In the above photo, U.S. occupation troops can be seen covering their ears in reaction to the loud explosions of ten TOW Missiles fired at the barricaded suspects. The troops also do not seem too concerned about hostile gunfire. The TOW Missile was developed in the 1970's as the U.S. Army's primary anti-Tank weapon... it can knock out any armored vehicle and can penetrate 30 inches of heavy Tank armor. The firing of ten of these missiles at four individuals (one of which was a teenager), not to mention the thousands of rounds of M-16 rifle and heavy machine gun fire that occupation troops poured into the building... indicates that no one was interested in capturing Uday and Qusay alive and bringing them before a war crimes tribunal (for more info on the TOW Missile:
www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/tow.htm )

Recall that in the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, U.S. troops cornered Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega at the Vatican Embassy. While it would have been difficult for the U.S. to mount an attack on the Vatican... the point is, U.S. forces kept the building surrounded and Noriega was eventually captured without a shot. In Moscow October 25th, 2002, heavily armed Chechen guerillas took 700 theatre-goers hostage. The Russian Special Forces responded by mounting an attack that used a mystery gas to knock out the guerillas as well as their hostages. While the result was a disaster (over 100 hostages died from the gas)... do you really believe that the RUSSIAN Special Forces could attempt a rescue using non-lethal weapons but the U.S. Special Forces could not utilize non-lethal weapons in their attempt to capture Uday and Qusay, who are only number 2 & 3 on the U.S. Military's "most wanted" list. Someone obviously made the decision NOT to bring Saddam's Sons to trial.

Special Forces and CIA personnel were involved as the main assault force in the attack on Uday and Qusay. It is ironic that this same unit was formed of soldiers from the DISBANDED U.S. military group in charge of the search for weapons of mass destruction.

While the Bush administration and the corporate media crowed about the killing of Saddam's Sons... and implied that the assasinations would "blunt" the increasing attacks on U.S. Soldiers... those attacks are only increasing. Thursday morning saw the deaths of three American G.I.s.

****

Three American Soldiers Killed in Iraq
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three American soldiers were killed Thursday when they came under attack from gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in northern Iraq, a military spokeswoman said.

The soldiers were from the 101st Airborne Division. It wasn't known exactly where attack took place or if any soldiers were wounded, said Spc. Nicole Thompson, spokeswoman for V Corps in Baghdad. Reports were still coming in from the field, she added. The 101st participated in Tuesday's raid a house in Mosul where Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were killed, along with a teenager believed to be Qusay's son, and a bodyguard.

U.S. forces were concerned that the deaths of the brothers would motivate insurgents in Iraq and lead to more attacks. The deaths brought to 158 the number of American servicemen killed in action since the war began March 20, surpassing by 11 the death toll in the 1991 Gulf War.