Thousands of U.S. and Afghan soldiers combed mountain caves and searched houses in southern Afghanistan on Friday on the second day of a major military operation against Taliban rebels, Afghan officials said. "Operation Valiant Strike" was launched in the Samigar mountains of southeastern Afghanistan on Thursday morning, less than an hour before the first U.S. air strikes on Iraq. Afghan officials and military commanders said the Americans had arrested 12 people, including members of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime and renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami movement. That'll probably be the extent of the haul, since all the rest of them have probably beat feet back across the Pak border by now...
But U.S. military spokesman Colonel Roger King denied having made contact with "enemy forces," who he described as supporters of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda movement. He said search operations were still getting under way over "a pretty large area." Yep. All they saw was their backs...
"There are villages in the low ground, there are caves in the high ground, and (U.S. forces) will be doing a systematic covering of the area of operations," King told reporters at the U.S. military's headquarters at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. The latest operation is centered on a series of villages and cave complexes about 60 miles east of Kandahar close to the Pakistani border, including the districts of Maruf, Arghistan and Shin Naray. Pakistani forces sealed their side of the border. Tight as a colander...
"The operation continues and we have arrested about 12 of the enemy's soldiers, while the rest seem to have fled," Abdul Razzaq, commander of the Afghan border force in the nearest main town of Spin Boldak told Reuters.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 11:38 am ||
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A British Member of Parliament has asked military leaders in Iraq to think about some of the forgotten casualties of war -- animals. Make up your own joke, this one is way too easy....
Tony Banks, a former minister in Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government, welcomed promises from London and Washington that troops would do their best to avoid hitting ordinary Iraqis in bombing raids, but said they also needed to think about the creatures in Baghdad's El-Zawra Zoo. "In war, countless numbers of animals are killed and injured," the former sports minister, who voted against war on Iraq, said in an statement put before parliament on Friday. He appealed to military leaders "to ensure that Baghdad's El-Zawra zoo is safeguarded and that when hostilities are over military vets will provide urgent assistance to the zoo and other organizations involved with animal welfare in Iraq."
The zoo, which is reported to be shut and under renovation, escaped bomb damage during the 1991 allied blitz on Baghdad but keepers said the animals had been disturbed by the noise of bombs hitting nearby targets. It would disturb the hell out of me.
The cause of suffering creatures always gains huge publicity in Britain, whose animal-loving citizens have a reputation for caring more about their pets than fellow humans. I care about my cats more than I care about a lot of people
Neither is it the first time that Banks has gone into battle to protect animals in a war zone. In 2001, the colorful legislator championed the cause of Marjan, a lame one-eyed lion in Kabul Zoo when the U.S. carried out bombing raids in Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. Marjan, who had survived numerous battles, communism, the Taliban and the U.S. bombing campaign, died of old age in a blaze of international publicity shortly afterwards. Sorry, must have missed it.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 02:27 pm ||
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I'm sure this will go down well in Iraq."-We care more about your animals than you!" Shut up,already!
Posted by: El Id ||
03/21/2003 14:48 Comments ||
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"...Britain, whose animal-loving citizens have a reputation for caring more about their pets than fellow humans."
Hey! I resent that! Who was it said "Love of animals is the last refuge of the misanthrope", or somesuch. It's certainly true in many cases.
The Sun has renewed its attack on the French, branding President Jacques Chirac "Saddam Hussein's whore" in a special Paris edition that has once again caused fury in the highest echelons of French government. God, I love the Sun!
The Sun's taunts follow an official complaint made by France's foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, about the strong language used in the British parliament to describe France's stance on the conflict with Iraq. Leftwing French newspaper Liberation has accused George Bush and Tony Blair of "stirring up latent Francophobia" in an editorial. "By pandering to the outrageous nationalism of parts of their electorate, they risk leaving the west with deep and lasting divisions. France must resist this dangerous drift," the paper warned. Under French law it is a criminal offence to insult the president, carrying a fine of up to 45,000 euros (£30,000).
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 09:29 am ||
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Leftwing French newspaper Liberation has accused George Bush and Tony Blair of "stirring up latent Francophobia"
Here's a free clue for Liberation: it's not latent, and it's definitely not "phobia".
#5
Actually, this is significant: the land of liberte, egalite, et fraternite has a law against INSULTING the president, when the only law in the Simplisme United States is for threatening the President? Is there REAL freedom of speech in France?
The leader of a Kurdish guerrilla group with suspected links to al-Qaida was charged Friday with kidnapping and aiding terrorists. The court ordered Mullah Krekar held for a month while the charges against him are investigated. Norwegian prosecutors accused Krekar of transferring more than $135,000 to Ansar al-Islam guerillas and developing a military organization in a foreign country. Krekar, the leader of the militant group Ansar al-Islam in northern Iraq, has denied the allegations. If convicted he faces as long as 21 years in prison. He has refugee status in Norway. He's the kind of person other people seek refuge from...
Norway's intelligence agency questioned Krekar last month when the rebel leader admitted he had kidnapped nine men briefly in Iraq in December 2001. Prosecutors can charge suspects for crimes that took place outside the country's borders, even if the suspect is not a Norwegian citizen.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 08:47 pm ||
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NO MATTER--FIVE CRUISE MISSILES JUST HIT ANSAR TERRITORY IN NORTHERN IRAQ--HOW MANY SCHROUDS CAN YOU BUY WITH $135K--ANSAR WON"T EXIST BY THIS TIME NEXT WEEK--COMBINATION OF U.S. AND KURD PESHMERGA FORCES WILL EXPEDITE VIRGIN FUCKFEST
France's interior minister has said that traces of the poison ricin discovered in a Paris railway station could be linked to a terrorist network with Chechen connections. Nicolas Sarkozy said there was no proof that a ricin attack was being planned against France, but he said there was a possible connection with several men arrested last December for allegedly planning to attack the Russian embassy in Paris. Two vials of the potentially deadly substance were found inside a locker at the Gare de Lyon, according to ministry officials. Mr Sarkozy told French radio that the quantities of the substance were "non-lethal", although they were found with ethanol and acetone. "A mixture of the three can make an extremely nasty poison," he said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 05:53 pm ||
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French police have arrested two suspected Islamic militants during an investigation into the possible recruitment of people in France to join a fight by Chechen separatists. The arrests are the latest in a sweep in which nine men have already been detained over the alleged planning of attacks on Russian targets in France, including the Russian embassy. The two latest detainees, of [North] African origin, were seized at their homes in the Oise region, north of Paris, on Tuesday, and placed in custody. Anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere is expected to question them before the end of the week. The interior ministry has named one of the nine other detainees as Menad Benchellali. His brother is being held at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since US action in Afghanistan against the Al-Qaeda network. The ministry said that an underground cell, to which some of the men belonged, planned to attack Russian targets to avenge the death of an Arab-born Chechen guerrilla leader killed by Russian troops. And the clean-up continues in Europe, as a matter of self-preservation...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 03:06 pm ||
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The Islamic community in France seems to be behaving itself. I have not seen any reports of unreast in Marseille or the Paris burbs. There goes that theory for Chirac's attitude. Guess he is simply pursuing a flawed strategy to restore the Holy Roman Empire.
Slightly edted for relevance. Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac have shared a "cool handshake" at a frosty EU summit dominated by conflict in Iraq. The UK and French leaders met in Brussels for the first time on Thursday evening since the French threatened to veto a UN resolution setting a deadline for Saddam Hussein to disarm. They spent an hour, with the 13 other EU leaders, wrangling over the wording of a joint declaration on Iraq. The prime minister's official spokesman would not confirm whether the two leaders actually spoke to each other at all during the meeting. "The prime minister was in the presence of Mr Chirac — I won't reduce this to personalities," he said. Reporters said the two shared a "cool handshake", with the atmosphere one of minimal courtesy rather than reconciliation. The two leaders were later seated opposite one another at the official dinner.
"Eccchhh! Cooties!"
BBC political editor Andrew Marr, at the summit, said: "Frankly it could not have been worse — it's got off to a very, very bad start indeed. The French have struck out all sorts of aspects of the text that the British hoped to agree, including some fairly bland stuff."
"Disagree with us, will they? Well, we'll show them!"
He said diplomats had told him they could not remember an EU summit which had such a sour atmosphere. In Brussels, France, Germany and Belgium criticised the US-led war, but Britain and five other nations — Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands — supported it. The UK agreed a French move to drop a paragraph from the new EU declaration expressing regret that Iraq had not used UN resolution 1441's opportunity to disarm, "and that a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis was not achieved". But Mr Blair refused when Mr Chirac tried to remove a paragraph reaffirming that the EU's objective remained Iraq's "full and effective" disarmament. If nations don't agree, they don't agree. Attach addenda to the declaration where those nations who disagree can state their objections. If the French don't want "full and effective disarmament", and no longer even regret that Iraq didn't obey 1441, let them put it in black and white.
Backed by Spain and Austria, Mr Blair insisted the words stay in — although they were moved further down the text. MAIN POINTS OF THE DECLARATION
Hope that the Iraq conflict has minimal loss of life.
Iraq's borders must be preserved.
Other countries in the region must "refrain from actions that could lead to further instability".
Continued importance of the UN.
Need for aid for Iraqi people.
Trans-Atlantic partnership "remains a strategic priority".
No mention of the reconstruction of Iraq .
The final EU declaration left Mr Blair content, said his spokesman, because it stated that the transatlantic partnerships remained a "fundamental strategic priority" for Europe. It said the UN must continue to play a central role during and after the current crisis. And it called on the EU "to explore means by which the EU might help the Iraqi people to achieve the objectives of living in freedom, dignity and prosperity under a representative government". Weren't you listening? Didn't we tell you? We're doing that already. Sorry you couldn't come.
But France would not discuss the post-war reconstruction of Iraq in case that implied support for the war. Great! If only the French took more good opportunities to keep quiet...
Paris is angry at UK claims it was to blame for the failure to secure a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/21/2003 09:37 am ||
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"Other countries in the region must "refrain from actions that could lead to further instability"."
Yo, Turkey! You get our drift?
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 7:53 Comments ||
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Continued importance of the UN!? The UN has already destroyed its own importance!!
The leader of an influential northern New Jersey mosque denounced the war on Iraq Friday, terming it "the beginning of the end of Western civilization." Imam Mohammad Qatanani, spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, said the United States-led attack is morally unjust, and will kill thousands of innocent civilians. He also said President Bush has destroyed not only Baghdad but the United Nations as well. Thanks for your support, Imam...
"We say it very clearly: It is an unjust war," Qatanani said. "There is no reason for it, not for the security of the United States or to get rid of Saddam. We believe Saddam should be removed by his own people if that is their will." "Hi, Sammy. We're some of your people. We're here to remove you..."
"Mahmoud, shoot them."
Delivering an impassioned sermon to one of the largest audiences ever to attend Friday prayers at the mosque, well over 1,000 worshippers, Qatanani said the war will generate resistance and revenge against America that will be felt for generations to come. He spoke as the intensive aerial bombing campaign, dubbed "Shock and Awe" by the Pentagon, was getting under way in Baghdad. "There are so many bombs going down upon them now," he said. "These misguided bombs are killing the children and destroying houses upon people. Tens of thousands of people will flee their homes, and they will be killed. These soldiers: Do they really know why they went to Iraq?" Qatanani asked. "Do they truly feel in their hearts it is justified to kill the women and children of Iraq? It should be stopped today, not tomorrow." That's what we're over there for, isn't it? To kill the women and children, I mean. Why would we waste bombs or bullets on military or command and control targets?
Qatanani also said the Bush administration's rejection of continued diplomatic efforts to deal with Saddam Hussein have "killed the United Nations." He says that like it's a bad thing...
"This institution is shot," he said. "It's been buried. That's it. It did not implement justice for Palestine and it did not prevent war against Iraq."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 08:03 pm ||
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...and that's why I'm in Passaic County, New Jersey. Diversity....a wunnerful thing.
#2
Fatwa boy needs a wiretap and some surveillance (which I imagine may be already ongoing). Also, check into his finance sources. These guys make me sick.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2003 21:30 Comments ||
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Problem: the Koran
Specifically: "jihad is prescribed to you."
Solution: Ban the Koran. It has been tried before.
Thanks to Chuck for the tip...
A man who miraculously survived an accidental fall off the Golden Gate Bridge 15 years ago during a personal crusade took a second plunge off the span Wednesday to protest the war in Iraq. This time, he didn't make it. "Hey, y'all! Look what happens when I do this! Ow!"
As bombs fell on Iraq and San Francisco experienced a wild day of protest, the strange odyssey of Paul Aladdin Alarab revived an age-old argument about putting suicide barriers on the famous bridge. Would that name be al-Arab? Or is it something his Mom and Dad hung on him when they were hippies?
Bridge authorities and witnesses said the 44-year-old Kensington real estate agent climbed over the east rail Wednesday near the middle of the span, tied one end of a rope to the bridge and wrapped the other end around his arms, then demanded to talk to the media. "Hey! Lookit me! Lookit!"
As officers tried to talk him back to safety, he read a statement denouncing the war, then let go of the rope and fell 235 feet to his death. "What'd he say?"
"Hell, I couldn't hear him..."
The spectacle was hauntingly similar to the day in 1988 when Alarab tried to lower himself into a garbage can hanging from a 60-foot rope under the bridge to protest the treatment of the elderly and handicapped. He apparently lost his grip and fell into the water, but somehow survived with three broken ribs and collapsed lungs. The first fall was passed off as an accident, but investigators believe the latest plunge was a suicide, pointing out that he purposely let go of the rope. Guess that means there's not going to be an encore performance, huh?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 12:00 pm ||
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...East side of the Golden Gate? Every self respecting jumper goes off the west side, where your carcus gets washed out to the pacific. Only attention seeking losers with low self esteem go off the east side.
In a manifesto published this week across left-wing Internet sites, infamous eco-thug Craig Rosebraugh called on his anti-war troops to take "direct actions" against American military establishments, urban centers, corporations, government buildings and media outlets. This is not an idle threat. Rosebraugh is former spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front, a violent guerrilla group. Along with its militant ally, the Animal Liberation Front, ELF has claimed responsibility for a long string of arsons and vandalism, causing tens of millions of dollars worth of destruction. Fed up with pansy peace-march efforts, Rosebraugh is urging radicals to ditch "pointless" protests and wage outright acts of terror "using any means necessary." This is just dripping with irony
Rosebraugh's rallying cry to his America-hating leftists:
Attack the financial centers of the country.
Large-scale urban rioting: Massive unrest and even state of emergencies declared in major cities across the country, the U.S. government will be forced to send U.S. troops into the domestic arena thereby taking resources and political focus away from the war. ha ha, dream on!
Attack the media centers of the country. That will get you sympathetic coverage
Spread the battle to the individuals responsible for the war and destruction of life â the very heads of government and U.S. corporations. No longer should these people be able to hide behind their occupations, living their lives in peace while they simultaneously slaughter countless people. Hit them in their personal lives, visit their homes, and make them feel personally responsible for committing massive atrocities. Hmm..not real bright to break in and terrify the families of trained soldiers.
Create an atmosphere lacking of support to assist U.S. troops at home and abroad in losing their morale and will to fight.
