A son of a prominent renegade Afghan commander and nine other fighters have been killed in a clash with US and Afghan government forces in eastern Afghanistan. The eldest son of Pashtun commander Padshah Khan Zadran and nine other rebels were killed in a four-hour battle with US forces on Sunday. The fighting took place in Utmaney village after US forces launched an operation from the town of Gardez. It is the first reported clash between the Afghan warlord and US troops. Didn't come off very well, did he?
US military spokesman Colonel Roger King told a news briefing at the US military headquarters in Bagram, north of the Afghan capital, Kabul, there had been a firefight but could not confirm anyone had been killed. âUS Special Forces engaged approximately 10 to 20 personnel southeast of Gardez at 10 am yesterday (Sunday),â King said. âThere is no confirmation of coalition casualties or damage to equipment.â King said the US forces had used Apache helicopters for close air support. Haji Jailani Khan, son of Zadran and in charge of his fatherâs forces, along with nine fighters were killed in the fighting. Another 10 people were injured, Ghami Khan said. It's starting to look like a good day all around...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 02:39 pm ||
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bring back Ghandi (wrong country i konw :P and wrong religion but right ethics-- maybe he could persuade people we want to help .) skin colour and religion doesnt matter
Islam holds no appeal for me as it seems to be 900 years behind reality ..
sooner people realise life is short and sweet and full of fruits to enjoy the better .
seems to me all in a hurry to kill themselves . sheesh hehe go have a politically correct burger from Macdonalds /snicker
A leading pro-reformist cleric has been freed after spending eight years in jail without trial in Saudi Arabia, his supporters say. Sheikh Saeed bin Zuair, reportedly Saudi Arabia's longest-serving political prisoner, was released "without conditions", a spokesman for the UK-based Movement for Islamic Reform said. Is Iraq starting to pay off already?
"[Sheikh Zuair's release] was a surprise decision which we were informed of only an hour beforehand," the cleric's son, Mubarak, told Reuters news agency. Sheikh Zuair was detained in 1995 during a government crackdown on dissidents. Human rights groups say Sheikh Zuair was tortured while he was in jail. Sheikh Zuair was arrested at his home in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after calling for more democracy in the staunchly conservative kingdom. He was also held for objecting to a religious edict allowing peace with Israel. Surprised nobody killed him for that one...
The cleric, a former professor at Imam Mohammad bin Saud University in Riyadh, was never charged or never appeared in court.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 01:54 pm ||
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#1
Actually, if I'm reading the story right, it looks as if he objected to PEACE w. Israel.
Allahu Akbar, for a moment there, I thought Islam had become some sort of peaceful religion...
#3
"He was also held for objecting to a religious edict allowing peace with Israel."
...? Is it meant to read disallowing? Shurely shome mishtake shomewhere.
#4
Gack! I read that sentence at least three times, and didn't reed it write onse... I'll now spend the rest of the day with a bucket on my head.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2003 14:41 Comments ||
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#5
Cancel the bucket Fred. There is too much going on now. I think bulldog is right. They must have forgotten the dis in the report.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 14:54 Comments ||
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#6
MIRA, the London-based Saudi opposition group mentioned in the article, is an al-Qaeda front who is mad that the Saudi government isn't radical enough for their sakes. This guy's release could be seen as a sign that the government is attempting to make concessions to the extremists, which could indicate just how badly things are going behind the scenes for those members of House Saud who desire to retain a US military presence in the Kingdom and those who want to go all-out in the jihad against the kufr.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/25/2003 14:57 Comments ||
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#7
I remember this. He was jailed for OPPOSING the recognition of Israel. Wonder what his release right now means....
Posted by: tek ||
03/25/2003 14:58 Comments ||
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Link found at LGF--too funny! Why don't any American newspapers do this?
COWARDLY French sailors are enjoying a holiday on the Thames â while our brave boys and girls risk their lives to topple Saddam. Crew of the coastal patrol vessel FS Flamant are unashamedly flying a Tricolour while moored in central London. So The Sun steamed into action yesterday by blitzing them with white feathers â the cowardâs symbol.
We hired a 38ft yacht for our daring assault on the 150ft ship, which is moored next to Tower Bridge. First, we hoisted up the Red Ensign flag as we left St Katharineâs dock. Then we circled the ship and shouted to the crew: âWe have le feather blanc for you grands poulets.â We sounded our horn and then moved into position.
As the rattled French seamen looked on in amazement, we bombarded them with the feathers â which showered their deck. Sailors ran for a hose and sounded the shipâs booming horn to warn us off. A senior officer wagged his finger and shouted âNo, noâ.
