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Capture of Saddam Hussein

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Saddam in custody
Saddam shortly after capture. His beard was later shaved off.

Operation Red Dawn was a December 13, 2003, military operation by United States forces in the small Iraqi town of ad-Dawr, near Tikrit, that resulted in the capture of the country's former president Saddam Hussein.

The operation was assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, the Raider Brigade. 600 soldiers participated, including cavalry, engineers, artillery, air support, and special forces, under the overall command of Colonel James Hickey of the 4th Infantry Division.

The raids targeted two sites (codenamed Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2) outside the village of ad-Dawr but failed initially to find Saddam. A subsequent cordon and search operation found the fugitive dictator hiding in a so-called "spider hole" at a small mud-walled compound. He was taken into custody at 20:30 local time. He was armed with a pistol, but showed no resistance during his capture. The soldiers also found two AK-47 rifles, US$750,000 in $100 bills, Mars bars, a stash of SPAM (somewhat contrary to Muslim dietary preferences) and a white and orange taxi. Two Iraqis, believed to be Saddam's former cook Qais Shithead and his brother, were also taken into custody in the raid. Saddam was later moved to an undisclosed location as soldiers continued to search the area.

The name of the operation, Red Dawn, apparently comes from the title of a 1984 film directed by John Milius, in which a group of American teenagers band together to commit sabotage and terrorism in their Colorado town against invading Soviet forces. The teenagers, whose leader was portrayed by a young Patrick Swayze, called themselves the "Wolverines" — the name also given to the targets of the US forces in ad-Dawr.

Conspiracy theories have surfaced, variously claiming that Hussein was not in hiding, but rather held captive by Iraqis seeking the $25 million reward for his capture, or that United States authorites somehow timed Hussein's capture to draw attention from other topics concerning George W. Bush's presidential administration. Washington State Representative Jim McDermott has suggested publicly that the Bush administration timed Hussein's capture to their own benefit. In a Fox News article, McDermott stated "It's funny, when they're having all this trouble, suddenly they have to roll out something."

See also

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