Actively target U.S. military establishments within the United States. Nobody said these guys were bright.
When engaging in the above six activities, strike hard and fast and retreat in anonymity. DO NOT GET CAUGHT because there are not very many of us, we can't afford to lose you. Do not get sent to jail. Stay alert, keep active, and keep fighting. Remember, an action is only good (especially at this juncture in U.S. society) if it will serve to severely disrupt the political system of the country, its economy, and the corporate interests that drive this society. Peace activists - expose your terrorist nature! I guess they are at-one with that pro-life guy who killed abortion Doctors.
Posted by: becky ||
03/21/2003 10:35 am ||
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oops...I guess block means "block"...thought it meant block letters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 10:33 Comments ||
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BLOCK means "Blockquote" - it's for extended direct quotes.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2003 10:37 Comments ||
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Mr. Rosebraugh will soon learn the lessons that Sammy and other terrorists and dictators are learning: grab the head and the body will follow. He has issued his declaration of war, we take him at his word. Watch out Craigie boy. Your picture and MO are being circulated around to thousands as we speak.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2003 11:00 Comments ||
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For years my wife and I have been debating the need for a gun to defend our home, well rosebrow, looks like we get the gun after all...
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 13:35 Comments ||
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Jeez, do you think with all this talk abour 72 virgins for terrorists, he figured he might finally get laid? He's got "frustrated loser" written all over him!
#13
This guy looks familiar, as in I think I've seen him in person.. in a cafe.. maybe even more than once.
... in the company of someone I used to have a lot of respect for.
Oh well.
The Dixie Chicks â who took a lot of heat after one member of the group made anti-Bush comments â narrowly averted another controversy with some of their red-blooded fans. The Scoop was startled to learn that the country and western crooners posed for one of those âIâd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Furâ ads for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals â but the ad was never released.
I believe it was Drudge who had the foto up yesterday...
THE TRIO POSED in a field of flowers, wearing nothing but blossoms and their strategically placed instruments. A photo of the ad can be seen on the photographerâs Web site, sebreephoto.com. It turns out that the Chicks are staunch animal-rights supporters, but at the last minute the groupâs management put the kibosh on the ad. âThe Chicks themselves were lovely about the whole thing, but their management got worried that some of their fans were rifle-toting, Bambi-shooting types who would take offense at an anti-fur, pro-animal message,â says a source. I like my Bambi steaks medium well.
âThey forbid release of the ad because they were worried about backlash or boycott. They even tried to pay PETA $10,000 to say it never happened.â The Chicksâ spokeswoman didnât return calls for comment.
She's working on her resume, since she sees her job going south...
âThey are the Dixie Chicks, not the Stepford Wives,â says a PETA spokesman, who confirms that the singers posed for the ad but declined further comment. âAgree with them or not, this trio became a phenomenon because they have country hearts with modern sensibilities and arenât afraid to voice their views. And we hope that one day theyâll let us release this ad.â By then, no one will remember who they were or care.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 10:40 am ||
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Looks like the Blixie Chicks finally connected the dots between trashing the Executive Office and ticket sales. I seem to notice a number of celeb's must have gotten the same memo and have finally realized that the appeasement bandwagon may not be "free" publicity after all...
#2
Stupid Move, they alienated the type of people who are their only remaining fans. Hmmm...I think people (under 60) who wear fur and eat veal are mean. But I've broken my Chicks CD and I quit supporting PETA years ago. What does that say? Who cares - both groups are history.
#4
Leave Becky alone, she makes a valid point. Sorry though Becky, but I have leather seats in my car (with a butt warmer no less)... I do not consider myself "mean" though as the cow was dead before I ever bought the car. I think those bad Germans at VW might be the mean ones!
#5
just to clarify - I'm not against raising animals for food, or eating them; I'm against it being done in a cruel fashion. It's not nice to keep baby animals in a tiny box or to fry minks to death.
We are trying hard to do improve our ability to be humane in war and we can also strive to do it for the animals in our care; they are alive and feel pain and we should treat them accordingly.
I don't think anyone in here is mean - but I can't say the same for the Dixie Chicks or the spoiled brats who think it's more important to be chic and cool than to care about dictators who like to run their citizens through paper shredders feet first.
#6
And a good veal marsala is a calf's finest hour...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2003 14:53 Comments ||
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On the off chance anybody here missed it: Suggested headline for this story from one of the Blogfather's readers PRO-BLIX DIXIE CHICKS NIX PIX FOR STIX.
Posted by: Old Grouch ||
03/21/2003 14:56 Comments ||
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I'm with you, Becky. I don't think much of fur or butchering young calves or lambs. But I am not giving up steak and I'll still wear leather.
In any case, I'm really disgusted with the Dixie Chicks. They are just swaying with the breeze instead of sticking up for whatever they really believe in. Maybe they should give up music and enter politics.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 15:08 Comments ||
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Hey, get off their backs. Waitressing is a noble profession. As they'll find out. Again.
MONTREAL (AP) Fans booed during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before the New York Islanders' 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. The sellout crowd of 21,273 at Bell Centre was asked to ''show your support and respect for two great nations'' before the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems. But a significant portion of the crowd booed throughout ''The Star-Spangled Banner'' in an apparent display of their displeasure with the U.S.-led war against Iraq. More than 200,000 people turned out for an anti-war demonstration in Montreal last Saturday. ''I'm sure there are a lot of people against the war, but some things people can't control,'' said New York's Alexei Yashin, who is from Russia. ''They were probably showing what they feel about it.'' Teammate Mark Parrish, a native of Bloomington, Minn., was upset hearing the boos. ''I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard that it really got me going,'' Parrish said. ''So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up.'' What a shame.
I usually pay no attention to sports, but I'm really glad the New York team won that particular game...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 08:22 am ||
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This was in the Fracophone part of Canada. But still....
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
03/21/2003 2:32 Comments ||
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Most Important Part: "the New York Islanders' 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens"
#4
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.
So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Wanna piss off a lot of Canadians? Tell Michigan to seal the border to Toronto garbage.
Americans have taken enough garbage from Canada.
Posted by: john ||
03/21/2003 8:29 Comments ||
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What do you expect from a region of Canada that identifies more with the French than the rest of their country? Montreal is a little right of Beijing and San Francisco.
#7
That's right Tex. Quebec does everything opposite to the rest of the country, just on principle.
Unfortunately, the anti-war sentiment all over the country seems larger than what I expected. Unless it's because they're more vocal.
I am absolutely ashamed at the conduct of my government. Chretien hasn't made a right decision since his first election, and his preference to align this country with the likes of France,Germany,Russia,China when our traditional allies have been the US and Britain, is standing history and tradition on its head. Fortunately, there is a ray of hope. Some analysts agree, and the Alliance party leader also abhors this decision.
To anyone saying "I'm proud to be Canadian" when Chretien made his announcement in parliament, I say, you better hope the company you work for does not do business in the States. Idiots.
My American flag is unfurled, and the flag of my ancestral country as well, since they're part of the coalition actively participating (about 200 soldiers). My Canadian flag is back in the closet. Give me a reason, Mr. Chretien, to put it beside the others again.
#8
Hey, its just Canada , a farm team country for the U.S., and there only claim to fame ( The Stanley Cup)has not been a property of any Canadian team for a long time.I think what really pisse's them off is the best players in the world are not Canadian anymore.
#10
I'm with you, RW. I'm ashamed at the Canadian government's stand, too. But it isn't just the ignorant fans in Montreal - it's the leadership of the Canadian government that is at fault. Here's a link to a story about a Liberal cabinet minister slagging George Bush on Wednesday:
#13
What do you expect? They are French-in-training. Even so, they will only be a pale imitation of the real thing. Maybe we could bomb them after we bomb France?
Source: NNI
Pakistani intelligence agents have seized six more suspected Al Qaeda militants in the east of the country as their crackdown on the organisation gathers pace. The six arrests since Sunday night were made thanks to information gleaned since the arrest of Al Qaeda communications and logistics expert Yasir al-Jaziri this weekend and included his brother-in-law, the intelligence sources told reporters. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said he had not received word of the reported arrests, but sources said they also included a Qatari national and at least three Afghans. âSecurity agencies arrested a relative of al-Jaziri from Gujranwala last night,â said one intelligence source. âThe arrested person is a brother-in-law of al-Jaziri.â Two other intelligence sources said more arrests were made in the early hours of Monday in Lahore where al-Jaziri was picked up on Saturday. One intelligence source said investigators believed al-Jaziri had played a role in disseminating audio and videotapes of Osama Bin Laden to the media. We already heard about the guy's brother-in-law. I don't think we heard about the other five. Sounds like he's singing like a canary...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 03:12 pm ||
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Daschle is perhaps worst jackoff weasel the donkeys have,the country needs to see more of this whining piece of crap, so he can be returned to private life at the next election. Is it just me or does everybody want to pimp slap this pud?
U.S. forces fired five missiles Friday at the base of an Islamic militant group in northern Iraq allegedly linked to the al Qaeda terror network. Washington has claimed that Ansar al-Islam connects Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to al Qaeda. The Kurds also say Ansar could be an obstacle in any U.S.-led offensive on Saddam through the north. A ground assault against Ansar, using Kurdish forces, was also being prepared and could start soon after Friday night's strike, said a high-level official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Kurdish militia fighters and heavily armed U.S. Special Forces poured into the area near Halabja, which neighbors the Ansar stronghold. A Kurdish military official confirmed the report of the missile strike. Not to appear bloodthirsty or anything, but I hope they kill them all doorknob dead, each and every one...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 10:58 pm ||
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My local PBS affiliate just re-aired what appeared to be a BBC report from 7/02 that showed the links between Ansar al-Islam, al Qaeda and Hussein. There was an interview with a Iraqi secret police agent who was captured by the Kurds (PAK) when he tried to contact a AAI leader. That agent said that he personally saw Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Baghdad with Hussein and claimed that Iraq has been training terrorist since the 80's.
It was a far more peaceful scene than anyone could have expected. The Iraqis working around their farms appeared more bewildered than overjoyed by the night's aerial bombardment that had freed them from Saddam's rule. Moments after his town had been liberated by British and American forces, an Iraqi man, whose house stood just opposite the breach in the border wall, approached a British unit waving a white flag and offering a boxful of freshly harvested tomatoes in exchange for water. "I think it was more out of courtesy than because he needed water," said one British soldier serving with the 1st Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. "But he was very happy that he was no longer under Saddam's rule and said we should go and kill him if we had the chance. He said he was delighted to see us."
Another Iraqi, called Falih, whose farm was on the road towards Safwan, offered a more confused assessment of his feelings: "I like Americans and I like Saddam," he said. He pointed to a thick roll of money and said: "Saddam gave me this. He cannot be all bad. Christians and Muslims must live together." The Fusiliers appeared relaxed in the presence of their new Iraqi neighbours.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 09:45 pm ||
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#1
One thing most Americans forget is what a bitch finding clean water can be. I think most Americans who have traveled outside the country have discovered this the hard way at one time or another (I've been lucky with water, but the milk got me in Kazakhstan).
IRAQI conscripts shot their own officers yesterday to avoid a fruitless fight over the oil terminals at al-Faw. British soldiers from 40 Commandoâs Charlie Company found a bunker full of the dead officers, with spent shells from an AK47 rifle around them. That's some serious desire to surrender...
Stuck between the US Seals and the Royal Marines, whom they did not want to fight, and a regime that would kill them if they refused, it was the conscriptsâ only way out. In total, 40 Commando had collected more than 100 prisoners of war yesterday from the few square miles of the al-Faw peninsula that they controlled. Two of them were a general in the regular Iraqi Army and a brigadier. They came out from the command bunker where they had been hiding after 40 Commandoâs Bravo Company fired two anti-tank missiles into it. With them was a large sports holdall stuffed with money. They insisted that they had been about to pay their troops, to the disbelief of their captors. Going to mail them their checks from Dubai, perhaps?
These were the men who had left their soldiers hungry, poorly armed and almost destitute for weeks, judging by the state we had seen them in, while appearing to keep the money for themselves. It was only as dawn broke that the 900 Royal Marine commandos, who had moved forward during the night, realised the pitiful shape of the enemy. The first white flag was hoisted by three soldiers in a trench just outside the complexâs north gate, which had been surrounded by heavy machinegunners from Command Company. They were taken prisoner by Corporal Fergus Gask, 26, who may have accepted the first surrender of the war. âWe started engaging their positions with GPMGs (general purpose machineguns) when I noticed this white flag go up,â he said. âI didnât know whether it was a trick or not, but I approached the trench anyway, probably a pretty silly thing to do if I think about it. But as soon as I saw their faces I knew they were genuine. They actually looked very relieved they didnât have to fight any more. And they became very pleased to see us when they realised we werenât going to do them any harm.â
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 09:39 pm ||
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#1
I doubt this will be the last time we see this.
ABCNEWS' Brian Ross reported that three critical Iraqi officials â Taha Yasin Ramadan, Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, and Ali Hassan Majid, known as Chemical Ali â are believed to have died in Wednesday night's "decapitation attack," the opening salvo of the war. That's probably too much to ask, to get all three of them — putting them all in one place would be a damned dumbass thing to do... But it's Sammy we're talking about, so it could be true.
A spokesman said the CIA had no information to confirm the report that the three men had been killed but government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ABCNEWS they had reason to believe the three men were dead. Like not being on station, running things...
The officials said they reached this conclusion from analysis of radio traffic and after watching who went where, and who didn't arrive where they were expected. The three men did not appear in a videotape of Saddam meeting with advisers released today. Also absent was Saddam's eldest son Odai. There are suspicions he also may have been killed, but this could not be confirmed.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 07:17 pm ||
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FoxNews reports the commander of 11th Infantry Division has surrendered. Don't know if this is the same as the "11th Brigade" they were talking about on the radio earlier today...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 07:02 pm ||
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#1
yeah, the pentagon released that. It looks good.
the 11th div was the one holding Nasiriyah, which was where the 3rd of the 7th cav had met some resistance.
makes sense, that pretty much deals with all the regular army that was in the south, except for the 6th division, and some of the rep guard who are supposedly north of mosul along the main road to baghdad.
the question is... where is chemical ali in all this, he is supposed to be the guy in charge of the south.
#2
Also reported that Guard units around Baghdad were trying to surrender. Can't you see some Green Beret 2nd Lt. taking the surrender of a Guard Division?
The Pentagon has denied Iraqi claims that its anti-aircraft batteries shot down a US or British fighter jet during an air raid on Friday morning. US officials told Sky News that all Allied aircraft were accounted for and none had been shot down. An Iraqi military spokesman told the official INA news agency that an American or British fighter jet had been shot down at 0255 Friday GMT inside Kuwaiti territory. "Alistair, was that you?"
"No, Bob. Wasn't me."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 06:49 pm ||
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Turkish troops have crossed the border into northern Iraq, according to reports on Turkish television station IHA. At least 1,500 troops moved in, as a precursor to a larger deployment. Earlier, Turkey opened its airspace to US military aircraft as war rages in neighbouring Iraq. The country said it wanted to control the flow of refugees to prevent "terrorist activity" and does not have territorial ambitions. But Washington has been strongly opposed to Turkey's troops moving into Iraq, though the US has not yet given an official reaction. Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul earlier told reporters that the deployment of troops is necessary to rout out Kurdish guerrillas and prevent an influx of refugees.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 06:44 pm ||
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#1
If they hang around the border, it might be too much trouble for us right now. If they head for Kirkuk and Mosul, that's a horse of a different colour.
