On July 22, 2003, American soldiers surrounded a large house in Mosul and called for the men inside to surrender.
The men answered with gunfire.
Four U.S. troops were wounded before the raid became a four-hour battle. By early afternoon, Uday and Qusay Hussein, the sons and chief enforcers of Saddam Hussein, were dead.
The operation began with a tip from an Iraqi who knew where the brothers were hiding. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, joined by special forces, sealed off the neighborhood. From the DVIDS website:
Sanchez said the operation began late July 21, when an Iraqi civilian gave coalition forces information as to the whereabouts of Uday and Qusay.
That night, coalition commanders planned the operation, gathered the required troops and weapons systems, and cordoned off the neighborhood. Iraqi police established an outer perimeter, Sanchez said.
The general said the mission began at 10 a.m. July 22 as a "cordon-and-knock operation," in which coalition troops secure an area then knock and ask if the individuals they are looking for are in the residence. In this instance, troops "knocked" using a bullhorn to order everyone out of the building. When they got no response, soldiers entered the home at 10:10 a.m. local time.
"Immediately upon entering the building, shots were fired," Sanchez said. "We immediately determined that the targeted individuals were barricaded in the fortified portion of the building, which was the second floor, and they started engaging with small arms," believed to be AK-47 rifles.
Three soldiers were injured on the stairs and another outside the building before the unit withdrew and called in a quick-reaction force and "heavy weaponry."
The injured soldiers were evacuated within minutes. At this point, ground commanders decided it was appropriate to "prep the objective prior to reentry," Sanchez said. In military speak, this means to use heavier firepower to make the situation safer for the soldiers on the ground. In this case, commanders called for the use of OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters and their 2.75-inch rockets, Mark-19 grenade launchers, AT-4 rockets, and helicopter- and humvee-mounted .50- caliber machine guns.
Iraqi police formed an outer perimeter; when troops entered the house, defenders fired from a fortified section of the second floor. The Americans withdrew, brought forward heavier weapons, and tried again.
The resistance continued through rockets, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and helicopter fire. At 1 p.m., soldiers fired 10 TOW missiles into the house. Troops entered once more 21 minutes later and killed the last gunman.
Four senior figures from the fallen regime, along with dental and medical records, later confirmed the identities of Uday and Qusay.
The brothers were more than Saddam's spoiled sons. They helped preserve his rule through fear.
Uday controlled major newspapers, television, and radio outlets. He ran Iraq's Olympic Committee and commanded the Fedayeen Saddam, a paramilitary force used to terrorize Iraqis. From PBS:
Uday maintains an iron grip on about a dozen daily and weekly newspapers, along with ownership of the country's most popular television and radio stations. He uses his media empire to craft a public image for himself as something of a populist figure, Iraqi-style. Most observers believe his goal is to position himself as his father's heir apparent.
Uday's target demographic is the two-thirds of Iraq's population who are under the age of 30. These are the Iraqis least turned on by the Stalinist-type fare typically offered by the state; and who enjoy the Hollywood blockbusters and American pop music offered on Uday's Youth TV and its sister radio station, Voice of Iraq FM.
He has also made inroads with groups outside the reach of the ruling Ba'ath Party, including with Iraq's Shi'a Muslim majority. Although they account for 60 percent of the population, the Shi'as have traditionally been marginalized by Saddam's regime.
Former insiders described private prisons and the torture of athletes who failed to meet his demands. His name carried the stench of cruelty, murder, and unchecked privilege.
Qusay kept a lower profile, which made him no less dangerous. He controlled the Special Republican Guard, intelligence services, and forces assigned to protect Saddam.
He represented the colder side of the family business, the machinery that watched, imprisoned, and killed anyone viewed as a threat.
Uday enjoyed fear; Qusay organized it.
Their deaths didn't end the Iraq War; they didn't stop the insurgency, settle every argument over the invasion, or erase the mistakes that followed. American troops still faced years of bloodshed. Saddam remained at large until December.
July 22 still carried moral clarity; two men who had spent their lives using power to brutalize others faced soldiers who gave them a chance to surrender. They chose to fight; Americans risked their lives to capture them, absorbed the first volleys, pulled their wounded to safety, and finished the mission.
President George W. Bush said the brothers had tortured, maimed, and murdered countless Iraqis, who celebrated because the men who had haunted their country could no longer return. From Bush's statement:
Saddam Hussein's regime spent more than three decades oppressing Iraq's people, attacking Iraq's neighbors, and threatening the world's peace. The regime tortured at home, promoted terror abroad, and armed in secret. Now, with the regime of Saddam Hussein gone forever, a few remaining holdouts are trying to prevent the advance of order and freedom. They are targeting our success in rebuilding Iraq, they're killing new police graduates, they're shooting at people that are guarding the universities and power plants and oil facilities.
These killers are the enemies of Iraq's people. They operate mainly in a few areas of the country. And wherever they operate, they are being hunted, and they will be defeated. Our military forces are on the offensive. They're working with the newly free Iraqi people to destroy the remnants of the old regime and their terrorist allies.
Yesterday, in the city of Mosul, the careers of two of the regime's chief henchmen came to an end. Saddam Hussein's sons were responsible for torture, maiming and murder of countless Iraqis. Now, more than ever, all Iraqis can know that the former regime is gone and will not be coming back.
As our work continues, we know that our coalition forces are serving under difficult circumstances. Our nation will give those who wear its uniform all the tools and support they need to complete their mission. We are eternally grateful for the bravery of our troops, for their sacrifice and for the sacrifices of their families. The families of our servicemen and women can take comfort in knowing that their sons and daughters and moms and dads are serving a cause that is noble and just and vital to the security of the United States.
Fear had ruled their lives for decades, and suddenly two of its most recognizable faces were gone.
History rarely gives us clean endings. Tyrants fall, but their damage remains. Wars remove monsters and create new burdens, while victory arrives mixed with grief, argument, and consequences nobody predicted.
July 22 didn't prove that every American decision in Iraq was wise, but it proved that evil men can be found, confronted, and stopped. Uday and Qusay had spent their lives above the law and beyond mercy.
In Mosul, they were offered surrender, chose violence, and lost.
For Iraqis who had lived under their shadow, their deaths brought relief no policy debate could erase. For the soldiers who entered the house, the mission demanded discipline and courage.
On a single day, amid all the confusion of Iraq, good triumphed over two men who had made evil their inheritance and their work.
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