December 2003, our unit was packing to go home. We faced war without any casualties. The only minor blunder, I recalled, is that we did not have constant heat for the cold winter months. The heater, nearly the size of a bus, hardly worked. Maintenance never fixed the machine, which was only pure rubbish. Troop morale was affected, but they were well-trained soldiers and ready to endure any physical elements while living in tents. During Winter, the Iraqi mud was like glue or liquefied in my neighborhood. We were glad to be going home. We could never imagine, however, to witness the capture of Saddam while still in the combat zone. The city of Bagdad was lit up with countless AK-47 rounds shot in the air for hours. The celebration and mockery of Saddam was a gift to the Iraqi citizens. We may consistently say, “I was present in the combat zone in Iraq when we captured the most hunted fugitive in the world.” The atmosphere was a joyful validation of success for the “wins” we experienced as American soldiers united in war. We defanged the Ace of Spades from ever again murdering countless innocent civilians under his rule.
Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, announced to the world that U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein on December 13, 2003, at roughly 8:30 p.m., local time. Saddam hid in a spider pit in Ad Dawr, near his homeland Tikrit. Many intelligence officers are credited with his capture. Army Staff Officer Eric Maddox was the driving force in capturing Saddam. He was an expert in military intelligence and had great patience. Those who persevere never faulter in our mission. My victory comes by faith in God’s promises with confident expectation. Maddox integrated with cooks and drivers who did not have influence but tribal connections that proved valuable in Saddam’s network. They were crucial informants that led to Saddam’s capture. His previous driver provided the name Muhammad Ibrahim on December 1. Ibrahim was Saddam’s leader of the insurgency. Over 40 members of the Ibrahim tribe provided critical information over two weeks. The American Forces raided a command safehouse on December 12 and apprehended Muhammad Ibrahim. The next day on December 13, at 5 a.m. Maddox’s last-minute interrogation technique finally resulted in Muhammad coughing up Saddam’s location. Maddox gained information in a culture with tight lips was miraculous. He likely won the hearts and minds of the people by obtaining the information required to locate the top-secret spider hole where Saddam lived during his last days. Maddox flew out of the country to later learn that the mission was successful. Can one put a price tag on Saddam’s head or provide the number of countless citizens he tortured to death?
It was naive to believe the capture would lead Iraq away from any violence. They were regrouping. A mighty vacuum of raw power is up for grabs. They wanted Americans to get out of the way. Stop occupying Iraq. Did we break a “prime directive” by remaining so lone in a tribal society with false hopes? “We the people…” is not a fabric in their culture. The people of Iraq understand freedom, peace, and guerrilla warfare. “Justice for all” is a distance vision. The Sunni Arab insurgency grew powerfully out of control. The insurgency developed a deadly complex, Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The coalition became targets of this lethal weapon. Al-Qaida in Iraq surfaced to take a bite of power of control of a dead state. The Shiite militias also wanted the collation out of Iraq. Terrorism, I believe, as one General has stated, is a “100-year war.”
After our unit flew out of the combat zone to Kuwait, I felt a rush of fresh air. The commander found a plane to return us home by the deadline. We extended our orders a couple of days in February 2004 for any shortfall days to complete the redeployment requirements. After our medical evaluation and award ceremony, we were discharged to take our military leave. Time flew by for me to meet my chaplain assistant and prepare for deployment again in the Summer of 2004. The growing insurgency technology will produce an amour pricing shape charge for me to contend with when I land in Mosul, Iraq, on October 4, 2004.