#2
My fear is that they have joined hands with the crazy mullahs (the AKP is an islamofascist movement that admires Khomeini and Khamenei)and that they will provoke war with the US when the US troops are spread out all over Iraq (200.000 soldiers isn't much in a country the size of Iraq). I'm afraid the US ran in a trap.
Posted by: Peter ||
03/22/2003 3:31 Comments ||
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#3
Most of the heavy divisions are in the south,it would be a long,hard,bloody campaign but they could just keep rolling north.
This is from the NYTimes -- link might require registration.
The commander of Iraq's 51st division and his top deputy surrendered to United States Marine forces today, according to American military officials. I hope these guys don't have family anywhere where Saddam can get ahold of them.
It was the first time that the commander of an Iraqi division has surrendered to allied forces. The 51st is a Regular Army unit that was deployed in southern Iraq directly in the path of the allied invasion. Bad place to be.
American forces made a determined effort to persuade the 51st division to give in, including leaflets and propaganda broadcasts. The leaflets instructed Iraqi forces that did not want to fight to park their tanks and walk at least half a mile away. American officials said that many of the soldiers of the 51st had simply left their posts and that the division melted away. Psy-ops backed by massive force: the gift that keeps on giving.
There are indications that other Regular Army forces want to surrender or stay out of the fight. The most loyal capable forces, however, are the Republican Guards, who still seem determined to fight. Oh well, the question of what to do with the guys who had been part of the RG was going to be an awkward one. Now it's settled. We make an example of them.
The Republican Guard forces around Baghdad were targeted in the air strikes conducted tonight. Think it over, boys.
Posted by: Patrick Phillps ||
03/21/2003 03:03 pm ||
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#1
51st was the main regular army division in Basra area. Basra should be falling any minute now.
#2
It wasn't the ONLY division around basra, as well as the fact aht teh RG troops are being led by chemical ali, who won't be willing to give up without a fight. Though I do agree that basrah will fall pretty soon (within 12 - 24 hrs) but.. not for the reason of the 51st giving up. THis will be won by good old fashioned combat, not a wave of surrenders. Not with the RG anyway.
#3
If the RG fights. They fought last time, and they got clobbered. 2nd Cav held them by the nose and 1st AD kicked their butts - Tawakalna, 12th Armored Div, Adnan, and Medinah.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2003 16:30 Comments ||
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#4
CIA seems to think that Chemical Ali got a fatal dose of whupass in the inital strike, along with Ramadan and al Douri.
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
The London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted Islamist fundamentalists in London as stating that thousands of Arab Afghans (a term applied to Arabs who volunteered to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan) have entered Iraq to participate in suicide missions against American forces. The same sources also revealed that 2,500 Lebanese Islamists have been in Iraq for six months in special training camps. In what the newspaper describes as "a gentleman's agreement" between the Iraqi government and the Islamists, the latter will be allowed to carry out their operations without operating under the banner of the Ba'ath party, as is a secular party. Hope they're enjoying their time in Baghdad right about now...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 03:03 pm ||
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#1
U.S. military officials have probably already talked to the Israelis about detecting this sort of activity.
SAFWAN, Iraq â U.S. Marines hauled down giant street portraits of Saddam Hussein in a screeching pop of metal and bolts Friday, telling nervous residents of this southern Iraqi town that "Saddam is done."
Milling crowds of men and boys watched as the Marines attached ropes on the front of their Jeeps to one portrait and then backed up, peeling the Iraqi leader's black-and-white metal image off a frame. Some locals briefly joined Maj. David "Bull" Gurfein in a new cheer. "Iraqis! Iraqis! Iraqis!" Gurfein yelled, pumping his fist in the air.
"We wanted to send a message that Saddam is done," said Gurfein, a New York native in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. "People are scared to show a lot of emotion. That's why we wanted to show them this time we're here, and Saddam is done." The Marines arrived in Safwan, just across the Kuwait border, after Cobra attack helicopters, attack jets, tanks, 155 mm howitzers and sharpshooters cleared the way along Route 80, the main road into Iraq. Safwan, 375 miles south of Baghdad, is a poor, dirty, wrecked town pocked by shrapnel from the last Gulf war. Iraqi forces in the area sporadically fired mortars and guns for hours Thursday and Friday. Most townspeople hid, although residents brought forth a wounded little girl, her palm bleeding after the new fighting. Another man said his wife was shot in the leg by the Americans.
A few men and boys ventured out, putting makeshift white flags on their pickup trucks or waving white T-shirts out truck windows. "Americans very good," Ali Khemy said. "Iraq wants to be free." Some chanted, "Ameriki! Ameriki!" Many others in the starving town just patted their stomachs and raised their hands, begging for food.
A man identifying himself only as Abdullah welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops: "Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam Hussein a butcher." An old woman shrouded in black â one of the very few women outside â knelt toward the feet of Americans, embracing an American woman. A younger man with her pulled her away, giving her a warning sign by sliding his finger across his throat.
In 1991, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died after prematurely celebrating what they believed was their liberation from Saddam after the Gulf War. Some even pulled down a few pictures of Saddam then â only to be killed by Iraqi forces.
Gurfein playfully traded pats with a disabled man and turned down a dinner invitation from townspeople. "Friend, friend," he told them in Arabic learned in the first Gulf War. "We stopped in Kuwait that time," he said. "We were all ready to come up there then, and we never did. The townspeople seemed grateful this time."
"No Saddam Hussein!" one young man in headscarf told Gurfein. "Bush!"
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 02:36 pm ||
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#1
I've been posting this on various indymedia.org news feeds with the title "Iraqi civilian casualties"
Sanandaj, Kurdistan Prov, March 21, IRNA -- The US forces have reportedly started moving to Kurdish inhabitant city of Zakhu in northern Iraq via Turkey. Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Socialist Party envoy in Tehran Sheikh Taher Barzanji told IRNA on phone a little while ago on Friday that the US troops are arriving in Zakhu aboard military helicopters. We have reports that SF is operating with the north now. Maybe they came via Turkey, maybe not. It might even be the 101st, I last heard on Fox that they had moved to staging area.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 01:20 pm ||
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#2
4ID's equipment was offloaded in Iskenderun, no?
One point of confusion I have had: TROOPS are not allowed in Turkey. Could we simply contract Turkish shipping companies to move our heavy equipment down into Kurdish territory, and allow our troops to link up w. their equipment once it was there?
Is this what you're getting at Dishman?
Does the 101st have sufficient firepower to deter any funny business between Kurds and Turks? (Especially without Turkish airspace?)
#3
In Turkey, anything is possible with payment of enough baksheesh. The question is: would any U.S. military operation allow it's equipment to be consigned to a foreign outfit? There is no way for the 4th's train to get fron Iskenderun to Iraqi Kurdistan. Jordan, however, seems to be pretty close to IK....
Posted by: Michael Gersh ||
03/21/2003 14:17 Comments ||
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#4
"Technically", they are not allowing US Troops, they are simply moving "supplies" just across the border, near convenient airfields the Kurds control. That allows the Turks to make armed incursions into Kurdish areas, and sets up the US gear, all without letting the politicians screw this up any further.
They have been q1uietly offloading the lead elements and command element's equipment since well before this started. The Turks have been convoying them to the border, and then into Iraq - aremd convoys. US Troops will be landed in Iraq nearby, married up with their gear, then attack south. The Turkish military know which side its bread is buttered on - and that unless they help us, they will have a buttload of well armed Kurds ready to liberate their brothers *Inside Turkey*, and no way of entereing N. Iraq to do "Peacekeeping".
#5
As far as I know, the only thing offloaded was support equipment, transporters, hummers, etc. Armor and combat equipment are still on board ships. (Unless they did a end run through Israel and Jordan)
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 14:22 Comments ||
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#6
At least some of the photos Murat posted showed M1A2s. mjh, that is exactly what I was getting at.
Turkish airspace remains closed Friday to U.S. and British warplanes, as Turkish and U.S. officials work to resolve Ankara's demand that its troops be allowed to enter northern Iraq. Negotiations have entered a second day in Ankara, after the two sides held talks through the night in the Turkish capital without reaching an agreement. Turkey says it needs a military presence in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq to prevent a possible influx of refugees into southeastern Turkey. But the United States is firmly opposed, fearing conflict between Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurd forces and a disruption to the U.S. campaign against Saddam Hussein. They are still demanding to be allowed to go in and put a lid on the Kurds. We're saying no.
Ankara is also asking the United States to provide information on the type of planes, their missions and destination ahead of overflights. U.S. officials are reported to consider the degree of detail excessive. There is no need-to-know for them to get this info.
The Turkish parliament voted Thursday to allow U.S. overflights, but turned down a U.S. military request to use Turkish bases for refueling and as a launching point for air strikes against Iraq.
Ziyal: U.S. Ambassador Does Not Bring Message Which Will End The Problem
U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Robert Pearson did not bring any message which will end the problem between Turkey and the United States pertaining to opening of air corridor and entrance of Turkish soldiers in Northern Iraq. Diplomatic sources said Pearson did not bring a message which would end the problem during his 10-minute meeting with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal. Ankara was waiting for a response from Washington regarded with opening of air corridor and entrance of Turkish soldiers in Northern Iraq. We are holding fast on not letting the Turks in, good.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 12:53 pm ||
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#3
Rich Lowry, [an?] editor of National Review, writes in the Corner that he's had a worrying call from David Pryce-Jones, an NR writer, presumably reporting from Iraq or Turkey. Pryce-Jones says the Turks have crossed border, claiming it's a humanitarian mission, but there are fears that they always intended to occupy N. Iraq. Powell is furious.
Lowry stresses that this is just rumor at this point. I bring you only the freshest rumors and scare-mongering today.
#5
I can not be the only one who does not find this at all surprising.
After a year of working late and constantly coming home with lipstick on the collar, Turkey has moved out, closed the bank accounts and today served us the divorce papers. How much long will these US diplomats continue to insist that, depite it all, they still love us? Jeeze - get a clue.
#6
No need to bomb the Turks, just the roads into Iraq. That will slow them down and if they think they were going to take an economic hit, wait till they see that the roads are going to remain closed for month's and their oil stays in Iraq or goes out through Jordan, who know where their bread is buttered and are helping us.
#7
Unless, like Old Spook says, there is some sort of covert cooperative agreement - its as if the Turks are acting suicidal with delusional assumptions to reclaim their Empire. At some point, they have to realize this will be far more painful for them than it could ever be for us and that those oil wells just aren't worth the cost.
SAFWAN, Iraq - Waving white flags and raising their hands to the sky, hundreds of Iraqi soldiers quickly surrendered to coalition forces in southern Iraq â and some even tried to give themselves up to Western journalists. One Marine traffic control unit manning an intersection in southern Iraq accepted at least 45 soldiers' surrender by sundown Friday. Many of the Iraqis were crammed in the backs of a pickup truck and open-bed trailer, their hands raised. Iraqi officers came in behind, apparently by foot. Marines pulled the prisoners to the side of the road. "Hands up!" Marines barked, pushing the Iraqis along.
Skinny, reedy boys who appeared to be still in their teens complied. The Marines searched them and sat them down. Across the road, three Iraqi lieutenant colonels sprawled briefly on the asphalt to be searched. An Arabic-speaking Marine searched the papers of the officers for intelligence information, then handed back their personal effects. "Man, I've been in country two hours, and already I've got two wounded and a truckload of prisoners," one Marine, standing guard over the prisoners with weapon ready, told another.
The Marines rolled bales of concertina wire toward the prisoners and planned to keep them in a temporary facility until camps could open up. Some of the Iraqis who gave themselves up were wearing T-shirts and other civilian clothes instead of military uniforms. Lt. Col. Rob Abbott of Camp Pendleton, Calif., said the situation matched the expectations he had after seeing Iraqi troops surrender en masse in the 1991 Gulf War. "I think they're just glad to be out of the fight," Abbott said. "I'd much rather have them come surrender than have me have to go hump them out of holes."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 01:10 pm ||
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#1
Military rule #1: if you don't want to be targets in a turkey shoot, don't wear green uniforms in desert war.
Defense officials told Fox News that today is "The Day" -- the beginning of the end for Saddam Hussein -- and that as many as 3,000 precision-guided bombs will be dropped on specific targets in Baghdad. Both CNN and Fox are reporting this, but nothing's happening yet. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, as the very idea leads to loud screaming in San Francisco and other pest holes. Guess Saddam's not quite dead yet.
FOLLOWUP: U.S. Begins Massive Air Assault on Iraq
Updated: Friday, Mar. 21, 2003 - 1:20 PM EST.
Huge explosions rocked Baghdad as a barrage of mighty bombs crashed down on the Iraqi capital on Friday, sending up huge clouds of smoke and flame. The U.S.-led aerial attack was heralded by the sound of air raid sirens and explosions, followed quickly by major detonations in the city of 5 million. Many buildings were ablaze in the heart of the city, with towering red, pink and brown clouds rising high into the night sky. That must be how they teach 'em to describe fires in J-school...
In response, the Iraqis opened up with anti-aircraft bursts which winked in the darkness. Despite the assault, Iraqi radio and television kept brodcasting and electric power remained on â even in buildings close to explosions.
I listened to the live description of this on the radio a few minutes ago. It sounds like the gloves are off. Just don't stop â it's got to be sustained, or it won't work.
CBS Radio also said the 11th Brigade, defending Nasiriya, had been on the verge of surrendering, but then they were reinforced by Republican Guards and the deal was off. Maybe they'll bring the matter up at a city council meeting next week or something...
#1
Jeezz, I was watching as what seems to be at least 6 explosions went off at once on what is reported as Sammy's main palace. Another six went in later. Flames coming up. It's gone!!!
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 12:12 Comments ||
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#2
Looks like a time on target shoot. Many hits same time. Large explosions rasing clouds into sky. Might have been JDAMS instead of cruise missile.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 12:14 Comments ||
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#3
Does this mean that Daschle is about to launch his counterstrike- the "Ashame and Sadden" strategy.
#4
I've just blogged up why I think Baghdad will fall by Monday night.
Mostly, it's because I think Shock and Awe were never intended to start the war, but were rather intended to end the war. The Pentagon started the troops rolling to have them reach Baghdad just as the bombardment lifted, in order to scoop up the survivors, and take advantage of the Shock and the Awe.
Look for it to be over soon.
http://travellingshoes.blogspot.com/#91136259
Posted by: H.D. Miller ||
03/21/2003 13:05 Comments ||
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#5
It is some big boom stuff, but the power never goes off, so we will keep the people happy if we can keep the damage to the military areas that I bet most Bagdidies never go near anyway. Keep the lights on and the Toilets flushing, guys.
