When Mossad's secret 'suicidal mission' to kill Saddam Hussein ended in tragedy, Israeli commandos returned in coffins due to..., truth was...
Addressing a briefing at the White House, Leavitt read out a statement from President Trump, who acknowledged the potential for diplomatic negotiations despite the escalating conflict in the Middle East. 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' Leavitt quoted the President as saying.
Israel has reportedly killed many of Iran's highest-ranking State military leaders and nuclear scientists, raising tensions between the two countries. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday issued a serious threat to Israel of retaliation.'We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote in English on X.
As Israel and the United States ramp up their threats to Iran and its Supreme Leader, an unsettling and chilling memory from the early 1990s arises—a secret, maximally ravenous plot to assassinate former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. So-called Operation Bramble Bush failed, but it is a timely reminder of just how fast international diplomacy can devolve into dangerous, visceral acts of terror shaped by politics and power.
According to an NDTV report, after the Gulf War in 1991, Israel viewed Saddam Hussein as an unstable and dangerous threat. While Israel was not a combatant in the Gulf War, it had been subjected to a number of Scud missile attacks from Iraq. Furthermore, various intelligence agencies had reported sights that Saddam was working on weapons of mass destruction. In recognition of the danger this presented, Israeli military and intelligence officials began to develop a plan to assassinate Saddam in a public appearance so that they could eliminate a threat which they considered to be growing and unpredictable.
The mission, known only as Operation Bramble Bush, was assigned to Sayeret Matkal, Israel's premier special forces unit. The target was a funeral in Saddam Hussein's birthplace of Tikrit. As per the NDTV report, the plan was for Israeli commandos disguised as Arabs to infiltrate the area undetected and attack Saddam's convoy using shoulder-launched missiles as he left the funeral. The intelligence for the mission was provided by Mossad, and the final order for the op was made by the most senior command of the Israeli military.
On November 5, 1992, the Sayeret Matkal team gathered in the Negev Desert to conduct a live-fire rehearsal of their planned action. The exercise was intended to prepare the team as closely as possible to the strike on Saddam Hussein. The team used real, armed missiles and was under the assumption that proper safety precautions were taken, and they could not go wrong.
During the simulation, an unfortunate and tragic error occurred when one of the operatives mistakenly launched a live missile at his own unit, killing five soldiers from the elite troops and injuring six others seriously. The mission was terminated as soon as possible, and a rehearsal turned into a national tragedy. This incident subsequently became known as the Tze'elim Bet catastrophe, a tragic chapter in Israel's military history.
An internal inquiry revealed monumental breakdowns in planning, communication, and risk management. Two days after the disastrous rehearsal, Operation Bramble Bush had been formally cancelled. The dead elite commandos were kept a secret from the public for years, and the entire mission was classified, hidden in the darkness of military secrecy.
Thirty years later, Israel is once again waging war against the top leadership of a rival nation—and this time, it is not Baghdad, it is Tehran. In recent days, Israeli forces executed another series of precision strikes that have successfully targeted and killed several of the most important members of Iran's leadership. These include killing the IRGC chief General Hossein Salami and aerospace commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and several members of Iran's leadership in the Iran nuclear program. The strikes also targeted important nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, and Arak, all of which will delay Iran's nuclear program going forward.
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