Dane(Operation)

=Operation: Red Dawn= Operation Red Dawn, December 13, 2003 was the capturing of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a farm house near Tikrit, Iraq. There was no resistance put up against US Forces.

Why he was wanted
Saddam Hussein had been the President of Iraq for some time. He was more of a dictator though, and had ties to Al Qaeda. He was brutal to his people and was charged with crimes against humanity later on after his capturing. He was suspected to have nuclear weapons also, but none were never found.

Several months beforehand, the US had been gathering intelligence on Saddam Hussein's whereabouts. It was suspected that he was hiding near the [|Tikrit]area, which is his hometown. Some authorities wanted to put a 10000 dollar reward for anybody who told them where he was, but that never went through. They did some interrogations and stuff, and narrowed it down to two probable places near Al Dwar: Wolverine 1 and 2. They did not find him. They decided to check a nearby area, which locals of Al Dwar said the house was owned by one of Hussein's assistants. It was an old house with 2 small rooms. The hut had a lean- to structure, and in that was a "spider hole" entrance, camoflauged with bricks and dirt. The soldiers were about ready to throw a grenade into the hole when they saw a figure put up 2 hands in there. They found Hussein laying down in a hole at the bottom of the spider hole. "I think it was rather ironic that he was in a hole in the ground across the river from these great palaces that he has built, where he robbed all the money from the Iraqi people," Major General Odierno said. He did not put up any fight, and was kind of bewildered to be caught. The White house said he was very cooperative and talkative. He said, "my name is Saddam Hussein. I am the President of Iraq and want to negotiate." He was very forthcoming about who he was, according to some soldiers who were there. They found him with $750,000 in 100 dollar bills, 2 AK-47's, a handgun, and a taxi cab out front. Nobody was injured or killed.

Leaders
[|Colonel James Hickey] [|Raymond Odierno]

In 2006, the US ended up hanging Saddam Hussein

The Soldiers
Up to 600 soldiers were involved in the raids of Operation Red Dawn. Forces of the Fourth Infantry Division and Special Forces from Task Force 121 were assigned to capture or kill Hussein. President Bush gave the go-ahead to them when they found the two likely places he would be. The Fourth Infantry division got to come home to Fort Hood, Texas afterwards. An estimated 50,000 family members waited for them.

Sources [] [] http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,561468,00.htm

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd-1i0bFEv4