Several large blasts detonated to the west of Baghdad Friday, a day after the city was struck by U.S. cruise missiles and bombs. "We saw at least one explosion to the west of the city, perhaps on the outskirts or outside the city," Reuters correspondent Nadim Ladki said. "We heard four or five more, all in the same direction." Earlier, air raid sirens sounded over Baghdad and anti-aircraft guns opened up. U.S.-led forces struck Baghdad with cruise missiles and bombs Thursday in two waves, at dawn and late at night at the start of a U.S.-led strike.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 11:43 am ||
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The U.S. and British navies have seized three Iraqi vessels carrying scores of mines in the Gulf, Fox News television reported on Friday. U.S. Navy vessels took control of one Iraqi vessel and two British ships intercepted two Iraqi tug boats in operations around the Faw peninsula in southern Iraq, Fox said quoting unnamed U.S. officials. Reuters earlier reported military officials saying U.S. and British forces had seized two boats carrying 68 mines off southern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 11:25 am ||
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#1
A day late and a dollar short.
Suspect they ran when it became apparent that their home port was under attack.
U.S. and British invasion forces penetrated deep into Iraqi territory on Friday, meeting sporadic resistance on the road to Baghdad where President Saddam Hussein prepared for his last stand. U.S. and British leaders said the campaign to oust Saddam was going according to plan but warned that the real battle still lay ahead. In a day of swift developments:
U.S. Marines captured the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr
while other troops seized two airfields in the Iraqi desert 140 and 180 miles west of the capital, part of a move to encircle Baghdad.
British Marines launched an amphibious and aerial assault and secured key oil installations at the head of the Gulf.
Other British troops headed for the port of Basra which they aimed to capture quickly.
U.S. special forces reported fighting for the Kirkuk oil fields in northern Iraq.
One U.S. unit armored division ran into Iraqi resistance that halted it temporarily near Nassiriya on the Euphrates river while it called for backup. The town is a main strategic crossing point over the Euphrates 235 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Reuters correspondent Andrew Gray, traveling with elements of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, said the unit had come under fire near Nassiriya. He saw U.S. troops return fire with rockets. U.S. officers said they expected soon "to go and join the battle." U.S. Marines also met unexpected resistance when they attacked a key southern Iraqi port earlier in the day. Iraqi ministers vowed to "incinerate" the invaders. Washington appeared to be holding much of its air power in reserve, apparently hoping that Iraqi resistance would collapse as invasion troops neared the capital. Commanders said the next 24 hours would be decisive. Holding the air support back is going to cost lives. Schwartzkopf understood the combined arms concept. Westmoreland Franks doesn't seem to have it down, or else it's not comprehended at the top, which is more understandable but worse...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 11:18 am ||
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#1
holding back strategic air or operational support???
Im not sure about holding back operational support - i saw a report warthogs and AC-130's were used in combat near Umm al qasr. holding back strategic seems based on game plan of holding back "shock and awe" as incentive for Rep. Guard and others to flip. It will also have Grand Strategic value - this is the first step in a larger campaign in the global war on terrorism - the less damage we do to Iraqi infrastructure, the stronger we come out for the next phase.
#2
Simply having "Shock and Awe" hovering over their heads is hard on the intestines. It's distracting and even physically unpleasant.
But.. after all that.. at 2100.00 Baghdad time, Shock and Awe began.
#3
This is a quote from the WaPo announcement of a major bombing raid right now:
"This official said Gen. Tommy Franks, the war's top commander, would "scale" the intensity of the bombardment in accordance with progress in the surrender talks. Within hours, however, it would be too late to reach a successful conclusion to the talks, and then, if no conclusion was reached, the bombing would go full-throttle, the official said."
Maybe the 'scaled' response thing sounds disturbing but it does say we'll get to the end of the scale in 'hours.'
Edited for brevity
The man who is perhaps most responsible for the U.S. military strategy in Iraq never wore a general's stars, and, during his lifetime, was despised by most who did. Accolades from the brass, like medals awarded fallen soldiers, have arrived posthumously for John Boyd. "John Boyd is one of the principal military geniuses of the 20th century, and hardly anyone knows his name," said John Thompson, a former Canadian army officer who is managing director of the MacKenzie Institute, a Toronto-based think tank which studies global conflict.
The ruse the United States pulled in launching the war against Iraq with a cruise missile attack on Saddam Hussein and his high command could have come straight from Boyd's playbook, said retired Gen. Michael Dugan, who was chief of staff of the Air Force during the buildup to the first Persian Gulf war. The CIA planted a false rumor with a British television network that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz had defected, hoping Aziz would go on Iraqi television to deny it. He did. The CIA tracked him back to a bunker, and the Navy and the Air Force destroyed it with cruise missiles and bombs.
"The ability to find out where this bunker was and the ability to react in minutes certainly was consistent with John Boyd's thinking," Dugan said. "John Boyd was a thinker ahead of his time. Without giving him a lot of credit, the U.S. military is following his ideas."
Lt. Col. Rich Liebert, who teaches tactics at the Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., agreed. "The constant references to, and the delay of the 'shock and awe' bombing campaign, is the kind of psychological warfare that Boyd recommended to paralyze the enemy," as well, he said.
Nevertheless, a serving Army officer, a military reformer who admires Boyd, thinks that while many generals and admirals now pay lip service to Boyd's ideas, most still do not put them into practice. "Most of the generals want to inflict shock and awe on an enemy that is already shocked and awed," said the officer. "The Philadelphia police department under Frank Rizzo could have taken Baghdad by now." At first read, I thought this may be an over-simplification and praise for a local boy (Erie, PA), but the quotes from various sources give it credibility. All I know is if that whole "Aziz defected" rumor was really bait for a trap, it was damn clever, regardless of the result!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 11:23 am ||
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#1
"The Philadelphia police department under Frank Rizzo could have taken Baghdad by now."
The Philly PD under Frank Rizzo could have taken Berlin, and the Russians would have complained about their brutality.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 12:20 Comments ||
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#2
I remember Frank on TV in the 60's holding up a brick and saying something to the effect of... If you throw one of these at any of my officers, they have my OK to kick the shit right out of you.
Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix yesterday said Iraq violated its agreement with the United Nations if the missiles it fired at American troops were Scuds. "I'm very interested to know whether they used Scuds," Blix said in an interview with the Fox News Channel. "If they're firing [Scuds], of course that shows that there's a violation," he said. No shit
Blix told the U.N. Security Council this month that it was "questionable" whether the Iraqis had destroyed all of their Scuds and that about 50 Scud warheads were still unaccounted for. Even though he wanted more time for inspections, Blix said yesterday that he didn't know if he could ever be sure that Iraq wasn't hiding the illegal missiles. "I could not guarantee that we would come to clear conclusions even after some months more," he said. Any reason you didn't bring this up at the U.N.?
Blix also said he doubted Iraq would use chemical or biological weapons against U.S. troops - even if it had them. "If they were to use chemicals or any prohibited weapon, then the whole world opinion, I think, would turn against them immediately," he said. The following comment is from James Lileks: 5:17 PM News report: Hans Blix admits that he would have never have found all the WMD. Thanks, Hans. Much obliged. Iâm guessing that he was paid by the week, not by the discovery; if weâd given him a bonus for Finding Stuff, and the bonus exceeded what he would have made in a year of desultory squinting, we might have had the material breach in week one.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 11:23 am ||
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But...but...but..I thought the inspections were working.
#2
Mr. Blix is an unfortunate by-product of a liberal society:a well-meaning person who takes laws and contracts as if they were laws of nature,instead of legal fictions enforced,ultimately,through force of arms by the governments who recognize them.
Put simply,the man is too civilized for his own good.
Posted by: El Id ||
03/21/2003 10:31 Comments ||
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#5
The inspections were working, just not working fast or good enough for normal standards that a country that took some bad hits on 9-11 expects. Give Blixie a certificate of appreciation and tell him to GTFO.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2003 21:52 Comments ||
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British are meeting little resistance as they make their way north up the strategic Faw peninsula in southern Iraq, a British military spokesman said on Friday. "Three Commando Brigade landed in force on the Al Faw peninsular, they secured the oil equipment that goes into the north Arabian Gulf," Group Captain Al Lockwood, main spokesman for British forces in Qatar, told BBC radio. "They are now progressing up the Al Faw peninsular supported by naval gunfire from Royal Naval vessels. Umm Qasr is obviously one of our key objectives and we are moving toward that," he said. "We are securing our initial objectives and continuing our progress. There has been light resistance with no U.K. casualties," he added. "We are pleased with our progress. There has been a lot of support from Royal Navy and Royal Airforce assets, and the land campaign has got off to a good start," he added.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 08:57 am ||
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BBC now reports 3rd Inf has reached Nasiriyah, on the Euphrates, encountering stiff resistance.
#2
BBC now reports that UK chief of staff Boyce says coalition forces advancing on Basra. AP reports most Iraqi troops in south have retreated to Basra.
#5
Debka says brits are taking Basra, and US Marines bypassing and heading North, which seems consistent with what mainstream embedded reporters are saying.
They say small units will take on Nasariyah, main force of 3rd Div will bypass. Also makes sense.
OTOH Debka says Kuwaiti troops in Umm al qasr -to establish "Kuwaiti zone" - I dont think so. Debka also reports 1st div moving toward Kuwait along with 3rd, though all other reports have said theyre not in Kuwait yet, delays for transport, unloading facilities, whatever. Of course capture of Um al qasr could relieve port congestion at Kuwait City, which has to take troop/equipment arrivals, troop supplies,and humanitarian supplies.
#6
I saw video on Fox earlier from one of their reporters assigned to the marines. There were a group of soldiers with them off to one side in a line kneeling and praying as a group. I thought they were muslims assigned as translators, POW minders, etc. Maybe they are the Kuwaiti's DEBKA is talking about.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 12:32 Comments ||
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US forces conducted an air raid on Mosul in northern Iraq early Friday, which were followed by air raid sirens in the city, the Qatari Al-Jazeera television said. Conditions in the city have returned to normal. The city, which is held by the Iraqi government, had earlier been rocked by up to six to seven strong explosions. There are reportedly big oil deposits in the city. I think he means big oil storage facilities.
According to CNN, a bridge divides Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Mosul. The city lies outside a Kurdish-run zone and some 100 km (60 miles) south of the Turkish border. Not many reports from the north to date.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 08:35 am ||
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Lessee ... has the regiment from the 82nd moved out of Kuwait yet? What are the chances of a parachute drop in the north?
The Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI) said on Friday that it is ready to carry out operations inside Iraq. Head of the SAIRI's Jihad Bureau Seyed Abdulaziz Hakim said in an exclusive interview that no decision has yet been taken for entry of the assembly's armed forces into the scene of confrontation with the Iraqi regime. Hakim said SAIRI is in contact with its forces in northern, southern and central parts of Iraq, especially Baghdad, and they are ready to follow orders at any proper condition. Bad idea, someone needs to have a quiet word with these guys before we have a "friendly fire" incident, on purpose.
I suspect they're not going to enter the festivities until it becomes real obvious that we're going to win decisively and quickly. If things start going bad, they might very well decide that they can work with Sammy & Sons, Inc., better than they could work with us infidels and try and fall on our rear. If we do win decisively and quickly, they'll have had a toe in the water, so they'll strut and puff and blow, and demand to be in charge 'cuz we're infidels and they're not.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 09:45 am ||
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They have a "Jihad Bureau"? Wonder if the pension benefits are paid out in this lifetime or the next...
Former Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis referred to the financial aid shock and said, ''we thought that the United States needed our assistance and made a serious mistake. It was revealed that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government made a strategic mistake during the negotiations with the United States.'' Yakis, who played an active role at negotiations with the United States, noted, ''we did not believe that the United States had had the Plan B. We thought that the United States needed Turkey to open the northern front.'' We ALWAYS have a Plan B. Sucks to be wrong, doesn't it?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 09:38 am ||
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#1
We have a Plan K, too. Guess what the "K" stands for?
#2
apparently the French and Russians didn't think so either. I'm suspecting that's why they were so smug after we didn't get UN approval, thinking we'd be forced to back down and have to walk away humiliated.
The Turks actions were downright treacherous. They strung us along, pretending they WOULD cooperate and thus delaying us past March 5th, thinking we'd run out of time due to weather and be forced to retreat with our tails between our legs.
We asked the multi-billion dollar question and they got it wrong.
#4
Gotta go alittle light on the turks, it being the closest model of democracy in a Muslim country we have seen. They have helped in the past and we have to work with them dealing with the kurds too, so we need to keep them on our side.
But with that being said, the $15 Billion they left on the table has gotta hurt, and our 3 new Airbase facilities we will set up in the former No Fly's will do to the Turkish airbases what Newark Airport did to JFK and LaGuardia... make them less relevant. Heck, we will now be to do what Osama has wanted all along... Get our airbases off of "Sacred Saudi Sand". News Flash: the Arab street will hate that arrangement to. Just can't seem to please um'
#7
This will go down in Turkish history as "The Great Screwup."
Posted by: Matt ||
03/21/2003 10:23 Comments ||
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#8
Come on, Murat. No ducking this one.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/21/2003 10:52 Comments ||
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#9
I always cracks me up when I hear some ___ [fill in the blank for nationality] spout off about how clueless and ignorant we yankees are. We have no culture, no history, we don't play chess, and we conduct most of our foreign policy out in the open. Yet in the end, we always kick their asses! You'd think they'd have wised up by now. There was a good article a few months back from some Egyptian intellectual who finally got it. I'm too lazy to hunt it down, but the thrust of it was that the Americans are better at this stuff than us. They just seem clueless because we don't understand their methodology, not because of any actual cluelessness. As long as Chirac, the Russians, the Turks, and all of the others fail to grasp this, the Republic is safe. God Bless America.
#10
Murat's busy, I'm sure. He'll be by soon enough. I think he's a straight shooter most of the time, although sometimes we may disagree on what the target should be, and have to dive for cover, cursing, the occasional times he shoots wild.
11A5S is right: I think I read the same article he did. This guy was Nasser's equivalent of Johnny von Neumann or Henry Kissinger: a deep, strategic thinker capable of seeing the facts and avoiding being distracted or deceived by the propaganda. He had his own TV show where he was openly critical of many Arab governments, including his own, and the soldiers were taking notes, not arresting him. For a sit-and-talk show, his viewership numbers were consistenly at the top. Probably Dallas and Baywatch had better ratings.
He openly poo-pooed the idea of the United states being a threat to other nations via its nuclear weapons, "These are the people who invented the think tank! They KNOW how to think about these sorts of things!" was the money quote I remember. He said it didn't matter if the American People elected a kook to the White House, since the government always made sure they had bright people around the President to give him advice. If he'd said "pervert" instead, he'd have been a damn prophet, IMHO.
He probably was the only Arab who really understood the US of A. I believe he's dead now. If Allah was just, he's enjoying 144 virgins at this moment...
President Saddam Hussein offered on Friday to reward any Iraqi who shoots down a U.S. or British aircraft, or kills or captures a pilot or soldier. The state Iraqi News Agency (INA) said an order by Saddam stipulated that any Iraqi fighter shooting down an enemy warplane would be paid 100 million dinars (around $33,000 on the black market) and 50 million for a downed helicopter. Soldiers would get 50 million dinars for capturing a pilot or soldier and 25 million for killing one, INA said. The reward for shooting down a missile would be 10 million dinars. When you feel that you have to promise your troops a bounty to fight, you're finished. I don't think the check is going to clear, either.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 08:14 am ||
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And they call us "mercenaries"?!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 9:13 Comments ||
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My guess is that 100 million Saddam dinars is worth about 50 cents on the black market at the moment....