Then the wet blankets rang the police and asked them to deal with us.
One amused officer told us: âWeâve had a complaint about you from the French warship. Take this as a friendly warning. Theyâre very edgy about all this.â "Two more minutes and they were ready to surrender."
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 06:14 pm ||
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Do you think that the average French soldier and sailor are happy with their government's stance? The French are so anti-military that I suspect some of the rank and file might be alienated. Maybe not. Either way, all French bashing should be directed at Chiraq and their left-wing-intellectual-dominated media and their Jihad-wannabe Muslim immgigrants.
Worried it could be shut out of business deals in post-war Iraq, France is drawing up plans to win French companies access to lucrative oil and reconstruction contracts. The government is determined that French companies will be part of rebuilding Iraq, despite President Jacques Chirac's vigorous opposition to the war, a Finance Ministry official said. Gilles Munier, an executive board member of the French-Iraq Association for Economic Cooperation, said business leaders and government representatives were studying how to gain a foothold in post-war Iraq. He said a meeting between France's most powerful business federation, government leaders and the French-Iraq Association for Economic Cooperation was scheduled for April 3. Might want to think about rescheduling that meeting, guys...
The Finance Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed discussions were under way with business leaders about Iraq. Some French are concerned that a U.S.-led administration in Iraq will favor companies from the United States and other pro-war countries while penalizing companies from France and other war opponents. No! Really? Why would they do that?
Officials in Paris say French firms' experience in working in Iraq would be an advantage. French companies â many with ties to Baghdad stretching back decades â have established themselves as the largest suppliers of weaponry goods to Iraq since a U.N. trade embargo was partially lifted in 1996.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 04:05 pm ||
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#1
Chirac's gang isn't even fit for ridicule, let alone contempt. For either, your opponents must take you seriously. I suspect that the French government thinks that all will be well once the shooting stops. In part they are right. We shall not shoot up Paris or salt the Bordeaux, but I expect that we will ignore them at every turn. As usual, the Frog-politicos are the last to recognize their own irrelevance.
#2
No problem, President Jacques, You are invited to bid on any piece of business. However, please be advised all specs will be in "inches, pounds and miles", all electrical will be in good old 2 prong, you know, just like at the UN, and all bids written in US Dollars... not those colorful Wahooties you buy bagguetes with on the Left Bank!
#6
"Thank you. We have received your request, and will process it as soon as possible. We must say, however, that we have also received requests from Germany, Russia, and China that we must consider as well. We will notify you immediately if your request is approved. The notification will be forwarded between two Buffs, aimed at Premir Chirac's anal orifice, at full throttle."
(In)Sincerely,
Iraq Reconstruction Agency
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 16:55 Comments ||
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#7
Thank you for calling the US government Iraq rebuilding program. All of our operators are busy right now. Your call is very important to us. Please remain on the line...
Thank you for calling the US government Iraq rebuilding program. All of our operators are busy right now. Your call is very important to us. Please remain on the line...
Thank you for calling the US government Iraq rebuilding program. All of our operators are busy right now. Your call is very important to us. Please remain on the line...
Posted by: Christopher Johnson ||
03/25/2003 17:46 Comments ||
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#8
Sure, there is a place for French business in a post war Iraq.
#10
All I gotta say is they better start with the rebuild of that friggen Mcdonalds they trashed,Cause if I wander over there and can't get a Le'BigMac,I'm knocking Frenchy out.
#11
The Froggies should worry more about the Muslims in their own country. Within ten years, there will be near-civil war in France. Or a peaceful surrender to the Islamists. Whichever.
Posted by: eric ||
03/25/2003 21:39 Comments ||
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#12
To paraphrase Marie Antionette, "Let them eat shit."
German prosecutors said on Tuesday they had filed charges against two German businessmen they accused of trying to deliver missile components to Iraq. I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you!.....
A spokesman for the prosecutor's office in the western town of Bielefeld said the men had admitted trying to sell the missile parts to Iraq in breach of a United Nations embargo and German export regulations. The office has filed charges against the men, who have not been named, with the district court in the city of Muenster, the spokesman told Reuters. State prosecutor Eckhard Baade told German ARD television that one of the accused had admitted that he and a business partner met three Iraqi generals in Baghdad last December where they received a list of required electronic components. Three months ago
The two accused had planned to get some of the components produced in Germany and to deliver them to Iraq, ARD said in a statement. One of the men had admitted that a blueprint confiscated by police had been the design of a missile guidance system, ARD said, citing Baade. Ooops!
