Thanks for the link, Lindy. I'd kind of like to see more verification of this (I know, I know...true beleivers always want more :-)

If it's true (and I think it's not at all unlikely), it's actually simply another example of how most sieges have been broken or avoided through history...bribe someone on the inside to "open a gate," as it were.

And the US is not the only nation to "buy off" potential hostiles recent times. Canada essentially bought influence with Somalia's Aidid by taking in and supporting his family despite his wealth and power in their homeland. The details are different but the essentials are the same: bribe a thug to gain influence. It's worth noting a key dissimilarity, though: the Canadian effort had very little measurable effect, while the American effort may well have saved countless lives on both sides of the conflict.

In the end, what the US admin did in Iraq regarding the Republican Guard is perhaps not such an awful thing. It may have prevented a harsh urban battle. Getting the enemy to lay down their arms is always favorable to a fight, isn't it?