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| Axis of Evil |
| War Games Get More Serious |
| 2002-12-23 |
| SOUTH OF KUWAIT-IRAQ BORDER, Dec. 21, 2002 The U.S. Army launched its biggest maneuver in the Kuwaiti desert since the Gulf War on Saturday, throwing thousands of soldiers and hundreds of armored vehicles into live-fire exercises to sharpen their skills ahead of a possible new war with Iraq. The operations got under way as the threat of war increased with declarations by U.N. arms inspectors that Iraq failed to fully account for its banned weapons, and the United States struggled for diplomatic support to declare Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in "material breach" of U.N. resolutions. News of the latest diplomatic confrontations sharpened the expectations among soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, as they rumbled forward in tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles Saturday for two days of live-fire maneuvers in the windblown sands a few miles from the Iraqi border. "This is the biggest maneuver exercise since the Gulf War," Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, commander of the 3rd Division, told The Associated Press. "It really adds focus to our soldiers. They're already one of the best trained divisions in the army, probably in the world." It seems no accident that reporters and TV crews have been invited along for the maneuvers, and some commanders have pointed out the military show of force was a warning to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as well as a chance for soldiers to rehearse for combat. While American officials have said President Bush has not yet decided to launch a war, it appears ever more likely he'll do so soon. One Friday, an administration official said on condition of anonymity that Bush had authorized a doubling of the 50,000 U.S. troops now in the Gulf. The United States has kept a brigade-sized force in Kuwait as a deterrent against Iraqi attack since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. That mission officially has not changed, and no huge prewar buildup of forces has taken place similar to the Gulf War a decade ago. But on the ground, the soldiers are clearly aware that they would form the core of any invasion into Iraq. On their gun barrels, they have painted names that include the flight numbers of the Sept. 11 airplanes that were hijacked, as well as a threat that now seems more timely: "All the way to Baghdad." "I kind of feel sorry for them," said 1st Lt. Ryan Kuo of Reno, Nevada. "It is not like 10 years ago. The weapons we have now don't miss." They know why they are there, and they're ready. God Bless. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 In fact, let them go INSIDE the burned out tank hulls if they want to... the ones pierced by depleted-uranium-tipped shells. |
| Posted by: Yo 2002-12-24 16:11:52 |
| #3 Chuck! By telling them not to stand in front of the tanks, you're just provoking them to... Oh... Fergit it! Don't mind me! DON'T STAND IN FRONT OF THE TANKS! |
| Posted by: Ptah 2002-12-23 21:00:21 |
| #2 "No, no. That's not Henri. He's not nearly that thin..." |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-12-23 13:29:15 |
| #1 And to our journalist friends from France, please, please, don't stand in front of the tanks. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2002-12-23 13:14:37 |