Word: tikrit
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Generally, if you?ve seen one parade, you?ve seen them all. But today?s show is special: it?s being staged in the lair of the lion - Saddam Hussein?s hometown of Tikrit. Only a two-hour drive north of Baghdad, the city has been out of bounds for journalists for months, so this is a rare treat. Here, finally, is a chance to explore the social and cultural setting that produced not only Saddam, but also one of the Arab world?s greatest heroes, Salahuddin - or, as the Crusaders knew him, Saladin. Here?s a chance to chat...
...That's what we thought, anyway. Alas, reality proved us wrong. Rather than give us the freedom to explore the city, the authorities have decreed that we are to drive straight to Tikrit?s parade stadium (every Iraqi city worth its salt has one), then straight back to Baghdad. No stops in the city, not even for a beverage at a local teahouse, much less a bit of conversation with the locals. My government-appointed minder is apologetic, but firm...
...interaction I can have with Tikritis is inside the stadium, where the few hundred people who are not marching have gathered to cheer. Since these can only be hurried conversations in the minutes before the marching starts, I decide to focus on one broad question: What is it about Tikrit that produces strongmen like Saladin and Saddam...
...could be safely hit from the air, air-defense installations and command-and-control centers--a new air war would take aim at Saddam's palaces and other manifestations of his power, such as television transmission stations. Saddam and his most loyal troops in Baghdad and his hometown of Tikrit would be key targets. "The U.S. is going to be applying some pretty awesome military technology," says Steven Simon, assistant director of London's International Institute of Strategic Studies. "The idea is to kick out the legs of the chair underneath the regime." At least initially, say Pentagon officials...
...forces captured major cities in northern and southern Iraq, ground troops would advance to Baghdad for the expected end-game. And there, if Washington's war planners had their way, Saddam's regime would collapse, and victory would come swiftly. If Saddam fled to, say, his hometown of Tikrit, 100 miles north, his army might well give up the fight. The optimists' final scenario: allied caravans rolling through Baghdad, greeted by thousands of liberated, cheering Iraqis (an updated version of Paris' liberation after...