The Military Reaction: Tom Clonan looks at the military skills - and good luck - that did for Saddam.
The capture of Saddam Hussein by the 1st Brigade of the US 4th Infantry Division represents a spectacular coup for ordinary US troops on the ground in Iraq.
"High-value target operations" or "HVT ops" designed to capture or kill prominent members of Saddam's regime in Iraq have been thus far mainly the preserve of Special Forces units such as Task Force 20. Such groups - consisting of special forces operational detachments and members of the CIA's special activities staff - have apprehended many high-profile figures on America's most-wanted list in Iraq. Such operations have included the capture of Saddam's personal secretary Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti in June and the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein in Mosul in July.
In this instance, however, initial reports indicate that Saddam's capture may have been planned and executed within the resources organic to the US 4th Infantry Division based around Tikrit. According to statements made by the 4th Infantry Division's commanding general, Maj Gen Ray Odierno, the division acted on a tip-off about Saddam's whereabouts received at approximately 10.50 a.m. local time on Saturday. Ten hours later, at 8.26 p.m., Saddam was in US custody - alive.
Operation "Red Dawn" was mounted by the 1st Brigade combat team of the 4th Infantry Division. Consisting of the 1-22 Infantry Battalion, the 299th Engineer Battalion and the 1-66 and 3-66 armoured battalions, this highly mobile force of approximately 600 troops cordoned off an area approximately 2 km square on the banks of the Tigris river at Adwar, 10 miles from Tikrit. In committing these troops to the operation, Maj Gen Odierno would also have been able to provide close air support in the form of attack helicopters from the 4th Division's Aviation Battalion and artillery support from a number of field artillery batteries located within the division's area of operations.
Interestingly, the 4th Infantry Division is one of the US military's first entirely "digitised" formations. It is equipped with a plethora of computerised command and control systems such as the "combat service support control system", the "manoeuvre control system" and the "all source analysis system". These systems handle the information flow required for optimum manoeuvrability and maximum exploitation of firepower in the high-tempo conventional battlefield. Such assets are normally used in conjunction with high-tech sources of battlefield intelligence such as satellite imagery and signals intelligence.
Ironically, in the case of Operation Red Dawn, it appears to have been the prompt response to low-tech human intelligence along with tried and trusted basic infantry skills which led to the capture of Saddam Hussein. In a classic cordon and search operation, US troops swept two likely locations code-named Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2. In a follow-up search, foot-soldiers on the ground discovered a concealed entrance to an underground crawl-space.
The normal procedure when encountering such a crawl-space would be to neutralise any potential threat from within with the use of grenades. In such a confined space, measuring approximately eight feet by four feet, a grenade would have instantly killed Saddam and his bodyguards. Instead, US troops entered the space and detained all three men. Initial reports indicate that Saddam and his confederates were armed with two high-velocity AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol. An AK-47 fired at close quarters at a US soldier would penetrate both helmet and body armour. In such a confined space, with barely headroom to enter, a pistol round to the head or neck area would also likely prove fatal.
It is significant, therefore, that Saddam was taken alive. It looks as though US troops negotiated the last minutes of his freedom with a mixture of caution and restraint - and for those troops entering or peering into the crawl-space, no small amount of personal courage.
The coming days and weeks will reveal whether or not this operation was simply a fortuitous find based on timely intelligence. The period approaching Christmas will also reveal whether or not Saddam's capture will lead to any diminution in the hostilities against US troops and their allies in Iraq.
Tom Clonan is a retired army officer with experience in the Middle East and former Yugoslavia. He is a fellow of the US-based Inter University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. He currently lectures in the School of Media, DIT