Hunting Down Saddam Read Free Page A

in Iraq. After the capture of Saddam, COL Morris stepped in once again and helped to arrange interviews with the soldiers from the 4th ID, whose accounts of Operation RED DAWN are a vital part of this book. Thanks also go to Captain Allen Roper in Iraq for organizing the Operation RED DAWN telephone interviews, and personally transcribing some.
    I would also like to thank Andrew McAleer, a longtime friend, top-notch lawyer, and fellow author who gave up his weekend to notarize documents for my accreditation, without which I would have been stuck.
    There are many men in the Special Forces community who also deserve mention and thanks for their invaluable aid—everything from first-rate information to their advice and support during the writing phase. In no particular order, I thank Major (MAJ) Steve Stone (Special Forces, Retired) and the Brothers at the Chapter 38 Team House—their communications network and countless assistance were invaluable. Colonel Michael S. Repass, commander of the 10th Group—an old friend who arranged interviews with members of the 10th Group and 3rd Group stationed there. MAJ Doug Hall—the 10th Group PAO (Public Affairs Officer) who graciously hosted me at Fort Carson, Colorado, and served as a reader and fact checker on an earlier draft of the book. Likewise MAJ Howard, 10th Group, who also provided the excellent briefing on the Special Forces efforts at the beginning of the war. Captain Sean Williams, MAJ Howard’s aide at Fort Carson, was a great help while I was there in June 2003. And Sergeant Major (SGM) Tim Strong, who provided much of the layout of the Special Forces mission in northern Iraq. Thanks go as well to LTC Christopher Haas, 5th Group, who described in detail the endeavors of his Special Forces soldiers—from the moment they crossed the berm until the time they converted from warriors to nation builders.
    Gratitude is also in order for LTC Angus Taverner, Media Operations Officer for the Ministry of Defence, for his assistance regarding Her Majesty’s forces, Lynn and Rachel Thompson, Brigadier General (BG) David P. Burford, Peter Lofgren, Sergeant Major (Retired) William Boggs, Gean Duran (for the “Ace in the Hole”), Sini McKeon, Major General Ken Bowra, and “Wild Bill” Garrison, and all of the PAOs in Iraq who provided escort duty and sightseeing services while I was in the war zone. All of you helped in many important ways to make this book project a reality—from start to finish.
    Last, but certainly not least, I must thank my surgeon Dr. Michael Reinhorn and the doctors and staff at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts, who saved my life in mid-January, just as we finished the last page of this book. I’d been in a bit of pain for several days, but passed it off as “book indigestion.” I was determined we’d meet our deadline. But by that Sunday morning, I was doubled over. After a series of X rays in the emergency room, I was told I had an intestinal blockage and could return home to take a large dose of castor oil. Two hours later there was frantic pounding at my door. A doctor friend, Charlie Maliss, shouted that I must get to the hospital, NOW! My white blood cell count reflected a critical stage of infection. The new diagnosis was a badly infected gall bladder. When my friend Paul Tessier, MD (Special Forces, Retired), heard the news, he immediately drove to the hospital from Maine to be at my side, where he stayed until my discharge. For his wise counsel and steady humor, I am much appreciative. My daughter Margo also dropped everything, including her own sick child, to be with me.
    Gallons of antibiotics and the removal of one gangrenous gall bladder later, I am grateful to be able to thank them all.

PROLOGUE
    A Special Forces funeral always brings me to tears, and this was no exception. I was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), who had been deployed in Iraq