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| Iraq |
| Saddam troops go AWOL |
| 2003-03-17 |
| SOURCE is the British tabloid THE SUN. The CAPS are theirs... TENS of thousands of terrified Iraqi soldiers have DESERTED before a single shot is fired. The number of conscripts fleeing for their lives was put by intelligence experts at between 20,000 and 30,000. The mass desertion in the face of overwhelming Allied might means up to 15 per cent of Saddamâs regular army has gone AWOL. "Decimated" is literally one in ten dead. This is kind of like getting decimated a time and a half, assuming the report is true... A senior British war planner at US Central Command in Qatar said last night: âIraqi soldiers are scared out of their wits at what they know is over their borders. They are not stupid. They know if they hang around thereâs a good chance of things getting very nasty indeed.â Many of us regard decomposition as "very nasty indeed." The exodus â fuelled by leaflet drops warning Saddamâs men to quit or face death â was uncovered by eavesdropping on military communications. RAF Nimrods packed with hi-tech surveillance gear have been flying over Iraq. And the security serviceâs listening posts in Cyprus and at GCHQ in Cheltenham have been working overtime to pick up on phone calls, emails and other intelligence. Thanks to whomever it is that's blabbing... Saddam may not even be able to rely on his âeliteâ Republican Guard. Military planners believe the troops may turn on their generals rather than face the 250,000-strong Allied force. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 "Get back here this minute!" "Seriously, Ibrahim, you go on without me, I gotta take a dump too. I'll catch up with you!" |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-17 23:26:37 |
| #1 They are not stupid and they remember that in GW1 giving up actually saved their lives. "Ibrahim, where are you going? Get back in your tank!" "Ahh.. I'm just going to take a leak over there in the desert. I'll be back in a minute." |
| Posted by: RW 2003-03-17 14:25:54 |