Hunting Down Saddam Read Free

quality. Thanks, also, to the staff who rallied at St. Martin’s to make this book happen, working long evenings and over holiday weekends. My gratitude to Amelie Littell, David Stanford Burr, Jeffrey Capshew, Karen Gillis, Eric Gladstone, Susan Joseph, John Murphy, Joseph Rinaldi, Heather Saunders, and James Sinclair. This is my third book effort with Diane and crew. The ongoing energy and dedication of the staff of St. Martin’s Press is worthy of much praise and admiration.
    Many thanks are due to FOX Television News, whose fourth-floor headquarters at the Sheraton Hotel where I was staying became an oasis for us while in Baghdad. On my seventy-eighth birthday, the people of FOX News threw a party for me, complete with a bottle of scotch, which slipped down my throat like nectar of the gods. Their own Dana Lewis, whose diary of action with the Screaming Eagles forms an intrinsic part of Hunting Down Saddam, deserves great mention for both his contributions and his last-minute, exclusive details regarding Saddam’s capture. Dana rode all the way into Baghdad with the 101st Airborne Division; his candid accounts reflect the many faces of war and the emotions that accompany them.
    The eighth floor of the Sheraton was home to KBR, whose assistance was invaluable. KBR hosted me in different areas of Iraq and saw to it that I had safe transport during my various interviews. John Jones, Mark Vargas, and the rest of the KBR crew in Iraq, I cannot thank you enough.
    Mark Vargas deserves extra mention. A retired Special Forces Command Sergeant Major (CSM), Mark had a unique civilian and military vantage point during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. As KBR’s security manager in Tikrit, he worked side by side with the 4th Infantry Division in what is thought of as the most volatile region in Iraq. He also worked with Iraqi contractors and Iraqi trainees for the new police and security forces. I’ve known and known of Mark for more than twenty years, and couldn’t have chosen a better person to write the foreword to Hunting Down Saddam. And I might add, a fortuitous choice it was, as the group of soldiers he worked with on a daily basis were the ones who found and captured Saddam, the only proper ending for this book.
    Thanks to MG David Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), who gave me an interesting briefing on Mosul and the problems he and his troops were experiencing at the time. He provided an overview of the actions of his group, from the time they crossed over into Iraq from Kuwait until the time they took over Mosul from the Green Berets who had liberated the city.
    And thanks to COL “Smokin’ Joe” Anderson, commander of the Strike Brigade of the 101st. He deserves great recognition for his part in the demise of Saddam’s sons and for his contributions and expertise regarding this historic U.S. Army division.
    Heartfelt thanks to LTC Steve Russell and the men of the 1-22 Infantry, 4th ID. When I was leaving FOB Ironhorse in Tikrit, LTC Russell pressed a disc in my hand. He had kept copies of detailed letters he’d sent home, chronicling the war through his and his soldiers’ eyes. His letters were an extraordinarily personal glimpse into the war. Understanding the immense value of his words, LTC Russell granted permission to include his letters in the book.
    Thanks to Colonel Bob Morris, without whom I would not have been able to make the trip into Iraq, nor have obtained important information on Operation RED DAWN in time. When I learned the Special Forces couldn’t sponsor my trip to Iraq on account of my having Parkinson’s disease, my longtime friend COL Morris was the man I turned to. Within twenty-four hours, he had arranged full accreditation, visas, and charter airline reservations, and his Partner’s International Organization hosted me. Moreover, he quickly arranged my interviews with the 101st Airborne, the 82nd Airborne, and the 4th ID