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Republican Guard Heads Toward U.S. Troops
A large contingent of Iraq's elite Republican Guard headed south in a 1,000-vehicle convoy Wednesday toward U.S. Marines in central Iraq - an area that already has seen the heaviest fighting of the war. In Baghdad, Iraqi officials said two cruise missiles hit a residential area, killing 14 people.

Word of the Republican Guard advance came as U.S. units in central Iraq appeared to be shifting their strategy because of the attacks from Iraqi militiamen. Instead of racing to Baghdad, some units were moving slower to clear out pockets of opposition.

``We're going into a hunting mode right now,'' said Lt. Col. B.T. McCoy of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. ``We're going to start hunting down instead of letting them take the cheap shots.''
It's "elk-hunter" hunting season for the Marines! Guys, the ranger has licensed you to use large-bore weapons. Don't worry about bringing any of the varmints home, just field-dress them for us.
Cobra pilots resupplying Marines in central Iraq cited military intelligence reports that 3,000 Republican Guard troops were moving from Baghdad to the city of Kut, and 2,000 more were seen south of Kut.

The Iraqis, issued their first fable report of battlefield foolishness action by the Republican Guards. A military spokesman said a Guard special forces unit attacked coalition troops in south-central Iraq, destroying six armored vehicles and inflicting an unspecified number of casualties. There was no allied confirmation of such an attack.

Together, the reports appeared to signal that the Republican Guard, Saddam Hussein's best trained and most loyal force, was still not prepared to take the offensive despite days of allied air strikes and missile attacks on its positions.
Oh, please, please take the offensive.
The U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division drew to within 50 miles of Baghdad, west of where the Republican Guard was advancing. Other American forces were expected to join soon in squeezing the capital from several directions.

Asked about military conditions south of Baghdad, Brooks said ``we've not seen any significant movement'' in the area by the Republican Guard. ``There have been local positionings and survival positionings, but not serious attacks,'' he said.
"They looked like they were digging mighty big holes to hide in, which suited us fine, since it made it easier to back-fill the lot of them."
Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=11939