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| Iraq |
| War to start "in three weeks" |
| 2003-02-24 |
| THE US military is ready to wage war against Iraq in mid-March. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made the declaration as the US and Britain prepared for one final assault at the UN to win international support through a second resolution. To be tabled early Tuesday, the resolution will not contain an explicit deadline for Iraqi compliance but US and Britain will demand that the UN Security Council vote on the resolution by March 14 at the very latest, effectively establishing that as a deadline. Mr Rumsfeld said yesterday the 222,000 American, British and Australian troops massed in the Gulf were "ample". "We are at a point where, if the President makes that decision [to attack], the Department of Defence is prepared and has the capabilities and the strategy to do that," he said. Tick, tick, tick ... |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #11 I don't remember who said it (samizdata.net?) but supposedly the main reason for all the delay was due to discovering that our NBC equipment was crap and needed to be re-ordered en-masse. Supposedly it was a rush job. The delay in shipping people over was due to not wanting them being sitting ducks with inadequate NBC gear. Given that, I see the delay as prudent... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-02-24 15:01:15 |
| #10 The way these bastards are desperately trying to hinder action to get rid of Saddam you'd think their very life was at stake. Something smells here really bad, and it ain't Ch'iraq's old socks. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-02-24 14:55:36 |
| #9 Last I checked, Rummy's responsibility is the DoD. Protocol is that you speak for your own bailiwick. Saying the 'US is prepared' is the privilege of GWB. |
| Posted by: Nero 2003-02-24 12:08:04 |
| #8 "the Department of Defence is prepared"? Not "the US is prepared"? I don't the sound of that. It almost sounds like he's saying "it's not my fault" that the war on Iraq failed. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-02-24 11:48:58 |
| #7 Well then, here's a Rantburg shout-out to the fine folks at National Internet Protocol Router! (Motto: No packet left behind) Keep up the good work. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-02-24 11:31:50 |
| #6 OK, never mind. I found it, on the tin foil sites. NIPR stands for National Internet Protocol Router. No home page. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-02-24 10:53:58 |
| #5 Becky, you can configure your browser to prevent your URL from appearing. I'm using eXtreme site tracking, the basic package, hardly an intrusive item. The reason I asked is that NIPR.MIL shuts me out completely. Most .MIL sites have a home page that I can link to, such as the 16th Special Ops Wing and I'd like to recognize our men and women in the military when I can. Also, the Naval Support Facility at Souda Bay, Crete. Both sites VERY COOL, and I'm glad someone from there took the time to visit. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-02-24 10:51:29 |
| #4 I find it odd that you want to identify people who post to your blog. Besides, it seems more likey you could get the guy in trouble if he's busy blogging his opinion from a .mil site. I'm sure your intentions are good, but maybe you should let people give you that information rather than to sleuth it. Maybe I'm off base here, but it's JMHO. |
| Posted by: becky 2003-02-24 10:28:38 |
| #3 Off topic, can someone help me figure out a visitor to my site, macpearson.nipr.mil? I like to recognize the military sites that visit me with a blog post. Thanks! |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-02-24 07:36:39 |
| #2 I agree that this final UN push is likely to be a "disaster"... for the UN itself, at least in the eyes of popular opinion in the US and among our real allies (e.g. "New" Europe, UK, AUS, Japan, etc.) Might that not be part of the plan? |
| Posted by: jrosevear 2003-02-24 07:31:02 |
| #1 The final assault on the UN will be a disaster. When will the brain dead persons in the State Department realize that the UN exists to thwart any American plan, even a perfectly innocent plan to sanitize filthy toilets on a camp site in some wild park ? It will end 11-4, and that's based on the assumption that Blair is still PM of the UK on the day of the vote (which is highly unlikely, as the backbenchers will sink him on Wednesday). Attack now, before the UN charade. |
| Posted by: Peter 2003-02-24 03:44:00 |