UFO Info Week-End

Officials also believe that the deaths of the sons may lead to a reduction in what seems to be increasingly organised opposition

Officials also believe that the deaths of the sons may lead to a reduction in what seems to be increasingly organised opposition to the US occupation. The deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein have given a welcome fillip to the Bush administration, after weeks of nothing but criticism and controversy in the aftermath of the Iraq war.
“This is good news for the Iraqi people and a great day for the American military,” said Paul Bremer, the US civilian administrator in Iraq, during a break in testimony on Capitol Hill where he was updating increasingly anxious Senators and Congressmen on the progress of the occupation.His delight was matched in the White House, which hopes the success will shift the dynamic of the whole Iraq debate in its favour. “He is hiding in an area about 60km [37 miles] long and about 20km wide according to my information,” General Samarrai said. He said the deposed leader had been able to escape capture because the area was heavily populated and had thick vegetation. He said Saddam was offering a reward of $200 for every US soldier killed.Earlier this month, a former senior Iraqi intelligence officer told The Independent that Saddam and his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, were hiding in an area of farmland and small villages on the Tigris river between Baghdad and the city of Samarra.General Wafiq al-Samarrai, the head of Iraqi military intelligence before he went into exile, is helping American forces in the hunt for Saddam. Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, has often said he believes Saddam is moving in an arc from Diyala, north-east of Baghdad, around the Tigris river towards his home town of Tikrit and into the Dulaimi areas to the west of the Tigris. There is a $25m (£15m) reward for information leading to his capture or proving that he is dead.Saddam has long been thought to have been living in an area north of Baghdad.

Where is Saddam Hussein? The US military will now concentrate its attention on the hunt for the ousted Iraqi leader, still believed to be at large in Iraq.
Finding the former dictator has become more important because the guerrilla-style resistance to the American forces that has grown since Saddam was overthrown at the beginning of April.The US administration in Iraq believes that Saddam’s continued evasion is being used by resistance forces to gain leverage and influence over elements of the Iraqi population and to foment opposition to the new government.Naturally enough, Saddam’s whereabouts are just about the hottest topic of conversation among the people of Iraq and officials at the Pentagon and the CIA. You think you are coming home to normal, and this town is not normal.”Greg and Sheila Hodak, of North Carolina, had made a detour to Pte Lynch’s home on their way to Pennsylvania “We just felt drawn to come by,” said Mrs Hodak “I would love to get a glimpse of her Everybody felt like she was their adopted child.”. Regina Ray, the owner of a gift shop in Elizabeth, said: “I just hope she can cope with everything that’s going on around here. I can’t wait to see her face.”There has been some disagreement within the community as to whether Pte Lynch should have received the attention she has, and whether others who fought in Iraq have been ignored as a result.Some of it appears to be jealously, while some of it appears to be genuine concern from a community that is used to many of its young people entering the armed services as a way to escape the lack of opportunities available in this down-at-heel part of the state.But yesterday, most people just seemed glad that she was home. Reports say that she can walk a hundred or so yards with the help of a walking frame but that she still has trouble standing up unaided.Her cousin Dan Little, a member of the Parkersburg National Guard, which was there to welcome her, said: “She’s a strong, disciplined young lady.”Her injuries are long healing, and that can be hard if you dwell on it. She has been wanting to get here.”Quite how fully Pte Lynch has recovered from her ordeal is not entirely clear.

Pte Lynch was one of them.Pte Lynch’s grandmother Wyonema said yesterday: “We are excited just to see her, just to be able to give her a hug.”To Jessie, home is in the hills. Why should they be concerned with a controversy about whether the Pentagon had been giving a slanted picture? That was just politics, they said. Of course, among the deep hills and wooded valleys of the Ohio valley, none of this mattered to the people who had been waiting during those dark days for news of Pte Lynch, tying yellow ribbons to trees and fences and spending hours in prayer. In addition, what quickly became apparent was that the special forces rescue was not quite what it appeared.When the Delta Force troops arrived at the hospital they were immediately led to Pte Lynch and did not need to fire a shot.

She suffered her injuries after the Humvee in which she was travelling crashed into a truck.Furthermore, inquiries by The Independent, whose correspondent spoke to the Iraqi doctors who cared for her, suggested the Pte Lynch had been well-treated and was put in the cleanest ward in the hospital. A report issued earlier this month by the Pentagon revealed Pte Lynch had not been shot or stabbed and that her weapon had jammed. Her captors had treated her badly, they said, and the pretty girl from West Virginia had suffered gun-shot and stab wounds.The reality was quite different. She also thanked the “several Iraqi citizens who helped save my life”.Earlier, she had left the Walter Reed Medical Centre in Washington thanking staff there and the public for their cards and letters. It is great to be home”.In uniform, but heavily made up and looking frail, she thanked her medical teams in Washington and in Germany. Whether or not she deserved to be called a hero – on Monday, she was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart medals – it was a hero’s welcome she received from the people who saw her grow up.A huge roar went up from the crowds who had lined the streets of the community where she lived as the helicopter bringing her from Washington performed a “fly by” and then finally touched down.Everywhere one looked in the tiny town, and in the not-much-bigger neighbouring town of Elizabeth where she went to school, there were people with banners and placards gathered to welcome the girl-next-door who joined the army to get an education and ended up becoming a national celebrity “Hi” said Pte Lynch sitting in a wheelchair “Thank you for being here. Shortly after lunch yesterday Pte Lynch, a 20-year-old army supply clerk whose capture and subsequent rescue in Iraq became one of the most celebrated episodes of the war, arrived back in her home town of Palestine, West Virginia.