The case follows the conviction in January of a German businessman who was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for exporting weapons material to Iraq in 1999. See a pattern here? Wonder what else we'll find after we start digging?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 01:03 pm ||
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Do you realize one thing? German businessmen break the law. They are prosecuted... in Germany. Justice is upheld.
If someone in the US molests a child and is prosecuted, would anyone say that the US is a child molester nation?
Of course when you start digging you have the chance to ... errr... only find what you want to find. And shred the embarrassing rest.
#5
Anon, good for the Germans. Let's see some more of this, because I suspect there is more there.
Funny, I haven't seen much about French prosecutors bringing charges against French companies and businessmen for illegal arms sales to Iraq. Two explanations: 1) there aren't any. 2) hmmmm ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 14:49 Comments ||
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Amiland's been reporting on this stuff. Last count Germany was looking into 109 companies.
#8
The reason we don't say that the U.S. is child molesters is because it happens everywhere. Illegal arms deals to Iraq don't come from everywhere. They seem to only come from the nations that are against the war, and Anti-American. And if you still can't figure out why we're suspicious about these countries, it's because we've been proven correct. How many illegal arms deals to Iraq come from the U.S. Why is there such a massive difference between the two nations?, and how on earth can they say that this is proof that Germany is strict with their companies? If Germany doesn't let their companies get away with it, how do they manage to keep doing it?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/25/2003 16:12 Comments ||
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#9
In Texas killers get executed. Still Texans kill others, right?
The UN sanctions have been violated by many countries. The stricter the sanctions the bigger the profit. Ask the DEA (re War on Drugs).
Only from nations that are against the war? Well most nations ARE against the war. Micronesia, Palau, El Salvador and all the other "please-don't tell-others-coalition-countries" are not really big weapons producers, right?
One reason why Iraqis felt more confident with Non-US dealers might be that they preferred to deal with people from nations that didn't bomb the non fly zones every other day.
We might never find out if US companies (maybe under a French hat) violated the sanctions. After all the US will get the papers first and they might prefer to embarrass others, not themselves.
#11
anon, wasn't that a U.N.-sanctioned no-fly zone?
What was wrong with bombing it every other day, when Iraq was shooting at us every day?
Posted by: eric ||
03/25/2003 21:50 Comments ||
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#12
"Anonymous. This is the Black Helicopter Squadron.
Put down the bong and come out of your room in your mothers' cellar with your hands up. We are taking you to Texas to be interrogated by the DEA..."
Remember those famous weapons inspectors in Iraq? Remember the Iraqi declarations in November? Do you think if Iraq had done business with U.S. companies they would have concealed that? It would have been the first thing in the damn report.
No, sir, French, German and Russian businesses have dirty, dirty hands in Iraq. The only question is whether their governments were aware of the transactions. That's all. As for China, well, business is government there.
If the German government shows good faith, and has shown good faith, we're not going to go hard on them. France has shown no good faith. The jury is out on the Russians. The Chinese can go fuck themselves.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
03/26/2003 0:44 Comments ||
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#14
...and one more thing.
Will those who said "containment works!" Now step forward and admit that it was a total failure in the last few years? There was no possibility, none, of "re-containing" Saddam. The door was obviously wide open in France, Germany, and Russia.
Yet another nail in the anti-war coffin.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
03/26/2003 0:46 Comments ||
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Serbian police have arrested a senior special police officer on suspicion of assassinating Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Mr Djindjic's successor as prime minister, Zoran Zivkovic, said the man was a deputy commander of the Unit for Special Operations (JSO), Zvezdan Jovanovic, aged 38. "Police have identified the person who, there are good grounds to suspect, fired at late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic," he told a news conference. "He was arrested yesterday and has been detained for further investigation."
Just hours after the killing, Serbian authorities blamed a criminal gang led by a former JSO commander Milorad Lukovic. Mr Zivkovic said the current JSO commander, Dusan Maricic, had been removed from his position and detained for further investigation. He also said police had found a German-made Heckler Koch G3 sniper rifle, which they believe to be the murder weapon. But what happened to Mladjan the Rat? I'm so confused...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 01:01 pm ||
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"But what happened to Mladjan the Rat?"