Posted by: Chris Smith ||
03/21/2003 9:48 Comments ||
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#3
Once you shoot it down, Sammy kills you...sounds like a good deal...
LAST MINUTE CRISIS
Although the parliament approved motion on sending Turkish troops to northern Iraq and opening Turkish airspace to U.S. planes, the Turkish and the U.S. sides failed to reach an agreement on text deal. The United States could not use Turkish airspace last night while Turkish troops were prevented from entering northern Iraq. Talks between Ministry of Foreign Affairs chief negotiator Ambassador Deniz Bolukbasi and U.S. Vice General Colby Broadwater started before debate on the motion yesterday and continued also after approval of the motion until 9 p.m. While agreement was reached on rules of implementation of opening air corridors, the U.S. overflights which were foreseen to start at midnight were delayed upon Turkey's request. A high-level official said the decision on airspace would be taken today. After this surprising development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal went to the Prime Ministry and sought a solution to the crisis for 1.5 hours with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Although the motion paved the way, any dispatch of Turkish troops to northern Iraq did not happen. Last night, the sides failed to reach a deal on memorandum that sets principles of coordination between the Turkish and U.S. troops in northern Iraq.
TURKISH TROOPS ON ALERT
Six crossing points which connect Iraq to northern Iraq were closed after U.S. attack on Iraq, and new reinforcement units were sent to the region. Meanwhile, Turkish soldiers are on alert on the border to protect Turkmens, and the limited number of Turkish troop in northern Iraq took motorways along the border under control to prevent migration.
ANKARA KNOWS ABOUT WAR ON TELEVISION
The United States had informed Turkey of the first bombardment of the Gulf War in 1991, but this time, it did not do it. The United States informed Israel before the attack while Ankara learnt it on CNN International. Replying questions of reporters who asked whether the United States had informed Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, ''no''. You drag your feet, this is what happens.
TURKISH SOLDIERS IN NORTHERN IRAQ
The Turkish troops in northern Iraq has begun spreading its military units to the region. Zakhu-Begowa-Batufa Highway was taken under control by Turkish soldiers. Earlier, Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) peshmerga fighters raised their objection to Turkish soldiers' control over the highway.
''IF RED LINES ARE NOT VIOLATED, TURKEY WILL NOT ENTER NORTHERN IRAQ''
Diplomatic sources said that if the red lines were not violated, Turkey would not enter Northern Iraq. During the negotiations with the United States, the Turkish side notified the U.S. side on its view. Turkish soldiers will be kept ready in border region between Turkey and Iraq. If Iraq's territorial integrity is separated, ethnic groups gain control of rich oil reserves or Turkmens are attacked, Turkish soldiers will cross the border and intervene in northern Iraq.
NUMBER OF REFUGEES APPROACHING TURKEY INCREASES TO 50 THOUSAND
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Turkey Metin Corabatir said that number of Iraqi refugees approaching Turkey increased up to 50 thousand. Noting that any refugees had not entered Turkey so far, Corabatir said that Turkey had carried out preparatory works to meet urgent requirements of 130 thousand refugees.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 08:24 am ||
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#1
We also have a Plan C.
"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
#2
Well, I wouldn't believe anything what the press writes these days anymore. All the press news lately is more gossip than real news. I guess to take it with a grin of salt is appropriate (maybe a lot of salt)
Posted by: Murat ||
03/21/2003 8:40 Comments ||
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#3
I've given up trying to understand what this new Turkish government thinks it's trying to do -- because I don't believe they themselves have a clue.
They just seem to be a bunch of incompetent clowns who keep shooting themselves in the foot and not getting anything at all for their trouble.
A few months ago, they had a moderately firm alliance with the U.S. Now, I doubt anyone in Washington will bother to return their phone calls.
Turkey has delayed opening its airspace to US aircraft because of disagreements over its military role in northern Iraq.
The Turkish parliament gave consent for the overflights on Thursday, but overnight talks between US and Turkish officials failed to resolve key issues. "We have taken a break in talks with the US because there are major brick walls snags both concerning airspace use and movement of Turkish troops into Iraq," a Foreign Ministry official told the Associated Press news agency. Talks are due to resume on Friday evening.
Yeah. They'll get around to it, eventually...
The US does not want Turkish forces to enter Iraq, fearing possible clashes with the local Kurdish forces. Large numbers of Turkish troops are reported to have massed on the border. Press reports say some units have already crossed over.
It's all about oiiilll... Well, in this case it is.
The US originally asked Turkey to grant permission for 62,000 of its troops to use the country as a launchpad for an attack on Iraq. Turkey would have received a multi-billion-dollar compensation package in return. US officials say the financial package has now been withdrawn. Fer sher!
Turkey wants to send troops into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq in order to stem a potential tide of refugees and prevent the Kurds forming a separate state. The US has said its forces will manage the refugee problem, and take control of the Kirkuk and Mosul oilfields just south of the Kurdish-controlled area. However, BBC correspondent Jonny Dymond says that until Turkey opens its airspace, the US is unable to lift troops or equipment to the area. Turkish officials say that the agreement for US aircraft to overfly the country does not extend to allowing them to refuel at Turkish airbases. The Cumhuriyet newspaper quotes a US official as saying: "We are having difficulty understanding this." Me too! Kind of strange for an 'ally'
Turkey has also said it does not want US and UK aircraft patrolling the UN no-fly zone over Iraq to take part in combat operations.
Posted by: Kerry ||
03/21/2003 08:29 am ||
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Perhaps they think if they can keep US forces out of the north, they'll be able to control and/or exploit the Kurd situation.
#4
That whooshing sound is Turkey rocketing to the top of the list for EU admission.
Posted by: matt ||
03/21/2003 9:37 Comments ||
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< Murat >
The Imperialist Turkish swine do not care about the rights of the Iraqi people. They do not listen to their allies, they care only for their own interests! It's all about the OIL!
< / Murat >
It kind of sucks when principled objections are turned against oneself...
Murat, you have been denouncing US motives as imperialist and unilateral for a while now. I'll be interested to see if Turkish actions in the next few weeks will be equally denounced...
Of course, it does remain to be seen if any messiness ensues. I, personally, hope the agreement between the Kurds and the Turks (which, I understand it, means that the Kurds won't get too wayward, and the Turks won't cross the border)...
#7
Murat: "What's the problem plan B works fine anyway"
Careful, Murat, that almost sounded like French. Can Turkey afford trashing both European and American alliances?
As for any excessive Turkish ambitions in northern Iraq, be advised that we have a long history of shooting looters.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/21/2003 11:03 Comments ||
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Two comments: (1) Turkey will never gain entrance into the EU if the Germans have any say in the matter. Germany is teeming with Turks as it is, and a lot more Turks (families, workers) would flood into Germany to join them if Turkey joined the EU and the border were somewhat nullified. The Germans are terrified of this and will do absolutely everything to keep Turkey out. Turkeys best bet was working with the US and they've botched that as well. (2) For long term stability in the region the US might want to bet on a democratic Kurdistan. If not, they will be fighting for a homeland by the end of the decade. The Kurds in Northern Iraq already have democracy. Turks had their chance, not its best for the US to go with right decision.
#9
Maybe the US should support a DEMOCRACY in Kurdistan (including the Kurds now under Trukish control). Not too much of a stretch, since the Kurds have developed a democracy in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq. Then Turkey wouldn't be the only deocracy in the Islamic world.
British Royal Marine commandos were engaging in "close contact" fighting as Iraqi forces put up "stiff" resistance in the battle for control of the port of Umm Qasr. "Some of the resistance, in pockets, has been fairly stiff," said a British military official at US Central Command in Qatar. Describing the fight for Umm Qasr as a "rapidly moving situation" during the early afternoon Gulf time. He said British commandos were responding "using the full capacity they have". Geoff Hoon, Britain's defence secretary, said forces expected "shortly" to win control of Umm Qasr and a nearby Iraqi naval base. British military officials at US Central Command in Qatar said the surprise land attack on southern Iraq was on schedule, despite the continued fighting over Umm Qasr.
There was footage of U.S. Marines raising the U.S. flag over Umm Qasr this morning on FoxNews...
They said British commandos had successfully won control overnight of three oil pumping and offloading facilities at Al Faw, on Iraq's south-eastern tip. The aim was to prevent Iraq from using them to flood the Gulf with crude oil and cause an environmental disaster. "It was a major concern that if Saddam had kept control of these things, he would have used them to flood the Gulf," a British spokesman said. US and British close-support air combat jets were said to be strafing and attacking Iraqi positions to back up the commando assault on the port and infrastructure. Thousands of British and US marines attacked positions around Al Faw and Umm Qasr overnight by land, helicopter and hovercraft in a joint assault under cover of artillery fire and shells fired by two British warships in the Gulf. British forces' immediate strategic objective was to wrest control of Umm Qasr, which is Iraq's seaport and a site the joint forces are seeking to seize early in the campaign and use as a conduit for humanitarian aid into southern Iraq. Other British armoured elements were heading north, apparently for Basra, Iraq's second city. On a separate western flank, Challenger tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles from Britain's 7 Armoured brigade were providing support for a swift advance by US armour towards Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 09:51 am ||
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Long story from the Asia Times. Worth reading.
It may come as quite a shock, but thunderous silence does not mean that all's quiet on the Iraqi western front. "The surprise is not the attack on Baghdad or the advance from Kuwait. The surprise will come from Jordan," a top Jordanian source told Asia Times Online. The source says that well over 400 American tanks and more than 7,000 American troops may well be on their way to Baghdad from a remote launching pad in eastern Jordan. Thousands more troops â at least half of them Special Forces â will arrive over the weekend. So far, the tanks and heavy military equipment have arrived by ship at the southern Jordanian port of Aqaba and have been deployed to the east shrouded in utmost secrecy. Secrecy is paramount, according to the source. Not anymore, apparently.
The Revolutionary Command Council in Baghdad apparently has no idea that this may be happening, while 5 million Jordanians â including a vast majority of Palestinians â condemn the Anglo-American invasion. Marwan Muasher, Jordan's Foreign Minister, still insists that no more than 2,000 American and British troops are in the country, and then only for defensive purposes: to operate the three Patriot anti-missile batteries that have been set up to defend the capital Amman and the city of Irbid in northern Jordan. This is just an excerpt. As the man says, read the whole thing.
Posted by: jrosevear ||
03/21/2003 09:49 am ||
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If this report is true, that explains why H-2 and H-3 were seized by U.S. and British commandoes yesterday, aside from the obvious benefit of preventing Scud launches against Israel. Those fields will be perfect bases for troops entering the western portion of the country.
Posted by: Joe ||
03/21/2003 8:22 Comments ||
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This might explain where all those ships waiting off Turkey's coast really went.
Not sure I believe it, but spectacular news if true.
#5
All those cruise missile frigates that went down to the Red Sea were..troop carriers?
Posted by: john ||
03/21/2003 11:32 Comments ||
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#6
The cruise missile frigates in the Red Sea are the shooters that are pumping tomahawks into Baghdad. However, while everyone was watching them go through the Suez Canal, anything could have been landed in Israel and been trucked through to Jordan.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 12:38 Comments ||
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None of the forces apparently encountered chemical or biological weapons. The Iraqi military claimed in a statement it had repulsed an "enemy" attack at Al-Anbar province, on Iraq's border with Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It was not clear what force could be attacking from that point, and the statement did not mention attacks in the south. Meanwhile, Mosul has been rocked by explosions, a reporter in the northern Iraqi city for Qatar-based Al Jazeera television said on Friday. The reporter said he heard several explosions in the suburbs of Mosul at around 4:30 a.m., almost an hour after air raid sirens rang out in the city. Reports coming in now that the airfields know as H-2 and H-3 have been taken. That would be the fighting in the west that the Iraqis say they "repulsed".
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 09:58 am ||
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A powerful storm system is likely to pummel military forces in and around Iraq with blinding sand and choking dust beginning Monday night, meteorologists predicted yesterday. Winds are expected to exceed 50 mph in gusts in southern Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, said meteorologists at Accuweather.com, a commercial forecasting company. The dust storm Wednesday blew through at about 20 to 30 mph. Temperatures around Baghdad are predicted to climb, reaching 90 degrees. Winds should peak Tuesday.
In northern Iraq next week, the powerful front is likely to produce rain that will limit dust clouds. But the precipitation is not expected to reach the south, where troops are rolling into the country from Kuwait, so nothing will prevent gusts of 40 to 50 mph from scouring the earth and raising thick veils of dust. Storms this intense can limit visibility to less than 100 feet.
Some American troops can use heat-sensing gun sights that can detect targets even in fairly thick dust. Satellite-guided bombs are not hampered. Helicopters are put at great risk by the heavy dust. The chances of powerful storms will ebb in the coming weeks, but temperatures probably will keep rising. Said Ken Reeves, a senior meteorologist at Accuweather, "If you have to endure that kind of heat in the biohazard suits they have to put on, it can get very difficult".
Military officials said American forecasting efforts were aimed at exploiting bad conditions, given that they equally affect each side in a conflict. "The U.S. military is without a doubt the best in the world at exploiting the environment and the weather to a tactical advantage," said Capt. Jeffrey Bacon, the commanding officer at the Naval Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography Center in Norfolk, Va.
Posted by: anon ||
03/21/2003 10:00 am ||
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A US marine has been killed in Iraq becoming the first combat death of the war. The soldier, from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, was involved in the ground assault in southern Iraq. Lieutenant Colonel Neal Peckham, a British military spokesman in Kuwait, said he had no further details. MSNBC cable network reported that the soldier was felled by Iraqi gunfire during the advance on the Rumeila oil field.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/21/2003 08:30 am ||
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Thank you for being so brave.
On monday I will be bringing flowers for you and those in the helicopter to the US consulate general in Sydney , and also to the British.
Today I tried to bring the US consulate some flowers just to say: thank you for doing what is right instead of what is popular, and also that not everyone is a protestor. But I got there right on closing (they close early now due to the war) and they wouldn't let me up to the secure level because of the war. I am sorry they have been made to suffer this way.
Rest in peace, brave soldiers, I will never forget that you sacrificed for your country, and I am very sad that you died.
ABC Radio is reporting live now (4:12AM Pacific) that 'human intel' has reported that Saddam was hit and carried from his home on a stretcher with an oxygen mask. Also further HUMAT reports one of the sons Uday(?) was killed. Score One for the BB Team. We can only hope this might make this a shorter war.
Posted by: Mary Wehmeier ||
03/21/2003 08:31 am ||
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Hmm... Perhaps Uday's brain damage was a little more serious than we thought...
"Agh! Relapse!" *thud*
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 9:15 Comments ||
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Like I've commented elswhere here: He may still be alive, but sedated and temporarily out of it. Everything is so centralized that nobody wants to do any offensive operations without being second guessed when The Man revivies.
UK, 10:10 Zulu: USAF B-52s are leaving RAF Faiford, England, armedprobably with JDAM munitions. I wouldn't have heard if I hadn't seen live footage on the BBC!
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/21/2003 08:32 am ||
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Update: Total of eight have flown - definitely no training mission this time!
