Targeting Hussein
Among the possibilities regarding Saddam Hussein’s fate is that he was killed in a bombing Monday.
Here’s how he may have been targeted by U.S. forces.
How the attack took place
Weapons used
GPS
satellites
AWACS
plane
3
4
B-1B
bomber
Local
command
center
1
Laser
rangefinder
2
Target
building
U.S. troops
Not to scale
1.1 A CIA intelligence tip
about Hussein’s
possible location in the
Mansour neighborhood
of Baghdad is
forwarded to a local
command center.
5
2 CIA or special
operations personnel
confirm the tip, determine the target’s coordinates using a rangefinder and report this to
the command center.
Four 2,000pound bombs
All four
bombs are equipped with
Joint Direct Attack
Munition kits that direct
them to the target using
GPS satellite signals. Two
of them are special
bunker-buster versions
that penetrate a target
before detonating.
3 4 An AWACS
surveillance
plane sends
target data to a B-1B
bomber. The crew enters
the target coordinates
into the bombs.
Possible bunker
5 The B-1B drops four
bombs that use global
positioning system
satellites to reach their
target.
Sources: Department of Defense; Associated Press; GlobalSecurity.org; Jane’s; Times sources
M at t Moody Los Angeles Times
File name: Saddam
Headline: Targeting saddam
Section: FG
Run date: 04/10/03
Artist: Matt Moody X75364
Size: 34p1 x 32p