He ratted on Zvez. Pliers and blowtorches will do that.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 13:38 Comments ||
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#2
what genius would ally in a crime ring with a guy nicknamed "The Rat"? How about Tony "The guy wearing a wire"? or Jimmy the "Doublecrosser"
sweet jesus
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 18:41 Comments ||
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This transcript of an interview with Fisk by an rabid antiwar organization needs Fisking for sure! The problem is, one could take serious issue with every Fisk assertion. Severely edited. Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! Correspondent: Robert Fisk, you wrote in one of your most recent articles, actually, the title of it was "Iraq Will Become a Quagmire for the Americans"
I believe that was a follow-up to his critically-acclaimed "Afghanistan Will Become a Quagmire for the Americans"...
and I think many people within the US administration were surprised to find the kinds of resistance they have in places like Nasiriya. We have the two Apache helicopters that have apparently been shot down and many US casualties so far. Do you think the Americans were caught by surprise, particularly by the resistance in the south where everyone was saying that the people are against Saddam Hussein? Just take a look at the footage from Umm Qasr today and you'll eat your words. Robert Fisk: Well, they shouldnât have been caught by surprise; there were plenty of us writing that this was going to be a disaster and a catastrophe and that they were going to take casualties.
Casualties? In a war? That's never happened before...
You know, one thing I think the Bush administration has shown as a characteristic, is that it dreams up moral ideas and then believes that theyâre all true, and characterizes this policy by assuming that everyone else will then play their roles. In their attempt to dream up an excuse to invade Iraq, theyâve started out, remember, by saying first of all that there are weapons of mass destruction. We were then told that al Qaeda had links to Iraq, which, there certainly isnât an al Qaeda link.
"Pay no attention to those guys up north with the turbans and automatic weapons..."
Then we were told that there were links to September 11th, which was rubbish. And in the end, the best the Bush administration could do was to say, âWell, weâre going to liberate the people of Iraqâ. And because it provided this excuse, it obviously then had to believe that these people wanted to be liberated by the Americans. And, as the Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said a few hours ago, I was listening to him in person, the Americans expected to be greeted with roses and music â and they were greeted with bullets.
Damn! Same thing happened to the Baathists today. Do y'suppose it's something going around?
I think you see what has happened is that- and as he pointed out â the American administration and the US press lectured everybody about how the country would break apart where Shiites hated Sunnis and Sunnis hated Turkmen and Turkmen hated Kurds, and so on. And yet, most of the soldiers fighting in southern Iraq are actually Shiite. Theyâre not Sunnis, theyâre not Tikritis, theyâre not from Saddamâs home city.
They're surrendering...
Saddam did not get knocked off his perch straight away, and I think that, to a considerable degree, the American administration allowed that little cabal of advisors around Bush â Iâm talking about Perle, Wolfowitz, and these other people âpeople who have never been to war, never served their country, never put on a uniform â nor, indeed, has Mr. Bush ever served his country â(A bit of antisemitic sentiment here, Robert? You're beginning to sound like Pat Buchanan. Serving in the Texas Air National Guard doesn't count?) they persuaded themselves of this Hollywood scenario of GIs driving through the streets of Iraqi cities being showered with roses by a relieved populace who desperately want this offer of democracy that Mr. Bush has put on offer â as reality.
Guess some do, some don't, and some want it for themselves but not for somebody else. I think we're working on adjusting the ratios right now...
And the truth of the matter is that Iraq has a very, very strong political tradition of strong anti-colonial struggle. It doesnât matter whether thatâs carried out under the guise of kings or under the guise of the Arab Socialist Baâath party, or under the guise of a total dictator. There are many people in this country who would love to get rid of Saddam Hussein, Iâm sure, but they donât want to live under American occupation.
Shouldn't be a permanent thing, unless they import a bunch of Paleostinians...
The nearest I can describe it â and again, things can change â maybe the pack of cards will all collapse tomorrow â but if I can describe it, it would be a bit like the situation in 1941 â and I hate these World War II parallels because I think itâs disgusting to constantly dig up the second world war â Hitler is dead and he died in 1945 and we shouldnât use it, but if you want the same parallel, youâll look at Operation: Barbarosa, where the Germans invaded Russia in 1941 believing that the Russians would collapse because Stalin was so hated and Communism was so hated. And at the end of the day, the Russians preferred to fight the Germans to free their country from Germany, from Nazi rule, rather than to use the German invasion to turn against Stalin. And at the end of the day, a population many of whom had suffered greatly under Communism fought for their motherland under the leadership of Marshal Stalin against the German invader.
Funny Bob should bring that particular operation up. Talk about a screw-up! The Fritzies invade, and in fact are greeted in many places as liberators, because "Marshal Stalin" was so thoroughly hated â really, a very close parallel with Sammy and Co. So what does Fritz do? He starts treating the inhabitants like Ãntermenschen. As long as we don't treat the Iraqis like animals, we eventually arrive at an understanding, the occupation will be short, and what we leave behind will be stable.
