By Jen McCaffery

Archives Reprint

   jen.mccaffery@roanoke.com

   981-3336

    U.S. Army Col. Jim Hickey didn't have much time to revel in the knowledge that his soldiers had captured Saddam Hussein in a spider hole in Iraq in December.

    The 1982 Virginia Military Institute graduate told a group of about 87 high school students attending a program called Junior War College at the school Monday that he was more concerned with making sure a cavalry troop was in place, in case other soldiers under his command faced enemy fire.

    After dozens of attempts to capture the deposed dictator, the break came about 5 p.m. Dec. 13, when Hickey received intelligence from an informant from Baghdad on the potential whereabouts of Saddam, Hickey said at a press conference before he addressed the students.

    Within 15 minutes, Hickey completed his plans and issued instructions to his subordinates. By 8 p.m., troops were on the ground by the spider hole in Adwar, near Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. By 8:15 p.m., Hickey, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, got initial reports that his troops had captured Saddam. And by 8:26 p.m., they knew for sure that they had captured the bedraggled former leader of Iraq, Hickey said. No U.S. troops were injured in the raid.

    "I realized we had caught these guys with their pants down completely," Hickey said.

    It was only after learning about the fetid spider hole from which Saddam surrendered voluntarily could Hickey reflect on the "role reversal" of his living in one of Saddam's former palaces.

    While Hickey, 43, acknowledged that there was an element of good fortune in the raid, which he said he would not elaborate upon, he also said the capture resulted from aggressiveness, teamwork, knowledge and other skills.

    "I was gratified that we had gotten the bloody thing over with," Hickey said at the press conference.

    Hickey emphasized the importance of leadership, but also praised the efforts of his soldiers to the students.

    "I may have kept the fire underneath the kettle ... [but] these young Americans made it happen," Hickey told students during his speech, which took place at Washington and Lee University, next to VMI. "Part of the reason I'm so confident is I know we can handle these things. I've seen it done."

    His brigade has since returned to Texas, but they could be redeployed at any time, he said.

    Hickey, who ate lunch with several students , also talked during the press conference about his other work in Iraq.

    He said of the people in Iraq, 60 percent to 80 percent, "wanted us to be successful." Others were indifferent. And 10 percent are "absolutely reactionary and implacable," Hickey said.

    Hickey acknowledged that attacks against coalition forces were up in April, but he said that the latest reports show that attacks on the coalition forces are down.

    Hickey reiterated during the press conference that he thought that coalition forces would prevail.

    "The enemy doesn't have a whole lot of tactical option when it's dealing with American forces on the ground," Hickey said.

    But during a question-and-answer session with the students from the Junior War College, a program for high school students from across the United States to learn about the strategy of warfare, Hickey acknowledged some of the challenges of developing a sovereign Iraq.

    He said that the expected involvement of the coalition forces in Iraq had stretched from months to what he expects will take a couple of years.

    Hickey was more careful when a student asked whether he anticipated there might be another target after Iraq.

    Hickey spoke of "reversing negative trends" in the area, including religious schools in Saudi Arabia and the rule of dictators like Saddam. He added that Iraq has some "unsavory neighbors" in Iran and Syria. And he referenced what President Bush has outlined as threats to the United States.

    Although Hickey said he envisioned dark days ahead, he added that Iraq has enormous potential. Tikrit today has luxury goods that were not available before and has at least two Internet cafes, for example, Hickey said.

    Hickey also touched on the economic opportunity in Iraq. He said that when the Army drills water wells, soldiers tend to hit natural gas or oil before they reach water. The country has the world's second - largest oil reserves. And he also emphasized the importance of protecting America's economic interests at home and abroad, asking them to imagine the fallout if Wall Street was demolished.

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