Active Unit News

Troops crash party for Saddam
By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
April 29, 2003
American soldiers broke up a birthday party for Saddam Hussein on Monday on the outskirts of the deposed dictator's hometown. About 300 people in a small village six miles south of Tikrit had gathered near midday, chanting, dancing, waving Iraqi flags, kissing portraits of Saddam and throwing fists in the air to mark the 66th birthday of a man who may or may not have been alive to celebrate it - in private, presumably. Saddam has not been seen in public since early this month, but coalition forces don't know if he survived strikes on Baghdad on April 7 that targeted a suspected hideout. It had been feared that if Saddam is still alive, he might mark his birthday - long established as the biggest annual celebration on the Iraqi calendar - with a violent counterstrike against his foes. No such attack materialized and the relatively few celebrations taking place Monday across Iraq were small and relatively subdued. Soldiers of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, from Fort Carson and Fort Hood, Texas, helped keep it that way. When they got word of the spontaneous street party in the village south of Tikrit late Monday morning, they moved in to play well-muscled party poopers. They cruised the community's main street in Bradley Fighting Vehicles, while soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, and the 101th Cavalry patrolled on foot. Their two primary goals were to make sure the demonstration was confined to the center of the village and that it didn't escalate into violence. In addition, soldiers assigned to psy-ops - psychological operations - used loudspeakers to urge the celebrants to go home. The wet-blanket tactics combined to have their desired effect. Most of the Saddam loyalists were dispersed and off the streets within 20 minutes of the soldiers' arrival. Copyright 2003, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.