A similar situation occurred in 1980 when Saddam himself invaded Iran. There had just been, 12 months earlier, a revolution in Iran and the Islamic Republic had come into being. It was believed here in Baghdad that if an invasion force crossed the border from Iraq â supported again in this case by the Americans â
If you keep repeating the same lies, eventually your lips fall off...
that the Islamic Republic would fall to pieces; that it would collapse under its own volition; that is couldnât withstand a foreign invasion. I actually crossed the border with the Iraqi forces in 1980, I was reporting on both sides, and I remember reaching the first Iranian city called Horam Shar and we came under tremendous fire; mortar fire, sniper fire, and artillery fire, and I remember suddenly thinking as I hid in this villa with a number of Iraqi commandos, âMy goodness, the Iranians are fighting for their countryâ.
Sammy sent the People's Army and the Mukhabrat into Iran. The Arab Ãbermenschen started throwing their weight around, and what could have been a war of liberationi turned into a meat grinder.
And I think the same thing is happening now, and, obviously, we know that with the firepower they have the Americans can batter their way into these cities and they can take over Baghdad, but the moral ethos behind this war is that you Americans are supposed to be coming to liberate this place. And, if youâre going to have to smash your way into city after city using armor and helicopters and aircraft, then the whole underpinning and purpose of this war just disappears at least in my dreams, and, the world â which has not been convinced thus far, who thinks this is a wrong war and an unjust war â are going to say, âThen what is this for? They donât want to be liberated by us.â
Guess we'll have to see how this plays out. Some of it don't believe it'll happen that way...
And thatâs when weâre going to come down to the old word: Oil. Second verse, same as the first.
Whatâs quite significant is in the next few hours the Oil Minister in Iraq is supposed to be addressing the press, and that might turn out to be one of the more interesting press conferences that weâve had, maybe even more interesting, perhaps, than the various briefings from military officials about the course of the war.
JS: Robert Fisk, what are you seeing in terms of the preparations for the defense of Baghdad? The people that weâve been interviewing inside of Iraq - both ordinary Iraqis as well as journalists and others, are saying that there arenât really visible signs that there are any overt preparations underway. Whatâs your sense? Robert Fisk: Well, it doesnât look like Stalingrad to me, but I guess in Stalingrad there probably werenât a lot of preparations. Iâve been more than 20 miles outside of Baghdad, and you can certainly see troops building big artillery vetments around the city. I mean, positions for heavy artillery and mortars, army vehicles hidden under overpasses, the big barracks of long ago â as in Serbia before the NATO bombardment have long been abandoned. Most of these cruise missiles that we hear exploding at night are bursting into government buildings, ministries, offices and barracks that have long ago been abandoned. Thereâs nobody inside them; they are empty.
That's too bad. But then, they can't go back to them, either...
Iâve watched ministries take all their computers out, trays- even the pictures from the walls. That is the degree to which these buildings are empty; they are shells. Inside the city, there have been a lot of trenches dug beside roads, sandbag positions set up. In some cases, holes dug with sandbags around them to make positions on road intersections to make positions for snipers and machine gunners. This is pretty primitive stuff. It might be WW2 in fabrication, but it doesnât look like the kind of defenses that are going to stop a modern, mechanized army like that of the United States or Britain â I think the US is a little more modern than we are.
Ummm... Yes. We're more modern than most third world countries run by tin-hat dictators backed by outmoded ideological systems...
I donât think it needs to be, because Americaâs power is in its firepower, its mechanized state, its sophistication of its technology. Iraqi military power is insane; these people are invading us and we continue to resist them â active resistance is a principle element of Iraqâs military defense. Itâs in the act of resistance, not whether you can stop this tank or that tank. And, the fact of the matter is, and itâs become obvious in the Middle East over the last few years; the West doesnât want to take casualties. Too bad you don't have access to the latest research, from your location, Bob.
Actually, that's true. As Patton is reputed to have said, we prefer to let the other poor bastard die for his country. But in the West, we're not the property of the state, to be disposed of at some tin-hat dictator's whim...
They donât want to die. Nobody wants to die, but some people out here realize a new form of warfare has set in where, the United States, if they want to invade a country, they will bombard it. They will use other peopleâs soldiers to do it. Look at the way the Israelis used Lebanese mercenaries of the South Lebanon army in Lebanon. Look at the way the Americans used the KLA in Kosovo or the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. But here in Iraq there isnât anyone they can use; the Iraqi opposition appears to be hopeless.
Hmmm... Light brown, both sides, light coating of butter... Yep. They're toast.
