Iraq 's forces appeared cut off from their leadership after a U.S. attack on a Baghdad compound that intelligence officials believe struck while Saddam Hussein and possibly his sons were still inside, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no definitive word whether Saddam was caught in the pre-dawn attack, or whether he was alive or dead. But officials said they believed medical attention was summoned to the compound after the attack.
"We have reason to believe he was in there," one senior U.S. official said. "It is not clear exactly on whose behalf the medical attention was summoned."
There was no evidence that Saddam, or anyone else, was in overall command of Iraq's security or military operations on Thursday, the officials said.
The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said intelligence agencies have not made any determination yet whether Saddam himself or his sons were injured or killed in the attacks. The agencies were carefully analyzing videotapes purporting to show Saddam after the attack.
The strike, which involved ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and bombs dropped from stealth fighters, was aimed at a residential complex where U.S. intelligence believed Saddam, and possibly his sons, were sleeping early Thursday morning.
Naval missile strikes in Baghdad also were aimed at the headquarters of the Special Republican Guard, a paramilitary force that was expected to defend Baghdad from any U.S. assault, and other security organizations.
After the attack, intelligence reports indicated Iraq's leaders were not organizing any coordinated response in Baghdad or in the rest of the country, suggesting the leadership might be in chaos or cut off from communicating with field commanders.
Also, the anti-aircraft fire above Baghdad during the strikes was lighter than seen in previous conflicts.
"It's little things here and there. Some individual commanders are hunkering down while others are launching small attacks and setting fires," one official said. A few oil wells in southern Iraq were burning Thursday; officials had suggested Iraqi troops would purposely light them to create an economic and ecological disaster.
At the Pentagon (news - web sites), Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said military planners had good reason to believe top Iraqi leaders were at the site of the first bombing.
"We are in communication with still more people who are officials of the military at various levels — the regular army, the Republican Guard, the Special Republican Guard — who are increasingly aware that it's going to happen, he's going to be gone," Rumsfeld said.
U.S. intelligence suspected Saddam's sons, Qusai and Odai, might have been with him during the strike. Both hold high-level security positions. Qusai, the younger son, is believed to be Saddam's likely successor.
A defiant Saddam appeared on Iraqi television a few hours after the strike. However, officials said the taped message did not prove he was alive.
It appeared to be him and not a look-alike, officials said after initial analysis. A voice analysis was under way.
There was nothing in the tape that made specific reference to the attack, or other events, that would confirm it was made in the hours after the strike. Saddam's reading of the date could have been recorded earlier, officials said.
However, the fact that Saddam read the speech from a steno pad indicated a fairly impromptu production, suggesting it came after the strike, the officials said.
At a closed-door briefing in the Capitol, lawmakers asked top Pentagon officials if Saddam had been wounded.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no definitive word whether Saddam was caught in the pre-dawn attack, or whether he was alive or dead. But officials said they believed medical attention was summoned to the compound after the attack.
"We have reason to believe he was in there," one senior U.S. official said. "It is not clear exactly on whose behalf the medical attention was summoned."
There was no evidence that Saddam, or anyone else, was in overall command of Iraq's security or military operations on Thursday, the officials said.
The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said intelligence agencies have not made any determination yet whether Saddam himself or his sons were injured or killed in the attacks. The agencies were carefully analyzing videotapes purporting to show Saddam after the attack.
The strike, which involved ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and bombs dropped from stealth fighters, was aimed at a residential complex where U.S. intelligence believed Saddam, and possibly his sons, were sleeping early Thursday morning.
Naval missile strikes in Baghdad also were aimed at the headquarters of the Special Republican Guard, a paramilitary force that was expected to defend Baghdad from any U.S. assault, and other security organizations.
After the attack, intelligence reports indicated Iraq's leaders were not organizing any coordinated response in Baghdad or in the rest of the country, suggesting the leadership might be in chaos or cut off from communicating with field commanders.
Also, the anti-aircraft fire above Baghdad during the strikes was lighter than seen in previous conflicts.
"It's little things here and there. Some individual commanders are hunkering down while others are launching small attacks and setting fires," one official said. A few oil wells in southern Iraq were burning Thursday; officials had suggested Iraqi troops would purposely light them to create an economic and ecological disaster.
At the Pentagon (news - web sites), Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said military planners had good reason to believe top Iraqi leaders were at the site of the first bombing.
"We are in communication with still more people who are officials of the military at various levels — the regular army, the Republican Guard, the Special Republican Guard — who are increasingly aware that it's going to happen, he's going to be gone," Rumsfeld said.
U.S. intelligence suspected Saddam's sons, Qusai and Odai, might have been with him during the strike. Both hold high-level security positions. Qusai, the younger son, is believed to be Saddam's likely successor.
A defiant Saddam appeared on Iraqi television a few hours after the strike. However, officials said the taped message did not prove he was alive.
It appeared to be him and not a look-alike, officials said after initial analysis. A voice analysis was under way.
There was nothing in the tape that made specific reference to the attack, or other events, that would confirm it was made in the hours after the strike. Saddam's reading of the date could have been recorded earlier, officials said.
However, the fact that Saddam read the speech from a steno pad indicated a fairly impromptu production, suggesting it came after the strike, the officials said.
At a closed-door briefing in the Capitol, lawmakers asked top Pentagon officials if Saddam had been wounded.