Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa says the arrest of the former Iraqi president hasn't changed how Indonesia felt about the situation in Iraq. Indonesia's leaders strongly opposed the U-S-led invasion of Iraq. Indonesian leaders also said they hoped the capture of Saddam Hussein will help bring peace to Iraq and return control of the country back to its citizens.
An Indonesian sentenced to death in 2002 Bali bombings agreed, saying Muslim militants would continue the fight against America.
"Even if 1,001 Saddam Husseins were arrested it wouldn't weaken our struggle," Ali Ghufron shouted to reporters as he left a court on the resort island.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday said he hopes that Saddam Hussein's capture would lead to improvements in Iraq. He says the capture would be positive if it brings major steps toward the stability and reconstruction of Iraq.Prime Minister Koizumi's cabinet has approved a controversial plan to send troops to Iraq. He said he'd continue to assess the security situation in Iraq before dispatching the soldiers.
In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda agreed the arrest was "great news," but cautioned it wouldn't necessarily lead to peace.
"The problem, however, is terrorism. I don't think the arrest of Saddam Hussein can stop all terror attacks," Fukuda said.

The Malaysian government said the Iraqi people should decide how Saddam is brought to justice on accusations of gross human rights violations.
   Iraqis should "be given the right to decide on the manner and procedure of bringing Saddam Hussein to face justice," said Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, head of both the Non-Aligned Movement of 116 international law," Abdullah added. Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on Monday expressed hope that the capture of Saddam Hussein would contribute towards bringing peace and stability in Iraq and the surrounding region.
   The United Nations should now play a bigger role in achieving this objective, Syed Hamid told reporters here concerning the capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by the United States troops in Iraq.
   "With peace and stability in Iraq, we hope that an Iraqi government representing the free and independent Iraqi people could be set up to start the reconstruction process of that nationfor the benefit of its people," he said.
   He said the views and inputs of the Iraqis should be taken into account in deciding whatever action to be initiated against Saddam.
   Former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohammed urged the fair for the trial of Saddam Hussein.

The response in Pakistan also was low-key. Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan called the capture an important development.

South Korea welcomed the news, which came hours after its government made a final decision to send 3,000 troops to Iraq.

More than 20 Sri Lankan lawyers planned to defend the former Iraqi President at his trial.

An hour after US announced the captured, President Chen Shui Bian congratulated the US for what he called " a big victory".

Europe

De Standaard newspaper � Showing degrading pictures of a prisoner, even if he was a cruel tyrant, doesn't increase the moral authority of those who overpowered him.

A statement from French President Jacques Chirac said,"The president is delighted with Saddam Hussein's arrest."

The German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, greeted the development 'with much happiness'. In a telegram to George Bush, he called for intensified efforts to rebuild Iraq.

   A top Roman Catholic official has attacked the way Saddam Hussein was treated by his US captors, saying he'd been dealt with like an animal. Cardinal Renato Martino said he'd felt pity watching video of "this man destroyed, [themilitary] looking at his teeth as if he were a beast".
   The cardinal, a leading critic of the US-led war in Iraq, said he hoped the capture wouldn't make matters "worse".
   No comment from Pope John Paul II."

In Poland, which commands thousands of international troops in Iraq, the Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdziński welcomed the news, but said the arrest could prompt retaliation from Saddam's supporters. "The coming days could be equally dangerous as these past days," he said.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said,"We think the arrest of Saddam Hussein will contribute to the strengthening of security in Iraq and to the process of political regulation in the country with the active participation of the United Nations."

"Saddam is directly responsible for the killing of millions of people over the last 30 years. Today, the moment has arrived for him to pay for his crimes," Prime Minister,Jose Maria Aznar said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of President Bush's strongest allies in the Iraq war, called the capture good news for Iraqis, saying: "It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime."

America

"Here was a man who was photographed hundreds of times shooting off rifles and showing how tough he was, and in fact, he wasn't very tough, he was cowering in a hole in the ground, and had a pistol and didn't use it and certainly didn't put up any fight at all,"U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said.
   "In the last analysis, he seemed not terribly brave," he said. Rumsfeld said the United States hasn't yet decided whether to classify Saddam as a prisoner of war. But Rumsfeld said the United States would abide by the Geneva Conventions in its treatment of him.
   More than 24 hours after his capture, the interrogation of the uncooperative Saddam hasn't yielded much information, Rumsfeld said.
   President Bush, in a short televised address from the White House, said Saddam will "face the justice he denied to millions. For the Baathist holdouts responsible for the violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held.

Oceania

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard reacted to the news happily. He says the Iraqi people can breathe a sigh of relief now that the former dictator is no longer at large.The Australian Broadcasting Corporation interviewed him.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark quoted that her government doesn't support the death penalty in any circumstances, nor does New Zealand legislation, and she also won't make an exception, even for someone as disgusting as Saddam Hussein.

Africa

People Daily newspaper � The capture of deposed Iraq leader Saddam Hussein is, no doubt, a major victory for the United States and the coalition of the willing, chief among which is Britain. The curtain has now fallen on one of the world's most ruthless and intriguing leaders.

International organizations

Secretary General Amr Mussa said the Iraqi people should "decide the fate of the old regime and its old leaders," alluding to the discovery of mass graves after Saddam's fall during the US invasion in April.

International Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross says the U-S-led coalition in Iraq has given the agency the "green light" to visit Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports the ICRC says the terms of the visit are being worked out.
Red Cross spokesman Florian Westphal confirms that ICRC visits to the captured Iraqi leader will go ahead according to international rules governing the detention of all prisoners of war. He says discussions are under way as to how and where those visits will take place.

