Why couldn't we or the US just assassinate Saddam Hussein and his sons and the other leaders in his regime?

Question

If we done that there would probably still be the same trouble going on in Iraq but our soldiers wouldnt be there fighting and getting killed or injured.

Instead of starting a war i mean

Answer 1

we have now but you mean before sending our troops to Iraq?
because we have a bunch of morons running the country

Answer 2

As I see it the US are in charge and the British follow like puppies doing as they are told. The US military couldn't find the weapons of mass destruction and have killed lots of British personnel and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis so how do you think, the Americans with their military intelligence would be able to have found Saddam Hussein and his band of followers? Also it would have been an act of war rather than an occupation war which is what we have now. Saddam has been replaced with someone the Americans think is a suitable leader rather than with a Saddam like replacement.

Answer 3

saddam's gone, but unfortunately his legacy remains.
civil war & yet more pain 4 Iraq.
praps it would have been better 2 leave well alone?
if they did topple saddam why don't they do the same 4 other despots?
how about Mugabe?
but as Zimbabwe oil ran out a couple of years ago.
there's nothing 2 gain.
saddam was but 1 despot
who just happened 2 b sitting on the vast western desert with millions of gallons in untapped oil.
saddams henchmen & supporters want 2 make it as difficult & hindered as possible.
that oil, they c it as theirs.
they're fighting 4 it.
both UK & US soldiers r dying 2 protect it.

Answer 4

apparently Saddam and his cronies were the only thing keeping the lid on the Shiite/Sunni violence. The unbelievable level of deaths going on would have happened at some point anyway. Normally when dictators die there's a power struggle so it was really inevitable...we just wouldnt be hearing too much about it.
The Sunni/Shia thing has been going on since 680AD. Theyve been murdering each other in all that time in the name of small minded bigotry without any help from us.

Answer 5

Well, of course, that's what happened but, as with anything the Americans become involved with, there is never an understanding of exactly what will happen when they do. Bush Snr had the opportunity long before his son but no-one had an end-plan; just like now. So, hundreds of our guys and too many thousands of Iraquis have already died thanks to a half-baked policy created by half-baked politicians.
The problem is that if you remove the politicians you're left with anarchy which would, I guess, result eventually in a dictatorship and then you'll find the next dictator is suddenly ruling us!!

Answer 6

If it was done it would have to be done "top secretly", or charges would be brought agains the issuer of the order.
Actually there were supposedly a lot if intel about doing that same thing, but they could never be sure if it was actually Saddam or his look alikes, he was thought to have atleast 5 men who did his public appearances for his safety.

Answer 7

I must be in a time warp
I thought 'we' had,,,

re the ps

because on one hand 'we' have to maintain a fiction
of both following legality and being the good guys
so unlike the russians 'we' don't go around popping people
off at least not that often car accidents do happen of course
second 'we' or USA mainly wants to control that region for obvious reasons that are much more complex than just oil

Answer 8

Assassins tried to kill Saddam Hussein a number of times. This only lead to mass killings by Saddam's murder and torture squads. It became necessary therefore to not just take out Saddam but his whole government and political war machine.

Wanted dead or alive. "I prefer dead".

Answer 9

Thank former Senator Bob Toracelli from NJ who put an amendment on a bill that made this illegal. Pres Clinton signed it.

Answer 10

That`s what Saddam did in his rise to power.