The Iraqis have not risen up against their oppressors as they did in 1991 when they were betrayed by the Americans and the British after being urged to fight Saddam â theyâre staying at home. Theyâre letting the Americans do the liberating. If the Americans want to liberate them, fine, let the Americans do it â but the Americans arenât doing very well at the moment.
Five days, 50 miles from Baghdad, approximately a dozen combat casualties to date, 3500 prisoners, and something over 1000 enemy dead, with about 60 civilian dead to date... That's terrible.
You see, weâve already got a situation down in Basra where the British army have admitted firing artillery into the city of Basra, and then winging on afterward talking about âWeâre being fired at by soldiers hiding among civiliansâ. Well, Iâm sorry; all soldiers defending cities are among civilians. But now the British are firing artillery shells into the heavily populated city of Basra.
Heh heh. Took out the party headquarters, then the locals started taking out the party members. Hope they're successful...
When the British were fired upon with mortars or with snipers from the cragg on the state or the bogside in Delhi and in Northern Ireland, they did not use artillery, but here, apparently, it is ok to use artillery on a crowded city. What on Earth is the British army doing in Iraq firing artillery into a city after invading the country? Is this really about weapons of mass destruction? Is this about al Qaeda? Itâs interesting that in the last few days, not a single reporter has mentioned September 11th.
Probably thinking about keeping their asses from getting shot off at the moment. Everything in its own time, Robert...
This is supposed to be about September 11th. This is supposed to be about the war on terror, but nobody calls it that anymore because deep down, nobody believes it is. So, what is it about? Itâs interesting that there are very few stories being written about oil.
Probably no more than a couple dozen every day...
Weâre told about the oil fields being mined and booby-trapped, some oil wells set on fire â but oil is really not quite the point. Strange enough, in Baghdad, you donât forget it, because in an attempt to mislead the guidance system of heat seeking missiles and cruise missiles, Iraqis are setting fire to large berms of oil around the city. All day, all you see is this sinister black canopy of oil smoke over Baghdad. It blocks out the sun, it makes the wind rise and it gets quite cold; here, you canât forget the word oil. But I donât hear it too much in news reports.
AG: Well, Robert Fisk, weâre going to let you go to sleep. General Colin Powell said that foreign journalists should leave as the campaign of so-called âshock and aweâ is initiated- and it has started. Why have you chosen to remain in Baghdad? Robert Fisk: Because I donât work for Colin Powell, I work for a British newspaper called The Independent; if you read it, youâll find that we are. Itâs not the job of a journalist a famous as ME to snap to the attention of generals. I wrote a piece a couple of weeks ago in my newspaper saying that before the war began in Yugoslavia, the British Foreign Office urged journalists to leave and then said the British intelligence had uncovered a secret plot to take all the foreign reporters hostage in Belgrade. I decided this was a lie and stayedâand it was a lie. In Afghanistan, just before the fall of Khandahar, as I was entering Afghanistan, the British Foreign Office urged all journalists to stay out of Taliban areas and then said the British intelligence had uncovered a plot to take all the foreign reporters hostage. Aware of Yugoslavia, I pressed on to Khandahar and it proved to be a lie. Just before the bombardment here, the British Foreign Office said that all journalists should leave because British intelligence had uncovered a plot by Saddam to take all journalists hostages, at which moment I knew Iâd be safe to stay because it was, of course, the usual lie. What is sad is how many journalists did leave. There were a very large number of reporters who left here voluntarily before the war believing this meretricious nonsense. I should say that the Iraqis have thrown quite a large number of journalists out as well but not one so supportive as I. But I donât think itâs the job of a journalist to run away when war comes just because it happens to be his own side doing the bombing. Iâve been bombed by the British and Americans so many times that itâs not âshock and aweâ anymore, itâs âshock and boreâ, frankly.
#1
No doubt held at his personal residence. Hey Bobby, if it's so boring, why don't you go plant your spotty behind next to an Iraq T-72 and see how exciting it gets, you pathetic waste of a cakehole.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/25/2003 16:28 Comments ||
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#2
Isn't it about time for an Iraqi mob to beat him to a pulp like the Afghans did? It'll be fine with him. And fine with us, too.
#5
Most of the Brits on the web hate fisk. In fact, his name has become synonymous with hard-left pseudorhetoric. The best thing I can say about him is that he acts like a bad Peter Jennings clone. Both Fisk and Jennings should be sent to Indonesia for the duration. Someplace nasty, where they can catch all kinds of crud, and have to deal with "local customs" up close and personal.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 17:29 Comments ||
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#6
What footage from Umm Qasar? Can I get a link?