A spokesman for Kofi Annan, United Nations secretary general, said the capture "offers an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the search for peace and stability in Iraq".
"The capture of Saddam Hussein provides a chance to give fresh impetus to the search for peace and stability in Iraq".
Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said the coalition could now ask meaningful questions about Iraq's weapons programme. "He ought to know quite a lot and be able to tell the story. We all want to get to the bottom of the barrel."

Abuse charge

Saddam Hussein's chief Iraqi lawyer on December 2005 echoed charges by the ousted leader that he was beaten and tortured by U.S. troops, saying he'd seen the bruises himself.
   The United States has strenuously denied American guards harmed Saddam. The Iraqi judge who investigated Saddam said that until this week Saddam had never claimed any mistreatment, even when asked directly if he'd been abused. Attorney Khalil Dulaimi, who still regards Saddam as Iraq's president, said the torture was revealed to him during a brief interview with his client during the leader's trial sessions in Baghdad.
   "The president was tortured severely by the American forces and I saw bruise marks on his body. They are visible," Dulaimi told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
   "They are still torturing him psychologically," Dulaimi added.
   He didn't say where the bruises were on Saddam's body or describe them. He also gave no details on what he meant by psychological torture.
   Dulaimi said he filed a complaint with the court Thursday, urging it to investigate the abuse charge. The chief prosecutor in Saddam's trial, Jaafar al-Mousawi, told that he hadn't seen such a complaint. He added he planned to visit Saddam and his seven co-defendants to review their health and "listen to their demands and supply them with everything they need."
   Saddam caused a stir when he claimed during the trial that he'd been beaten by U.S. troops and tortured. He insisted "the marks are still there," but he didn't reveal any bruises to the courtroom.
   Judge Raid Juhi, who investigated Saddam's alleged crimes as Iraq's leader, told that officials had repeatedly asked Saddam if he'd ever been beaten. He answered "no" every time, Juhi said.
   Juhi said that if Saddam or the other defendants had complained of beatings or torture, doctors would have investigated.

Status as POW

A Pentagon spokesman said he was given the status as he was the leader of the "old regime's military forces".
The spokesman, Major Michael Shavers, said Saddam, captured by US troops in December, was entitled to all the rights under the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross has asked to visit the former Iraqi leader as soon as possible. The US spokesman didn't give further details about Saddam Hussein's conditions of detention. POW status for Saddam Hussein means that the former Iraqi leader is eligible to stand trial for war crimes.
Prisoners' rights under the Geneva Convention include:

Protection against violence, intimidation, insults and public curiosity,

Protection against pressure of any kind during interrogation,

Provision of valid identity documents, � Food rations and drinking water sufficient to keep prisoner in good health,

Adequate clothing and washing facilities,

Adequate medical treatment. There is still controversy over TV pictures which showed Saddam Hussein undergoing a medical examination after his capture - footage regarded by some as a failure to protect him from public curiosity. The Vatican described the scenes as Saddam being "treated like a cow", and some sections of the Arab world were deeply offended by them. The US maintains that the pictures were shown to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that they no longer had anything to fear.
A senior British official said Saddam -who is being held at an undisclosed location and interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - was still refusing to co-operate with his captors, but the former president's capture last month was yielding results "far greater than we expected", the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The US-led coalition had used documents found with the ex-leader to mount operations against Saddam loyalists, the official said.

Conspiracy Theories

Journalist Yvonne Ridley reported in Sunday Express that Saddam Hussein was actually captured by Kurdish forces who then drugged him and abandoned him for U.S. troops to find after brokering a deal.
There is also controversy concerning the coalition troops who first got their hands on Hussein: initial radio reports stated that Kurdish fighters handed him over to a British patrol. The first television footage came out later on after the famous "we got him" announcement, showing an apparently incapacitated Hussein being pulled out of a spider hole.
   Saddam's sister, Nawal Ibrahim Al-Hassan, speaking on the phone with Al-Quds Al-Arabi from an unidentified Arab capital, was the first to raise the conspiracy of drugging. She said her brother "could not have surrendered in this fashion unless he was subjected to anesthetization or nerve gas that has paralyzed his movements." She added: "If he were in full command of his mental capacity he'd have resisted to [the] death. He isn't one of the people who would surrender in such a disgraceful manner. "
   Saddam's eldest daughter, Raghad, echoed similar sentiments. In an interview with Al-Arabiyya TV, Raghdad said: "It is clear to everybody that our father was drugged. When they described to me the details of his condition, I said to them it's impossible. He has to be drugged."
   The Saudi daily Okaz theorizes that Saddam's second wife, Samira Al-Shahbandar, who lives in Lebanon under a false identity with Saddam's only surviving son, Ali, may have been the source of information that led to Saddam's capture. "It is possible," writes Okaz, that "for delivering the head of her husband she'll receive the award of $25 million," offered by the U.S. for information leading to Saddam's arrest or killing.

The name

The name of the operation, Red Dawn, apparently comes from the title of a 1984 film directed by John Milius, in which a group of American teenagers band together to commit sabotage and other guerrilla attacks in their Colorado town against invading Soviet forces. The teenagers, whose leader was portrayed by a young Patrick Swayze, called themselves the "Wolverines" — the name given to the targets of the U.S. forces in ad-Dawr. Several pundits have made note of the very irony that the namesake of the operation was a movie relating the story of insurgents fighting against an occupying invading force.

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