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| Iraq |
| Applause as Marines enter Basra |
| 2003-03-22 |
| Coming into Basra as part of a massive military convoy, I encountered a stream of young men, dressed in what appeared to be Iraqi army uniforms, applauding the US marines as they swept past in tanks. That says more than I could ever say... US predictions that many here would choose to surrender rather than fight appear to have come true. Leaflets had been dropped on the city, urging members of the 51st Iraqi Division to surrender, and I saw hundreds doing so. Late on Friday night, they were lined up along the roadside, being separated according to rank, checked for weapons and documented. Processing EPWs is something like triage. The cannon fodder is basically deloused and sent home. The guys who know something — mostly officers, especially in the Middle East — are prioritized according to what they can be expected to know. Some, however, chose to fight on, and were met with a fierce barrage of artillery fire on Friday night and early Saturday morning. US and British marines now seem confident that they have secured Iraq's second-largest city, Basra. Intermittent shelling continued around the port city throughout Saturday morning. Troops are now securing the city's vast oil fields, although some have been set ablaze. Giant plumes of smoke now dominate the horizon of this historic city as, in what looks like an eerie repeat of the last Gulf War, oil fields are ablaze. As we arrived in Basra, I counted half a dozen oil fields billowing smoke and flame. The Rumeila oil fields account for roughly half of Iraq's oil output and are capable of pumping one million barrels a day. US and British forces succeeded in securing the majority before they could be set alight. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |