NO PLACE TO HIDE
Geoff Metcalf
April 7, 2003
NewsWithViews.comIntelligence officials are interpreting the Saddam Hussein reference to a downed U.S. helicopter in a recent speech as a sign he is probably alive…for now.
Most bullies are cowards…and Saddam Hussein is a classic bully. Those who prey on the weak, abuse power, and terrorize subordinates invariably are diffident when it comes to their own personal safety.
Notwithstanding a penchant for hyperbole, posturing and unsupported braggadocio, cowards and bullies (like Hussein) frankly don't have the stones to face a 19-year-old American soldier or Marine. Rather, the costumed tyrant will embrace the advise of Sir John Falstaff that "discretion IS the better part of valor…" and he'll get out of Dodge.
Bob Grant on WOR in New York was recently interviewing me when during our conversation I received an interesting (albeit unsubstantiated or confirmed) rumor from a usually very reliable source. The note read:
"Looks like Elvis MAY have left the building. My confidential sources say Syria: Hotel Cote d'Azur De Cham Resort at Syrian Mediterranean port of Latakiya near Assad family villa."
I do not know if in fact Hussein is or isn't in Syria. However, it would make sense. And if he has limped into the Hotel Cote D'Azur De Cham Resort in the hope of avoiding the long arm of U.S. troops in Baghdad he may be grasping for facts not in evidence.
Hey, if I got the heads up note, it is safe to assume CIA and J-2 types got it as well. If Syria (who has been very naughty) presumes to give aide and comfort to Saddam they may discover there ARE consequences to the things we do and don't do after all, and they do so at their own potential peril. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to eventually learn we already have teams (and for sure satellite surveillance) in Latakiya.
Hussein is a marked man…a dead man walking (maybe). As Ronald Reagan once noted regarding other bad guys, "You can run but you can't hide." We will find you and when we do you will gain a keen insight into the fear you instilled in your victims over the years.
Whether it is a Delta troop, a Navy Seal, an Army Ranger, or Marine who actually grabs Saddam's trembling body (or warm corpse), it will not be an unarmed victim fearful of what might be done to their family. They will not fear Fedayeen torture. In fact they will not fear anything except God and their NCO.
The men hunting Hussein are not intimidated by trash talk.
· They haven't grown up listening to the screams of women and children tortured and raped by the tyrant and his wack job sons.
· They haven't been harangued by the cries of family members terrorized by decades of tyranny.
· They don't see five story tall pictures of the tyrant in their minds eye.
· Rather they hear the music of Lee Greenwood and Charlie Daniels in their head.
· They see 'Ole Glory' flapping in the wind and angry war eagles with red, white and blue war paint.
· The dagger pointed at Saddam Hussein is the personification of 'Duty, Honor, Country'….compounded with righteous indignation.
The men coming for Saddam are younger, stronger, smarter, better equipped, and better supported, than he is…and they are bigtime p.o.-ed.
Charlie Daniels wrote in 'This Ain't No Rag It's A Flag', "And now we're coming with a gun And we know you're gonna run But you can't find no place to hide. We're gonna hunt you down like a mad dog hound Make you pay for the lives you stole. We're all through talking and a messing around And now it's time to rock and roll."
Officials have stopped short of saying the recent speech provided conclusive proof that the Iraqi maggot had survived the U.S. attempt to kill him with the war's opening shots. I have not seen or heard any official intimation he may have left Iraq already.
The status of Saddam has been uncertain since the early hours of March 20, when American bombs and missiles were showered on a residential compound where the CIA believed he was spending the night. Is he still alive or take the long dirt nap? If he is alive, is he injured, and if so, how badly?
The unanswered questions will be resolved in time. Meanwhile, the one non-negotiable imperative is "We're gonna hunt you down like a mad dog hound….."
There are two inevitable conclusions that will emerge from this war.
1. Coalition forces will defeat Iraq and effect regime change.
2. The tyranny of Saddam Hussein will have ended.A long litany of unanswered questions will also soon take center stage. What about Syria? Iran? Lebanon? Libya? the U.N.? France? Germany? Belgium? North Korea? China? our 'friends' in Russia?
© 2003 Geoff Metcalf - All Rights Reserved
Geoff is a veteran media performer. He has had an eclectic professional background covering a wide spectrum of radio, television, magazine, and newspapers. A former Green Beret and retired Army officer he is in great demand as a speaker. Metcalf has hosted his radio talk show on the ABC/Disney owned and operated KSFO and in worldwide syndication. www.geoffmetcalf.com