Saddam Hussein was inside the compound destroyed by cruise missiles in the attempted "decapitation strike" on Thursday, US intelligence officials believe. The Iraqi leader was thought to be accompanied by one or both of his sons, Qusai and Odai, when the underground bunker in Baghdad was attacked during the opening hours of the war.
If he was, that was a damned dumbass thing to do...
But intelligence analysts in the US are not certain whether Saddam was killed, injured or escaped, senior Bush administration officials told the Washington Post. "The preponderance of the evidence is he was there when the building blew up," said one official. Another official said Saddam was believed to be "at least injured because medical attention was urgently summoned on his behalf". The condition of his sons, and any others who may have been at the compound, is unknown.
I'd guess that was where Uday came down with his "brain hemorrhage"...
Saddam's appearance on Iraqi TV after the attack was not a surprise because he was believed to have recorded several statements earlier this week in anticipation of early strikes on his hide outs. The attack on the compound indicates the CIA has made contact with people close to Saddam. Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the information about his whereabouts came from "human intelligence".
They're finally learning — always say that, whether it came from HUMINT or not...
The bunker was part of a secure compound guarded by the Special Security Organisation, which is commanded by Saddam's younger son, Qusai.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/21/2003 08:36 am ||
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Perhaps that tape was actually a rehersal tape he was making for a speech to be performed later. That would account for the disheveled look, the glasses, posture and notepad.
#2
Sammy does TV all the time. He does not need a to rehearse. I think we need a plausible explanation of the fact that the Sammy mentioned the date on the tape before jumping to any conclusions. I saw at story that the he CIA authenticated the voice on the tape.
#3
If you were going to plan ahead this way, you'd do a few takes mentioning certain, likely, dates, for added "authenticity". That's easy. Did he mention times or specific details of the attacks? Anything at all besides the date? I didn't hear or read transcripts of the speech, so I don't know. "Saddam" did look very odd to my eyes. When he's on the box again, I hope he's got foreign newspaper front pages taped to his chest or I'll remain suspicious. Hell, I'll still be suspicious.
#5
Seems to me that the tape may well have been a rehearsal, not because Sammy needed to practice, but to time the speech. This is often done with a first draft of a TV script, which would explain the relative informality. Then when he got whacked they sent somebody for the rehearsal tape.
Not necessarily, the case, maybe, but plausible.
Posted by: Colin ||
03/21/2003 10:51 Comments ||
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#6
He had 48 hours to prepare a fake tape in case of his death.
However, while that trick can work for Osama, I don't see why it should work for Saddam. Osama's largely just a figurehead; Saddam's the real deal---commander in chief and all. If he and his spawn were dead, who would benefit by keeping up the charade?
#7
'xactly my thoughts, Angie. At best, he's lightly injured and sedated, with relatives watching the store for him. There's been no coordinated operations on the Iraqui side, almost as if nobody really wants to do anything and be second guessed by Saddam when he revives.
or IF he revives. Would the doctor tell the truth to the sons, given the kind of father they have?
#8
Saddam also sees himself as a figurehead, a lattterday Saladin (in Iraq, I assume it's forbidden to remember he was a Kurd). He'd love to be frustrating the west, even from beyond the "grave". And there's still a family and a regime of loyal supporters to protect. He couldn't assume his sons would go down with him. This could be a double, being used as a Ba'athist tool, as per usual.
#10
I would suspect that everything we see of Saddam is taped previously (before a dead studio audience, ha!). Live broadcasts are too dangerous because they would pinpoint his location.
Posted by: john ||
03/21/2003 11:43 Comments ||
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Edited for length and re-odered.
Eight British and four American troops have been killed in a helicopter crash as the ground invasion of Iraq got under way. The British marines from 3 Commando Brigade died when a US CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed in Kuwait several miles south of the Iraqi border, in what is believed to have been an accident. The deaths are the first confirmed casualties among US and UK troops since the war on Iraq began.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said those who had lost their lives and their loved ones were "uppermost in our hearts at the moment" and the tragic event demonstrated the bravery of "our troops". An investigation into the crash is under way. Lieutenant Colonel Ben Curry, a Royal Marines spokesman in Kuwait, said: "There were eight UK servicemen from 3 Commando Brigade and four US air crew. None survived the crash." Officials said the crash happened at about 0300 local time south of the southern Iraqi city of Umm Qasr. The BBC's Nick Childs, at the Pentagon, said it was thought the helicopter had been returning from a mission over the Iraq border, but "precisely what it was doing is unclear". Details of the casualties were being withheld until next of kin are informed.
The US Marines use the Sea Knight, a helicopter with two large rotors like a Chinook, to fly troops from ships at sea or base camps to forward positions. Colonel Walter Boyne, a former US Airforce pilot, told the BBC he thought the crash was probably an accident, caused by the age of the Vietnam-era aircraft â in service for almost 40 years. The US Navy and Marines grounded all 291 Sea Knight helicopters in August after an inspection of one helicopter in North Carolina found a crack in a rotor assembly. "I just wish that we had been vigilant enough and foreseeing enough to go ahead and re-equip with helicopters," Mr Boyne said.
Apparently, Ollie North's crew was filming when the copter went down. He said on FoxNews this morning that the tape had been turned over to the Pentagon...
Overnight British Royal Marine commandos took the strategic al-Faw peninsula in south-eastern Iraq in an air and sea assault. Other British troops helped US soldiers secure oilfields to the west of the southern port city of Basra. But as British troops moved north towards the port of Basra on Friday they faced opposition at the key oil shipping terminal Umm Qasr, according to Defence Minister Geoff Hoon. He told Channel 4: "Our forces are in fact already facing some stern resistance at Umm Qasr as I speak. "The Iraqis are not simply giving up in the way that some commentators have suggested that the would. And our forces are fighting." Kuwaiti news agencies had reported the western forces had captured Umm Qasr although Iraqi television and denied this. Group Captain Al Lockwood, spokesman for British forces in the Gulf, told the BBC: "There has been light resistance but no UK casualties."
RAF Tornado GR4 and Harrier jets flew sorties from Kuwait to support US ground troops in the Basra operation, as well as other operations within Iraq. While some ground units had met little resistance, soldiers of the US 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were pinned down by Iraqi anti-tank rockets and small arms fire just yards after crossing the border, according to the BBC's Adam Mynott. He said the convoy he was in had been forced to retreat and it was unclear whether one vehicle had been hit. "We're now taking cover behind a sand bank," he said. "There is sustained gunfire coming from Iraqi positions... Resistance is stronger than had been expected."
So much for the "cakewalk" idea. On the other hand, when the Iraqis break, they'll probably break all at once. But I think we're going to have about as much success "negotiating" with the Republican Guards as we've been having negotiating with the Turks...
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/21/2003 10:28 am ||
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Bulldog...sorry about your compatriots :-( I think I speak for Americans (except the looney ones) when I say that we feel as great a sense of loss over the deaths of your soldiers as we do for our own.
Tell your friends and neighbors we are grateful to the Brits for hanging with us and we appreciate their sacrifice.
#4
Thanks guys. It's good to have a chance to show the world the anglosphere is not easily divided or capable of being held to ransom. It's a shame that the flipside is that some of the bravest and best amongst us, and perhaps many, many ordinary citizens, will have to pay the ultimate price for conveying the message. Let's hope casualties remain low.
NB British support the conflict and Blair's stance continues to climb.
Heartfelt condolences to the families of the troops in the UK and the US - we're in this together.
Posted by: Tony ||
03/21/2003 9:34 Comments ||
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#6
Dear God, Master of the Universe:
We thank you for your abundant grace and perfect foresight, in bestowing upon us and upon our allies many years ago, the blessing of the birth of brave men and women who would grow up to serve, and fall, in the defense of their countries and for the cause of freedom. Usher them with trumpets to the reward you have for all those who die for their brothers and sisters. Comfort and strengthen their familes. Bestow wisdom on the commanders and leaders of our armed forces. Protect and watch over those on the ground, at sea, and in the air.
Finally, we ask that you bestow prudence on those who oppose us, that they may see error whereever it confronts them. And give them the courage to swallow base and pointless pride, for no one has pleasure in the vain and pointless death of any one.
I am about to join in on a very important endeavor, the Liberation of Iraq. This quest has been coined as the "Countdown to Creation"; and for good reason. The brutality that Saddam and his strong-arms have subjected on the citizens of Iraq (and others) has ran its' unnatural course; and it is now time to create a new freedom, government, and peaceful way of life for the citizens of this historic, honorable, yet brutally subjugated nation.
It's not about oil, it's about basic human freedoms/rights, and one man's ability to bring death, terror, and destruction to those not conforming to his Modus Operandi. He has the ability to bring pain and death to the shores of the U.S.A. and other nations, and given the opportunity, he would love to bring us to our knees. Diplomacy has failed, by and large to the actions/inactions of the Iraqi Government and the U.N., and now it is now time for the United States and its' Allies to execute this action using military force.
Even though I cannot see into the future, I foresee a bright future for the Nation and Citizens of Iraq at the conclusion of this operation. In certain Biblical times, the city of Babylon was considered the hub of all civilization, and the city of peace for all nations to emulate. The "great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth". As we have trained for this task we have focused on not the destruction of a nation, but the building of one. Pliny the Elder once said, "It is Godlike for Mortal to assist Mortal, and this is the way to Immortality".
Being a member of the Armed Services is a very honorable profession, and the world will soon see the end product of our actions as a philanthropic endeavor to the citizens of Iraq. In closing, I Pray peace, freedom, and all things good to you, your families, and to our great Nation. Fighting for the greater good, we will achieve... Victory, Glory, Success. To all of which -
I shall always remain
Your affectionate servant,
Rick
Richard E. Parks
Security Driver/PSD
CFLCC C-2
Posted by: Bodyguard ||
03/21/2003 10:57 am ||
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Take care, Rick! Our thoughts and prayers are with you!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 7:56 Comments ||
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#4
On an interview this morning on NBC, A soldier moving out had a similar perspective. I then heard him say, "..and we hope the American people are behind us as we move toward our objective". Someone tell Tom Daschle that our soldiers should never have to HOPE Americans are behind them as they depart toward the uncertainty of conflict... Same for the "useful idiots" whose freedom to gridlock everyones traffic in downtown Chicago is protected and enforced by our soldiers.
The parades when the warriors return will show the TRUE American spirit...
Severely edited.
Along with ammunition, U.S. troops are loading thousands of bright yellow packages filled with pasta and beans as they prepare to advance into Iraq. The packages are emergency rations for refugees. Commanders hope they will not have to hand out many of the rations. They fear large numbers of civilians fleeing the fighting could slow down what is planned as a rapid, rolling offensive toward Baghdad. ``If they are on the roadways they are a threat to us, not in the sense of a danger to us, but they can endanger our operations. They can hold up the forward movement,'' said 1st Lt. Clint Mundinger of Omak, Wash., an intelligence officer with the 709th Military Police Battalion.
Leaflets being dropped over Iraq and radio broadcasts are urging civilians to stay in their homes and away from military forces. But how the Iraqi population will react amid the chaos is anyone's guess. ``Nobody knows what will happen when we cross into Iraq. But we're preparing for the worst-case scenario,'' said Col. David MacEwen, the V Corps' assistant chief of staff for civil military affairs.
One early test case may come at An-Nasiriyah, the first major urban center along the attack route of V Corps, which includes the 3rd Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Most of the 400,000 residents of An-Nasiriyah, about 120 miles from the Kuwait-Iraq border, are members of the Shi'a Muslim sect that rose up against Saddam Hussein in southern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War and was ruthlessly crushed. ``If the offensive is fast, there will be fewer refugees. It's the long, drawn-out battles that force civilians out of cities,'' Mundinger said.
Should refugees swarm toward U.S. troops for whatever reason, the military police, civil affairs teams and psychological operations units will wave them away from the major attack and supply routes. Soldiers will be discouraged from giving MREs, the military field rations, to civilians. Those who refuse to return to their homes will be directed to temporary shelters and then eventually more permanent facilities. ``The idea is a carrot to draw them away from supply routes,'' Mundinger said.
MacEwen, of Girard, Pa., said equipment will be put in place ahead of time to erect at least a dozen temporary shelters in the V Corps area, but the camps will not be built in advance so as not to draw civilians from their homes. Very basic humanitarian assistance, MacEwen said, would be provided to the displaced people, including water, medicine and HDRs, or Humanitarian Daily Rations. These include at least 2,200 calories worth of mainly vegetarian food to satisfy the dietary and religious preferences of refugees.
The military police have been briefed about the possibility of infiltrators among the refugees, but Mundinger said this is unlikely to prove a major threat. ``From those we have talked to, we believe that most of the civilians will greet us as liberators, although they might be a bit suspicious given the history of Iraq,'' the intelligence officer said. ``We think the displaced civilians will point out any bad guys among them.'' "Excuse me, Mr. American Soldier?"
"That's Sargeant to you. What I can do for you, Mr. ...."
"My name is Abdulhamid. May I tell you something?"
"Yes, but make it fast, I got a busy day."
"Yes, Effendi, yes, but you see, I wanted to point something out to you."
"What's that?"
"Do you see those men over there?"
"Yes, over the—... oh my God, you mean those men swinging on those lamp posts?!?!?!?"
"Yes, Effendi. I just wanted to point out that those men used to be infiltrators."
"Oh ..., well then, ah, thanks Mr. Abdulhamid."
"No problem, Effendi, the pleasure was ours."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 10:56 am ||
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from Foxnews
"U.S. forces took the border town of Safwan, where residents waved. A woman threw herself at the Marines' feet until a man hurriedly came and led her away.
Another man said he welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops: "We're very happy. Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam Hussein a butcher.""
Russia, France and China led a storm of international protest yesterday against the US strikes on Iraq, while praise from Washington's allies was restrained and often outweighed by street protest. Tap, tap ... nope, sympathy meter's stuck at zero.
Oh, dear. I am so Concerned®...
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, demanded an immediate ceasefire saying such unilateralism, which replaced the rule of international law with justified brute force, left "not one single country in the world feeling secure". He described the strikes as a "big political mistake" that threatened international security and could cause a humanitarian catastrophe. Russia intended to "pursue the return of the situation to a peaceful course on the basis of UN security council resolutions 687 and 1441", prompting speculation that Moscow, perhaps with French backing, was planning to table a resolution condemning the US-led attacks. I guess that if we vetoed it, that would be "unilateral".
In Paris the de facto leader of the weasels anti-war camp, President Jacques Chirac, called in a brief television address for a quick end to the fighting. We can do that.
"France regrets this action taken without our permission approval of the UN," he said. "We hope these operations will be as rapid and least-deadly as possible, and that they don't lead to a humanitarian catastrophe." Jacques, remind me, I'm a little fuzzy on this: who prevented UN approval again?
China, another veto-holding permanent security council member, appealed for an "immediate halt to military actions against Iraq", abandoning the low-key approach that it had adopted. "War will inevitably lead to humanitarian disasters," a foreign ministry statement said. "Well, not as bad as our Great Leap Forward, but it could be bad!"
In Germany, another weasel opponent of military action, more than 100,000 people took part in apparently spontaneous demonstrations against the war. Police in Berlin said that around 10,000 massed at Alexanderplatz. The foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, said: "This is bitter news. We hope that the hostilities will end quickly and that the civilian population will be protected. Everything must be done to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe." I get the feeling that they're all reading from the same script.
