NewsMine — war-on-terror — iraq — saddam-hussein — hunt — Viewing Item

B1 strike big one { April 8 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56297-2003Apr8.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56297-2003Apr8.html Saddam Strike Plane Told: 'This Is the Big One' Reuters Tuesday, April 8, 2003; 11:33 AM By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. B-1 bomber that aimed to kill Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad dropped four satellite-guided bombs only 12 minutes after receiving orders that "this is the big one," the plane's weapons officer said on Tuesday. "We used four weapons on the target," Air Force Lt. Col. Fred Swan, told Pentagon reporters of Monday's attack in a telephone interview from the region. "From the time we got the coordinates, it took 12 minutes to get the bombs on target." Swan, one of four crewmen on the aircraft, said two earth-penetrating GBU-31 2,000-pound bombs and two delayed-fuse bombs of the same size were used. He said he did not know who was in the destroyed building, but that the air traffic controller in a nearby airborne radar plane told the B-1 jet's crew before the daylight raid, "This is the big one." Other U.S. officials told Reuters that intelligence indicated that Saddam and his sons might have been in the building but that there was no immediate indication whether the Iraqi president or others might have been killed. Swan said the B-1 had just finished taking on fuel from an aerial tanker aircraft and was heading to pre-planned targets when it received an emergency order to strike the bunker. "We got the order that it was a high-priority leadership target," he said. He said the jet 12 minutes later dropped two GBU-31 (guided bomb unit) bombs designed to penetrate deeply into the target before they exploded and, three seconds later, another two of the bombs with "25 millisecond" delayed fuses. "I did not know who was there. I really didn't care," he added, stressing that he told the crew "this could be the big one. Let's get it right." The swing-wing, four-engine jet bomber carries 24 of the satellite-guided "joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) bombs. Swan said the aircraft later dropped 17 of the bombs on two other targets -- one in western Iraq and one near Baghdad -- before returning to its base in the Gulf region. © 2003 Reuters

Ambassador says saddam dead B1 strike big one { April 8 2003 } Bad intelligence no bunker { May 28 2003 } Battle rages on Bush chief of staff thinks saddam dead Chalabi says saddam fled { June 12 2003 } Cheney says saddam dead { May 8 2003 } Cia says saddam dead { April 9 2003 } Hussein probably alive { June 20 2003 } Lawmakers hopeful getting saddam { June 22 2003 } Saddam hit Saddam is dead Saddam survived { April 9 2003 } Troops dig for saddams remains { June 4 2003 } Us escalates attacks on leadership { April 8 2003 } Us forces carry out bloody saddam hunt Us official saddam dead We know we hit saddam Files Listed: 18

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.