It was amazing...not very smart, but truly amazing footage.

First were the acres upon acres of empty and abandoned military facilities just outside of Tikrit, including those belonging to the Republican Guard. Then came trip into town following the car of a local schoolteacher who had told Sadler that Tikrit had fallen.

Sadler was allowed to pass through the armed checkpoint. A few moments later his vehicle was stopped by what appeared to be fedayeen instructing him to proceed to Baa'th party headquarters to get the governor's approval to continue filming.

Instead, Sadler quickly reversed course and drove through the checkpoint heading out of town. The guard there fired and Sadler's bodyguard returned fire. Several vehicles chased after them, shooting from their vehicles. Sadler and company out ran them.

At any moment, I fully expected Mr. Sadler to be shot to death before our very eyes - live. War media coverage has certainly reached new hieghts - or new lows - depending upon your preference of broadcasters.