More than 100,000 people marched on the US embassy in Athens. In Rome, police blocked anti-war demonstrators marching up Via Veneto toward the American embassy, while tens of thousands of students, workers and others blocked roads and railway tracks elsewhere in the country. Riot police in the Philippines capital, Manila, used shields and truncheons to disperse about 300 activists trying to approach the US embassy, injuring at least 12 people. At the start of a potentially explosive summit in Brussels, the rotting carcass of the European Union said the world had entered "a new and dangerous phase" and expressed dismay that diplomacy had failed. "We have nothing to offer except ineffectual diplomacy, and now that has failed! Curse those Americans!"
The Vatican was harsh on Iraq and Washington. A spokesman said: "On the one hand it laments the fact that the Iraqi government did not accept the resolutions of the UN and the appeal by the Pope himself, which asked for the country to disarm. On the other, it deplores the interruption of the path of failed negotiations, according to hypocritical international law, for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi melodrama."
Zzzzzzz... Oh, I'm sorry! Did you say something?
Switzerland banned military planes from its airspace for the duration of the war, while in neutral Finland, President Tarja Halonen decried the missile strikes as unacceptable. Iran — Iraq's neighbour and once listed by George Bush on the same "axis of evil" — criticised the attack as "unjustifiable and illegitimate". "Especially since we might be next!"
Turkey, which has refused to meet its obligations allow its soil to be used as a launchpad for an invasion of northern Iraq, said the security council process on Iraq "should have been allowed to finish". Malaysia produced Asia's strongest anti-American invective; the deputy prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, called the attack "a black mark in history" with "the world now seeing might is right". Megawati Sukarnoputri, president of Indonesia called for an emergency meeting of the UN security council. Sure, Megs. How discussing how the world should deal with terrorist madrassas in your country?
Pakistan declared that it would continue pushing for peace, and a Palestinian chief apologist minister, Saeb Erekat, feared that Israel might intensify a crack down against the Palestinians while world attention was diverted.
With no reason, of course. No reason at all...
Praise for the attack amounted to little more than polite acknowledgement. The Spanish prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, a staunch US ally despite public opposition, said there was "no room for neutrality" and that his government had "assumed its responsibilities", but the country was hit by demonstrations and strikes. All we need for now. Thanks, Jose.
The Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, said he "understood, and supported the start of the use of force by the US", while the South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, said: "We will make diplomatic efforts to ensure this war does not worsen our relations with North Korea."
He's looking at the danger that's closest. Hope he's studying up on the problem, because it should soon be his, and his alone...
Thousands of mindless apologists staged a rush-hour protest in Sydney after the Australian prime minister, John Howard, said that some of the 2,000 troops he deployed to the Gulf took part in the attacks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 08:19 am ||
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-- "War will inevitably lead to humanitarian disasters," a foreign ministry statement said.--
#2
I just heard Senator Mitchell (hmm..maybe it was Levin) on Fox still trying to call this a "unilateral" action. When the interviewer asked if we can still call it "unilateral" with 40+ countries helping us...he said it was because we didn't have UN approval. Then...he tried to worm around it saying that he didn't think so, of course, but "unfortunately" that will be the perception around the world (except I suppose the 40+ countries). And of course, he wanted to let us know that.
Ha ha, first it was just "unlilateral", then it was "unilateral" because no one else was giving "substantive support", now it's unilateral because not everyone is on board. Democrats keep retreating from their anti-American talking points faster than the Iraqi army does from Allied tanks.
#3
i went down to those protests in Sydney today. A lot less people than yesterday, pretty much just a few socialists with a loudhailer and some banners.
I had a lot of fun asking them all: 'how would YOU advocate getting rid of saddam?'
The replies ranged from: 'through diplomacy' to 'but why should we do anything about him?' to 'lifting the UN sanctions'.
Most disturbing was a middle-aged man claiming to be an Iraqi. He was clearly an immigrant, but I doubt his story. He claimed Schwartzkopf resigned because the US gave Saddam tanks in 1991 while the people of Iraq were trying to rebel. I doubt this but don't know the facts: can anyone tell me?
Plus, he said that the Iraqi's would get rid of Saddam themselves 'if only the west would stop supporting him' to which i replied 'well the west hasn't supported him for hte last 12 years' to which he simply responded 'yes they have'.
Severely edited.
Four Iraqi missiles were fired into Kuwait yesterday near points where US and British troops were massing for invasion. Two were widely reported to be Scuds. But the British government was cautious last night, saying it was awaiting confirmation. They'll pick through the wreckage at some point today.
There were no casualties and no suggestion that chemical or biological warheads were loaded on to the missiles. British Harrier jets were scrambled to bomb the mobile missile launchers based around Basra in southern Iraq. A Kuwaiti defence ministry spokesman said that two Scuds had been fired. If only one turned out to be a Scud, it would be proof that Saddam Hussein had been lying not only over the last few months but the last 12 years. Gosh, yeah, I guess that would!
Iraq confabulated claimed that had it destroyed all its Scud missiles after the last Gulf war but the US and Britain have maintained that 15 to 20 had been hidden. A British government official said: "If it really was a Scud, it is prohibited by 687 [the 1991 United Nations ceasefire resolution], and Iraq has lied repeatedly denied possession of them, and we were right all along." The Iraqi designated chief liar information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, denied Iraq had fired any Scuds or had any.
"No, no! Certainly not! I said yesterday, we didn't launch anything at all!"
One of the alleged Scuds was reported to have been brought down by a US Patriot missile. Scud missiles are much bigger than others in Iraq's arsenal and should have been easily identifiable. But if it has been hit by a Patriot, it may prove difficult to find any recognisable parts. Two of the missiles were Chinese-built Seersucker anti-ship missiles, which are much smaller than Scuds and fly low to the ground. It is thought the Seersuckers were positioned south of Basra and originally intended to attack US and British warships. Seersucker? That's a name for a missile?
It's a derivative of the Sapsucker, which in turn was developed from the Scumsucker...
Iraq is allowed missiles with a range of up to 150km (93 miles) but Scuds have a range well beyond that, which is why they were banned. Iraqi forces had been close to the border on Wednesday night, hours before the US deadline for war ran out. But a British defence source in Qatar said the artillery appeared to have run away retreated to the city of Basra yesterday. The missile attacks were not regarded as an overly serious threat to the safety of the British and US troops, although chemical gas warnings were sounded and soldiers were ordered to wear their gas masks and chemical and biological weapon protection suits.
SCUDs usually can be counted on to hit the right county. FROGs will hit the right county three out of five times. I don't know what the accuracy is of the Sacksucker, though I'd guess that an anti-ship missile would be expected to be able to hit a target the size of, say, a ship, at something like 2/3 of its max range...
By early evening, about a dozen missile attacks were reported, including eight missiles that buzzed above a CNN reporter crapping in his pants accompanying US-led troops in Kuwait. They showed the guy from the waist up on TV, unfortunately.
One missile landed near the US army's A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, whose soldiers were eating lunch. "That is not supposed to be happening," said Captain Chris Carter, the company commander. "Them jokers trying to ruin my day? I'll show them!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 08:09 am ||
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I think they mean Silkworm.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 8:55 Comments ||
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Scuds can be easily identified and proven from their unique thermal signature at launching. You can bet we have "NASCAR" telemetry on each and every missle that has been launched in the past days that will be entered on Saddam's permanent record when he finally has to go down to the Principals office...
#3
Do not mock glorious the Chinese missile, Yankee running dog! Seersucker is the descendant of the fearsome Taffeta, soon to be superceded by even more deadly Chiffon. Also come in Crepe de Chine (ha ha) variant. (Psst, don't tell nobody, French help build.)
#4
seer·suck·er (sîrskr)
n.
A light thin fabric, generally cotton or rayon, with a crinkled surface and a usually striped pattern.
Word History: Through its etymology, seersucker gives us a glimpse into the history of India. The word came into English from Hindi srsakar, which had been borrowed from the Persian compound shroshakar, meaning literally "milk and sugar" but used figuratively for a striped linen garment. The Persian word shakar, "sugar," in turn came from Sanskrit arkar. The linguistic borrowings here reflect a broader history of cultural borrowing. In the 6th century the Persians borrowed not only the word for sugar from India but sugar itself. During and after Tamerlane's invasion of India in the late 14th century, opportunities for borrowing Persian things and words such as shroshakar were widespread, since Tamerlane incorporated Persia as well as India into his empire. It then remained for the English to borrow from an Indian language the material and its name seersucker (first recorded in 1722 in the form Sea Sucker) during the 18th century, when the East India Company and England were moving toward imperial supremacy in India.
Severely edited, current as of 6:20 AM GMT
U.S. troops, scarves protecting their faces against the dust, advanced through the Iraqi desert in convoys Friday, a day after they and British forces launched the war's ground assault. As the U.S. Marines and Army drove deeper into Iraq, British troops moved on the strategic al-Faw peninsula - Iraq's access point to the Persian Gulf and the site of major oil facilities. British military officials said they hoped to seize the key port of Umm Qasr before the day's end. Through the night and as the sun rose, artillery barrages lit up the sky, and witnesses in northern Kuwait side said they could hear thunderous explosions from the Umm Qasr area.
FoxNews was saying Faw was under our control last night...
Thursday evening, U.S. forces in northern Kuwait signaled the start of their advance on Iraq with a thundering artillery barrage over the border. Infantrymen on the move, their weeks of waiting at an end, cheered as shells screamed overhead. Under the shelter of night and supported by heavy bombing, the armored vehicles of the 1st Marine Division rolled into southern Iraq at around 9 p.m. local time. As they moved through the desert, burning oil wells were visible, spewing black smoke. The 20,000 Marines met light resistance from Iraqi ``rear guard'' units. They opened fire with machine guns on an Iraqi T-55 tank and destroyed it with a Javelin, a portable anti-tank missile.
Exit crew of four, painfully...
Troops from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division also crossed into Iraq and came into contact with several Iraqi armored personnel carriers, destroying at least three of them, front line troops reported by radio. Thursday evening, elite British troops were dropped by Chinook and Sea Stallion helicopters to seize oil facilities in al-Faw after U.S. Seals prepared the area, according to Britain's Press Association news agency.
That would likely be the action where we lost a CH-46, its crew, and eight Brit Marines. Likely this will be another war where sand in the lubricants claims more lives than actual combat...
By taking southern Iraq, the allies would command access to the Gulf and set the stage for the first major conquest on the way to Baghdad — Basra, Iraq's second largest city, just 20 miles from the Kuwait border. The move on the area between Basra and the Persian Gulf suggested that the allied strategy on the ground calls for a two-pronged attack — one to clear Iraqi resistance in the southern oil region while the other charges north toward Baghdad.
There's also action in the west, where our guys are grabbing the airfields, and in the north. Does that make a 4-pronged attack?
Australian troops were also in Iraq identifying targets for coalition aircraft and monitoring Iraqi troop movements, an Australian defense force spokesman said. ``Things are going very well,'' said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in Washington.
Not precisely as planned, but very well...
Yet conditions were sometimes difficult. The Marines drove through thick, swirling dust storms. Troops detected Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles hidden behind sand berms by the heat they gave off, and U.S. aircraft attacked the positions. None of the forces apparently encountered chemical or biological weapons. The Marines passed burning oil wells, though it was not known who had set them afire. Flames shot up hundreds of feet, thickening the air with black smoke. Keep going, guys.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 08:01 am ||
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Anyone seen any news reports re the northern campaign? There's a blurb on the BBC embeds' blog bylined 'John Simpson, Northern Iraq' that reports signs of battle and says that US Spec Forces *may* be holding Kirkuk. Anyone got anything firmer?
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) today said the United States and Iraq should learn from its example of making peace with the Sri Lankan Government and urged the United Nations to prevail upon the two warring parties to restore normality. ``It is regrettable that the U.S. attacked Iraq without proper endorsement of the U.N. though we are also against the dictatorship of the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, and his not respecting the U.N. resolution,'' the LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, said. ``The LTTE is known for violence but we are renouncing it and pursuing the path of peace. Our example should be followed by other countries,'' he said at the conclusion of the sixth round of peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tigers here. ``Our effort to achieve peace is an example to the world that the solution to any long-standing problem can be achieved through negotiations,'' he added. Fish - Barrel - Both triggers:
A Chinese trawler was attacked and sunk off Sri Lanka's eastern shores on Thursday morning, leaving 17 fishermen ``missing'', officials of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said.
The Navy has blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack, which took place at 4 a.m., 40 nautical miles off rebel-held Mullaithivu. The SLMM has begun investigations.
Nine crew members of the trawler, who escaped on a dinghy, were rescued by another Chinese trawler. ``The Navy quoted the rescued members as telling them that they were attacked by Sea Tigers,'' SLMM sources said here, adding that they were awaiting a report from their field monitors who would question the rescued members with the help of interpreters. I guess this is what we are supposed to learn.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 03:03 pm ||
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The Tigers at it again, eh? Piracy was always popular there. But attacking a Chinese vessel probably wasn't smart.
Cleveland Democrat Stephanie Tubbs Jones was the only Ohioan in Congress to vote "no" on resolutions supporting U.S. troops in Iraq. The resolutions were approved by the House 392-11 and by the Senate 99-0. Tubbs Jones said Friday she opposed the House resolution because it connects Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and says the country poses a continued threat to the United States. Neither of those claims has been proved, she said, adding that is the reason the United States couldn't persuade the United Nations to support an attack. Democratic Reps. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland and Sherrod Brown of Lorain, Ohio, voted "present," a way to show displeasure without voting against a measure. Both lawmakers have spoken out against the U.S. attack on Iraq. Tubbs Jones said she supports American troops. She co-sponsored a different congressional resolution Friday that supports the troops without including the other statements. That resolution wasn't considered. It's too bad the national attention span is so short. I'm sure all three of these specimens will be reelected again next year.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 09:49 pm ||
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That hammering noise you might notice in the background is, I believe, the sound of the Democrats nailing shut their own coffin. I read in the history books that the Whigs used to be a big political party. I'll bet they thought it could never happen to them either.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday denounced the US-led attack on neighboring Iraq as "satanic" and called on Iranians to get ready for an economic and cultural war. Khamenei called for an "immediate" halt to the day-old war, in a message for the Iranian New Year. "Today it is America which is alone," he said, condemning the "arrogance and prejudice of American rulers and their belligerency." Funny, I don't feel lonely...
He stressed, however, that he did not support Saddam Hussein's "dictatorial" Iraqi regime. Iran defends not Saddam but "the Iraqi nation, and believes that the future of Iraq must be decided only by the Iraqi nation". Maybe Iran should have helped them do that sometime in the past ten years...
Khamenei urged young Iranians "to strengthen their resolution" in the new year. "Although we may have no military war, we will definitely have a political and economic and, especially, a cultural war." "So get ready to spend the next year making faces and hollering..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 06:37 pm ||
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Ayatollah Ali. To your east, Afghanistan. To the west, Iraq. In the middle, you. Might be good to remember that. Hope you're enjoying "Shock and Awe: The Miniseries".