Posted by: g wiz ||
03/25/2003 18:15 Comments ||
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#7
"these people are invading us and we continue to resist them â active resistance is a principle element of Iraqâs military defense"
To Fisk, the Coalition is "them" and the Iraqi military is "we" and "us"
#8
"the Germans invaded Russia in 1941 believing that the Russians would collapse because Stalin was so hated and Communism was so hated."
Uhhh, no dumbass. Hitler invaded Russia because the Finns kicked Russian butt in the Winter War (1939-40), leaving the impression that Russia was weak. The Finns eventually lost, but the casualty figures were something like 23,000 Finnish dead v. 90,000 Russian dead (rough figures). Even the British didn't think the Finns could put up much of a fight, and that's why they didn't send help.
A day after a co-defendant pleaded guilty to supporting al-Qaida, another member of the "Lackawanna Six" reached a deal with the government Tuesday in which he also admitted attending a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. Yahya Goba, 26, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a charge of providing material resources to a foreign terrorist organization by training at the camp in the spring of 2001. Everyone is falling over themselves copping a plea.
Like Shafal Mosed on Monday, Goba admitted to training to use assault rifles and other weapons at the al-Farooq camp affiliated with Osama bin Laden. He said he and the others heard bin Laden speak about "men willing to becoming martyrs for the cause." With Goba's guilty plea, half of six men from the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna arrested in September 2002 have reached deals to avoid trial, and others are likely to follow. The plea agreements hold the promise of significantly less prison time - with sentences of eight to 10 years - for the men. The initial charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization carry a prison term of up to 15 years. Prosecutors said they would seek a 10-year term for Goba when he is sentenced July 17. Ten years seems OK by me, as long as they don't get out before then. Keep an eye on those prison immam's as well.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 12:29 pm ||
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#1
Sound like, since their supposed ring leader and the principal threat got blotted out in Yemen last year, the Feds might be willing to deal. They must see these guys as a bunch of softcore Gomers that got sucked in and not a big threat.
#2
Prior to 9-11, I monitored numerous posts on the IANA's "Islamway" forum, in which Americans, usually with MSA affilitation, admitted to having taken jihad training in Afghanistan. Captured al-Qaeda manuals reveal that they were trained in the production and use of WMD. These people have to be identified by any means necessary.
Found this old story from The Seattle Times via Cold Fury. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Retired Sgt. Berentson, the man who has kept Muhammad's name and dog-tag number in his wallet for the past 11 years, says the road should have dead-ended for Muhammad years ago. Why Muhammad didn't end up behind bars in 1991, neither Berentson nor anyone else in the U.S. Army's 84th Engineering Company can explain. In the first months of that year, the unit was in the Middle East preparing for the ground-attack phase of the Gulf War. The story, according to Berentson and at least two other former members of the 84th, was that Muhammad threw a thermite grenade into a tent housing 16 of his fellow soldiers. Thermite grenades â made of finely granulated aluminum mixed with a metal oxide, and blasting heat up to 1,200 degrees â are used to destroy equipment during battle. The attack could easily have killed or maimed, but all 16 in the tent, some coughing and choking, escaped unharmed. Berentson was in the tent. He says the grenade went off near him and near a staff sergeant with whom Muhammad had fought earlier that day. The Army's Criminal Investigation Division, Berentson says, concluded Muhammad (then named Williams) was the lead suspect. Muhammad was led away in handcuffs and eventually transferred to another company pending charges. He had been court-martialed twice before for lesser incidents while serving in the Louisiana National Guard. But an indictment over the grenade incident never materialized, and Muhammad's Army file has no record of it. John Muhammad, in case anyone has forgotten, was one of the D.C. snipers.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 10:48 am ||
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#1
Ah yes, that mother.
I had suppressed his existance from my memory and don't care to remember the tension of walking to the Metro (I live in suburban northern Virginia) during that October.
#3
Yes and its also a coincidence that a few dozen mosque leaders preach hate and its a coincidence that honor killings occur in Islamic societies and its a coincidence that the worlds population of terrorists is about 80% Islamic and...
Personally, I'm against this. Throw him out by all means, Australia, but we don't want the vandalizing w***er back...
A British protester who painted 'No War' in red paint at the top of Sydney's Opera House has pleaded with immigration officials not to deport him. Will Saunders, a 42-year-old astronomer, has been living in Australia since 2000 on a work visa sponsored by the Anglo-Australian Observatory. New South Wales state police arrested him and his Australian accomplice David Burgess, 33, within hours of their stunt last Tuesday and charged them with malicious damage, an offence that would normally carry a fine. But the federal government, which has 2,000 troops fighting with the British and American forces in Iraq, told Mr Saunders last week that he would have to explain why they should not deport him.
