We Got Him! by Steve Russell

Author:Steve Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Threshold Editions

JAGGED FENCE, CROOKED TOWN

As Halloween approached, it was nearly time to implement the plan we had labored over for weeks. Prior to my emergency leave in September, my staff knew I wanted to resolve the problem with Auja, Saddam Hussein’s birthplace. This town of about 3,500 people continued to be a thorn in our side. Even the town’s name decreed its heritage. Translated literally from Arabic, Auja means “crooked.” Every defeated regime cell or captured insurgency funder or planner seemed to have ties to this town. Ultimately, we hoped that those making clandestine appearances in Auja would still have ties to Saddam. Catching them was the challenge.

I analyzed the dilemma of how to thwart insurgents from “swimming” in the population at large and finding a safe harbor in which to plot their evil deeds. If there were only some way to pool them in a “fishbowl” to monitor them more efficiently, we could make them vulnerable. For the bodyguards and inner circle group, Auja certainly had that potential.

I remembered studying Napoléon’s directives to expose insurgents in the Rhineland by means of a census. I took note of particular techniques used by the French in Algiers to expose insurgents veiled in the teeming masses of the Kasbahs. While not a perfect fit, there were parallels to be drawn from both campaigns.

I first broached the subject with my majors. “How much barbed wire would it take to fence the entire village of Auja?”

“Ha, that’s a good one, sir. That would be something,” they replied.

“I’m serious. How much would it take?” I then told my staff that I wanted to fence the entire town and conduct a census as Napoléon had done. They clearly thought I had taken leave of my senses, but I knew that without a comprehensive cordon, only honest people would voluntarily appear for registration. With the town locked down, the only way out would be to register. It was a monumental undertaking but one I felt we could synchronize with our routine tasks and missions.

There would be a multitude of benefits to be reaped from this effort. Should criminal elements attempt to hide within Auja, their movements would be disclosed or severely hampered. If they took flight, they would relinquish their base of support, number one wife, most extravagant house and all the amenities of the good life. They would be far more conspicuous and vulnerable to exposure, living in the primitive mud huts on their farms. If they opted to settle openly in town and amend their ways, well, that would result in an equally desirable conclusion.

Mike Rauhut and Bryan Luke listened as I itemized practical ways to accomplish our objective:

• Surround the town

• Register every male over the age of fifteen at the police station

• Issue photo identification cards

• Control the single entry point

• Utilize local police and sheiks to assist in implementation of the plan

• Give them no alternative

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