The authorities in Cuba have arrested two leading dissidents as they continue their crackdown against government opponents. Marta Beatriz Roque, an economist who led a hunger strike to demand the release of political prisoners, was detained together with an independent journalist, Raul Rivero. Dozens of people have been detained this week, accused by the authorities of plotting against Cuba with the top US representative in Havana, James Cason. The US has expressed outrage, calling the round-up an "appalling act of intimidation".
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 06:00 pm ||
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Israeli troops have captured a senior militant of the radical Islamic group Hamas in the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya. Raed Hutri is accused of involvement in suicide bombings against targets in Israel. Guess we know where is Raed now. (I know, I know... Bad joke)..
The Israelis say these include the attack on a Tel Aviv nightclub in June 2001 that killed more than 20 people, most of them Israeli teenagers.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 05:58 pm ||
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The Israelis don't forget. They are keeping the heat on, and I do not see a bunch of whining from the press like we used to. This is good news. The Paleo terrorist leadership org chart is slowly and steadily being taken apart, while the money sources are being dried up. We won't see Bulldozer Girl's friends as much as we used to, I'll bet.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2003 18:23 Comments ||
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Rebels fighting to overthrow the government of Liberia have entered the central town of Gbarnga, a one-time headquarters of the now defunct rebel movement of President Charles Taylor. When the Liberians United for Democracy and Development (Lurd) rebels went into the town on Friday morning they met with little resistance. Defence Minister Daniel Chea told a news briefing that the rebels set a number of buildings ablaze in the town and killed scores of civilians. "As I speak to you, the city of Gbarnga is a scene of fierce battle between government and those hostile forces," he said. That's how all the civilians are getting bumped off, I'd guess...
Mr Chea said that government troops were closing in on the rebels and had occupied a strategic bridge leading to Gbarnga. He said: "If Lurd forces have never made a tactical mistake before, they've made one today." Guess we'll find out. I'm hoping they haven't...
Government soldiers, he said had been ordered to stop fighting for 48 hours in most places to allow civilians to leave. As part of preparations to engage the rebels in Gbarnga, the defence minister said government forces had re-captured the Camp Naama Military Barrack which was under rebel occupation last week. Witnesses spoke of a fleet of military vehicles heading toward Gbarnga loaded with militia fighters and carrying different types of heavy weaponry. Mr Chea said government forces could force the rebels from Gbarnga in a matter of days, but he acknowledged that the rebels were well-equipped. The rebels, he said, had overwhelming support from outside Liberia. Probably inside Liberia, as well. I don't know anything about the rebels, but I know something about Charles Taylor... I'd be hard to get worse.
News of the attack on Gbarnga - which is situated on the main road leading to rural Liberia and the border with Ivory Coast - is causing panic in the capital, Monrovia.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 05:51 pm ||
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Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. You hope not, but it always seems to work out like that in Liberia.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - A rocket hit an oil refinery depot in southwestern Iran close to the border with Iraq and two people have been injured, Iranian government sources told Reuters on Friday. The sources said it was not clear where the rocket, which hit the depot in the city of Abadan, had come from. Abadan is about 30 miles east of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. It hit the building around 7:45 p.m. local time, they said. Boy, those Scuds really are inacurate. Or the Iraqi's just lobbed one that way for spite. Hope the Iranian's were watching on radar where it came from.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/21/2003 02:10 pm ||
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I'm surprised the Iraqis haven't lobbed anything at Israel yet. Maybe Saddam really is dead/wounded, and most local commanders are too afraid to take initiative on their own.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/21/2003 16:03 Comments ||
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"No, no, no, Abdullah! Israel is in the other direction!"
Posted by: H.D. Miller ||
03/21/2003 16:05 Comments ||
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Must be a rocket scientist. If I don't launch, then Saddam will shot me and my family. If I launch on Israel or Kuwait then I and my family will face retribution. If I send it...... Allah be praised. Yes, yes, I did faithfully carry out the order to launch as you ordered.
Posted by: Don ||
03/21/2003 18:36 Comments ||
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In the hours before and after the president's order Wednesday night to begin the war to topple Saddam Hussein's regime, the DNC sent e-mails to its grass-roots activists that said "Democratic leaders are standing up to Bush; Make sure you stand up for them!... Republicans will stop at nothing to gain a political advantage from this military conflict." But not us Donks! We're above such low-brow partisan tactics!
Another e-mail sent Wednesday to DNC's members and supporters just hours before hostilities in Iraq were about to begin, said, "We must spread the word that Democrats are standing up and speaking out for all Americans in this dangerous time." Even if they don't agree with us...
The e-mail took Republicans to task for rebuking Mr. Daschle for his attack on the president's war policies Tuesday. The rebuke by Mr. Hastert and other Republicans triggered a wave of DNC e-mails to Democrats, saying that "Republicans have responded with personal attacks on Democrats, questioning their patriotism in order to gain a political advantage from the military conflict." Mr. Daschle and his Democratic counterpart in the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, have vowed to continue to speak out on the war, while other Democrats say the time for debate is over. "There are better ways to express opposition to the war. I don't think the statements by the Democratic leadership have been examples of better ways of expressing opposition to the war," said Bill Galston, a veteran policy strategist with the centrist-leaning Democratic Leadership Council. Somebody shut that guy up, quick!
Interviews with more than a dozen Democratic state chairmen during the past two days showed that while all of them defended Mr. Daschle for speaking out, they wanted the party to end its criticism of the war. Beginning to suspect it doesn't play well in flyover country, are we?
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/21/2003 02:27 pm ||
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It is one thing to occasionally shoot onself in the foot, but it takes a real moron to amputate ones foot and place it in ones mouth. It also takes a real man or woman to admit that they may be wrong and to move on. Number two seems to be evident here.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2003 14:29 Comments ||
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Thanks (Fred?) for condensing my layout ... I haven't quite got the hang of posting here yet.
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/21/2003 14:39 Comments ||
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... and Senator Byrd will continue to weep and find the manhole cover in West Virginia that hasn't been named after him.
A senior Lebanese Shiite Muslim cleric called Friday for Iraqis to topple President Saddam Hussein, blaming him for their country's destruction. Grand Ayatollah Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who strongly opposes the U.S.-led war on Iraq, also accused the United States of behaving like an "arrogant empire" by ignoring the anti-war protests worldwide. Delivering the Friday prayers sermon to about 2,000 worshippers at a mosque in southern Beirut, Fadlallah said: "America is challenging the world with war and disdaining all the millions of people who oppose the war against Iraq. It is threatening and rebuking the (UN) Security Council because it did not adopt its (U.S.) second resolution, which authorizes its war." Yeah. When a bunch of goobers get out in the street and roll their eyes and shout imprecations, we should adjust our foreign policy accordingly...
"While confirming our rejection of Iraq's occupation by the arrogant (powers), particularly America, ... we call on the Iraqi people to topple the tyrant who has destroyed Iraq and thrown the Arab and Islamic region into disarray," he said. "I mean, Sammy has hosed things so badly we may never be able to get the old Islamic revolution going again..."
Fadlallah called for support for an Iraqi revolt against Saddam. "We call on the free (peoples) in the world to help them (Iraqis) in their future uprising, so that they can decide their own fate and future by themselves," he said. Earlier this month, Fadlallah condemned Saddam, describing him as "the worst beast in human history, who killed his people, comrades, killed and fought Iran, occupied Kuwait and confounded his people and all our existence."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 12:59 pm ||
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Well, give the guy SOME credit points for TRYING to be evenhanded.
North Korea said on Friday the U.S.-led Iraq war was part of a strategy to attack it and told South Korea it was playing with fire if it tried to boost defenses against the North during the Gulf conflict. "It's all about us..."
North Korea also made its first comment on the U.S.-led Iraq war, saying it would have "disastrous consequences." State-run KCNA said annual U.S. military exercises being held in South Korea showed the United States wanted to dominate the world by taking out Iraq and the North. "What merits serious attention is that the DPRK-targeted saber-rattling is being staged in real earnest, timed to coincide with the U.S. attack on Iraq," the agency said. They just can't seem to shake those delusions of importance...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 11:41 am ||
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You gotta wonder what they're thinking. If Shock & Awe attack is not used the US will still have tons and tons of conventional stuff to Shock & Awe North Korea/Iran/Syria/whomever with little notice.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
03/21/2003 12:13 Comments ||
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This is a little disturbing. I just saw a banner on Spanish-language Telemundo which I think said that North Korea was saying that "The situation with the US is at the border of nuclear war" and that South Korea was making military preparations against the north. Unfortunately, Telemundo's site is Flash-infested, and my Spanish [NOTE] is not all that hot, so I can't find a search button. Don't see anything that extreme-sounding in English-language media.
#4
Saw somewhere they're claiming this is a test of our ability to wage two wars at once.
Brilliant. If they believe that is the case, why are they in such a hurry to assist us with the test?
#5
Damn, Kimmie has spotted the stretegic bases we have captured in the middle of western Iraq and their strategic location in relation to his shitty little country. For $15B, Saddam would have let us use them to attack NK...
Kimmie, please take a number and wait in the lobby.
#6
Angie,
This is the period of the annual joint service multinational (US&ROK) major field exercise. This has been ongoing for decades at this time of the year. The 2ID is pretty much fully deployed out of cantonments along with its support elements. The Americans have beefed up their naval and land based air support. Much of the ROK forces are in the same deployment profile. Now is the worst time for the NKoreans to even think of an adventurous death ride south because the US&ROK are in their best position to receive any such nonsense.
Posted by: Don ||
03/21/2003 13:57 Comments ||
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Whats remarkable is: We are doing a full scale airwar and ground assault in Iraq. We are preparing to airlift an entire division (the 101) across Iraq. We launched the largest "time on target" in history - without hitting unintended targets! We are mounting a heavy airmoble assault in Afghanistan. We have a full "Heavy" divisional element on a war footing in Korea. We have Marines and Navy standing by in the pacific. We have special forces operating in the Phillipines (You'll read more on this later I bet). And our air defense forces are defending the Kuwaitis, Saudis, Japanese, Turks, S. Koreans, etc.
All with MINIMAL casualties on BOTH sides (remember last gulf war we killed 60,000+ of their soldiers, and several thousand civilians).
This is one of the most remarkable global operations in the history of military actions of all time.
If you have any knowledge of military history, military operations, logistics, etc - you will be in awe of this as I am.
The militant Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad urged Iraqis on Friday to carry out suicide bombings against invading U.S. and British forces in Iraq. "Iraqis should prepare explosive belts and would-be martyrs (suicide bombers) to combat the U.S. occupiers," senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz-al-Rantissi told Reuters in the Gaza Strip. "The American aggressors, the American invaders are now on Iraqi soil, therefore, Iraqis must confront them with all possible means, including martyrdom (suicide) operations." "Yep. Yep. That's what you guys ought to do. You oughta kill yourselves..." Professional Holy ManSheik Ahmed Yassin, the group's spiritual leader, later echoed Rantissi's call for suicide attacks and urged the Iraqi people "to destroy every tank, to kill every soldier." "Yup. Like Abdul Aziz said, you guys oughta kill yourselves. We'll be right behind you..."
The Islamic Jihad, another militant group that has carried out suicide bombings against Israelis, also took up the call. "We urge all fighters... to advance in their explosive belts toward the invading forces, to blow up their blessed bodies amid the new aggressive crusader forces," it said in a statement sent to Reuters in Beirut. "You'll never be victorious unless you're flying meat!"
Thousands of Palestinians also voiced their anger over the U.S.-led war in Iraq by jumping up and down and making faces protesting across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Some demonstrators urged Iraq to attack Tel Aviv — as it did, with Scud missiles, during the 1991 Gulf war.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/21/2003 11:32 am ||
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Pretty Simple as to why Hamas and IJ are pissed - we just took their bankers away (Hussein/Iraq). They now will have to go directly to the funding source - the Saudis - or beg Syria to serve as the intermediary cash funnel between them and the Saudi Wahabbis.
If we press Syria hard, and keep sending pictures of Baghdad to Rihyad, IJ and Hamas will find their funds dried up.
#2
OldSpook----Right on! We are playing "follow the money" with every tool we have in the box. Right now we are using the REAL BIG TOOLS in Iraq. Maybe we won't need to use them as much in the future. The sooner the money is taken away from the neighborhood terrorists and back into the local economies where it can be used for the betterment of the populace, the sooner the terror war will be over.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/21/2003 15:28 Comments ||
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Rantisi and Yassin both need bullets in their heads.
It's time for these two assholes to experience that which they call on others to do for them.
The leader of rebels who captured this coup-prone African nation's capital has asked his fighters to hand over their weapons to troops from neighboring Chad, prompting the insurgents to accuse their leader of betraying them. "Thanks boys, couldn't have done it without you. Omar, grab their guns and grease 'em first chance you get."
Former army chief Gen. Francois Bozize's fighters took over Bangui last weekend as President Ange-Felix Patasse visited Niger, sparking days of looting. About 100 Chadian troops flew into the city on Wednesday to restore order at Bozize's request. The Chadian soldiers said Thursday that Bozize had given them the orders for disarm his fighters. Not Libyans?
Loulou Rodrigue, a self-described rebel mercenary, stood with other insurgents near an armored vehicle after Chadian soldiers in red berets relieved them of their weapons. ``They took all the guns we have, even the pistols,'' he said. ``What a surprise. Bozize could have asked us to return the guns. He shouldn't have told the Chadians to take them from us.'' "Yeah, we was almost done lootin' and pillagin'!"
The soldiers told insurgents to report to military barracks for payment and dismissal, or integration into the Central African Republic's mutiny-prone army. Great idea, incorporate a bunch of rebel hard boys into a mutiny-prone army. I think the new Prez won't be in power too long.
Many rebels complained that Bozize had always planned to shunt them aside, even after they fought to install him in power. "But lootin' is lootin', ya know!"
Bozize's fighters attacked the capital on Saturday and quickly captured the city's airport, causing Patasse to fly to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he remained Thursday. By Sunday evening, Bangui had fallen to the rebels and Bozize had suspended Central African Republic's constitution and parliament, naming himself president. For days, citizens and Patasse's presidential guards looted the city's downtown while bandits robbed homes at gunpoint in the suburbs. While the pillaging has largely subsided, banks, schools and government offices remained shuttered on Thursday. Bozize — who has promised a sham transitional government then fradulent elections — met with members of opposition groups and civic organizations, state radio reported. ``We should without delay set up ... a government well-accepted by the people, composed of honest and hardworking elements who know what a government is,'' Bozize said on national radio, without providing details. Where's he going to find a bunch of honest people in the CAR? Unless he's planning on inviting in the US Marines, which isn't likely.
Central African Republic — a country of about 3.6 million people that is rich in gold, diamonds and uranium — has been plagued by military revolts and other uprisings since gaining independence from France in 1960. Patasse, elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1999, has been accused by opponents of rampant corruption, and his rule has been increasingly divisive. Bozize, a one-time Patasse supporter, lost in the 1993 elections. In 2001, he was accused of involvement in a failed coup against Patasse and went into hiding in the rural north and neighboring Chad, where he launched his rebellion. Talk about a sore loser!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2003 09:26 am ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Defense officials told Fox News that today is "The Day" -- the beginning of the end for Saddam Hussein -- and that as many as 3,000 precision-guided bombs will be dropped on specific targets in Baghdad.
Dear Family, Friends, and Brothers! 
