What's up with Saddam?

[Zoink]

OK, assuming that Saddam isn't a complete idiot, he obviously sees that now:

-He can't win
-the UN is not going to intervene to stop this war

What do you think he's up to? Dying a martyr's death? Pulling an Osama, and vanishing at the last minute?

[Col. Crackpot]

I bet the farm he thinks he will inflict enough casualties on us for the folks at home to get pissed off and force a Somolia-type withdrawal. I'll also bet the fam on the 'Battle of Baghdad' involving bio-chem warfare.

[SPOOFE]

Saddam is trying to delay things. Notice that, so far, our forces have avoided going into heavily urban areas. Saddam knows that urban warfare is the Great Equalizer: The technological advantage of the U.S. is lost when fighting building-to-building. This will result in greatly increased casualties on the part of the US, which will mean even more protests back home... which will mean either more domestic resistance, or (more likely) more foreign resistance.

Saddam's chances of surviving increase greatly as the length of the war extends, and the US soldier body count increases.

Plus, he's planning on pulling all sorts of dirty tricks to maximize the protest against the war, such as dressing some of his men in US uniforms, and having them gun down his own civilians... to make it look like the US is indiscriminantly killing Iraqi's.

[kojikun]

thats why when you have a city to take, you take its carpet bombed and fire bombed ashes.

[The Dark]

He'll hide, since we can't carpet-bomb Baghdad. The whole frickin' city's built around an archaeological site, and Bush would have serious problems from the intelligentsia if he destroyed that. Hussein has shown that his primary goal is survival; he claimed victory from Desert Storm/Desert Shield because he hadn't been removed from power. Unfortunately, our urban combat capabilities are still not as good as the should be, so I forecast one of three possibilities:

1. Hussein hides, we invade, high body count, we leave without taking him when Bush is voted out of office due to casualties and inability to do what he says he'll do.

2. Hussein hides, we invade, high body count, we catch Hussein. Bush may or may not be reelected depending on how high the deaths rise.

3. Hussein hides, we invade, Republican Guard surrenders and turns on Hussein, low body count, we catch Hussein. Bush is reelected.

[Stormbringer]

I say it's a toss of the dice. His survival depends on retaining his rule. He won't be able to hide like Bin Laden, he's not that good at it and he's got no real friends. He'd be sold out as soon as it could be arranged assuming he wasn't just killed. If he turns himself in he'll be tried for crimes against humanity and has a poor chance of survival.

He's a caged and very dangerous enemy. What he'll do all depends on what goes on in his messed up mind.

[Master of Ossus]

OK, assuming that Saddam isn't a complete idiot, he obviously sees that now:

-He can't win
-the UN is not going to intervene to stop this war

What do you think he's up to? Dying a martyr's death? Pulling an Osama, and vanishing at the last minute?

I don't think he's "up to" anything. The information I have seems to indicate that he is either dead or in a hospital, and hardly capable of directing his forces.

[Yogi]

He'll probably hide, and try to harass US forces as much as possible. Just keep on delaying his fall from power, and hopefully it will never come.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

I say he'll hide, so if try to look for him, his troops will defend him, and lead to military casualties (Although we'd probably end up victorious agianst them). Bombings on Baghdad would lead to high civilian casualties, and offering rewards for his capture like we did with bin Laden wouldn't work, as it's not like any civilian would reach Saddam, and even if they did, they wouldn't cooperate.

[paladin]

I think Saddam is more delusional then Darkstar. How he thinks his army can stop the US-led force in Iraq is beyond rational thinking!

[Darth Garden Gnome]

If we uproot him and he goes into hiding, then the US has essentially won. Iraq is not a terrorist network like Al-Queda, because things like are not actually located in any place (beyond the rather large area of Afghanistan), they are abstract. Iraq is an actual country, and as such taking key cities and destroying enemy installations means we can take it over. If we overthrow Saddam and he flees, we install a government, Iraq becomes a democracy case closed. Saddam has no power, he can go hide wherever he will for the rest of his days.