"'Splain yourself, Lucy!"
After meeting federal immigration officials today, Saunders said his fate had yet to be decided and that he wanted to stay to defend himself in court on April 16. "I love Australia, and I will settle here if you will have me. I apologise to any Australian who feels I have been ungrateful in painting their Opera House," he said, adding that he also planned to raise funds to pay for the cost of cleaning up the graffiti. Listen, space cadet, how would you like to have found Auzzies defacing your home town with idiotic slogans in red letters twenty feet tall?
An Immigration Department spokesman said the case was still being considered.
Toss him, Aussies. You've got a large and fertile country. You can raise your own nutbags. You don't have to import them.
#2
They should make him run a gauntlet of very large, very angry opera singers who are still wearing their Wagner costumes. He'll know that it's over when...ah, forget it.
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 8:45 Comments ||
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#3
He's not sorry. He's issuing a pro-forma apology that's not meant to express regret. Immediately after the incident, he said that he had a perfect defense, because he was committing a minor crime to prevent a major one. In the Voodoo Pixie universe, marking the holy words "NO WAR" on a sacred site will appease the gods of war, who will retire to play canasta. But the rite must include chanting of slogans and much waving of giant puppets. They didn't have the puppets.
Oh, also they weren't in the Voodoo Pixie universe.
#9
It's amazing, isn't it, how quickly these "principled" guys fall apart once they realize there is a price to pay? The Hollywood crowd is doing exactly the same.
They are cowards, through and through.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
03/26/2003 0:54 Comments ||
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The splinter groups of the defunct Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) look set to merge once again, presenting a far greater threat than ever before to sectarian harmony in the country, sources have said. Sources said attempts were being made to merge the 'Usman Chacha' and 'Qari' groups of the LJ so that both could manage joint operations. Earlier, there were some differences between these groups on certain issues which had led to them parting ways and carrying out separate operations. The LJ, a group of Sunni militants which was banned on August 14, 2001 by a presidential order, split into two groups in February 2002. Cleared up that problem, didn't it? Qari Abdul Hai was not satisfied with LJ founder Riaz Basra's policies and, after a dispute on the embezzlement of funds by Riaz Basra, Qari Hai and Asif Ramzi formed their own groups, sources added. Embezzling funds? Oh, c'mon...!
A dispute surrounded Basra's efforts to take the group away from purely sectarian violence to participation also in other terrorist actions, in some cases apparently linked to Al Qaida opertions. Other members of the LJ believed its main purpose was to "eradicate Shias" and sources linked to the group say they saw Basra's efforts as a way to "sidetrack militants from this noble cause". "I mean, there ain't no higher calling than slaughtering Shias. The other infidels can wait 'til later..."
Basra met Al Qaida leaders while in exile in Afghanistan, and apparently became convinced that Muslim militants needed to wage a war against non-Muslims, rather than partcipating in sectarian battles that weakened the Islamic cause. After Basra's death in Vehari at a police encounter that many saw as "highly suspicious" and the arrest of another LJ leader, Akram Lahori from Karachi, the faction remained without a leader. The Qari group became more violent after the September 11 attacks and started suicide attacks against foreigners, apparently with Qari now also following Basra's original line that "this was the need of the times." I notice Qari wasn't one of the guys who exploded...
There were indications that Qari too had been in contact with Al Qaida activists, and like Basra before him, became convinced of the need to "fight in their cause". Other sources say LJ activists were "well paid" for the missions they carried out. Karachi had become the centre of its activities and the LJ took the responsibility for a series of bomb blasts, including the one that killed the French submarine engineers and the one in front of the American Consulate last year. Sources within the law enforcement agencies said there were reports suggesting that Qari Hai was now attempting to unify the LJ. A personality clash among key LJ leaders was the primary reason why the LJ split, but there was now plenty of room at the top. LJ "personality clashes" result in long naps in the dirt...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 03:38 pm ||
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Pakistan's 14 leading Islamic clerics yesterday urged a "jihad," or holy war, against the United States following its invasion of Iraq and said that there was no need for a fresh Islamic edict to wage a fight against Americans and their allies. "A war between America and Muslims has been declared several years ago," the clerics said in a joint statement. "The war has intensified after President Bush declaration of a 'crusade' in the wake of September 11 events," they said. They either don't listen well, or only hear what they want to hear. Guess which...
The clerics included the most prominent pro-Afghan Taliban cleric Maulana Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai. Also on the list of prominent clerics were Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sikander who heads the Islamic seminary of Binori Town — one of the biggest and most influential religious schools not just in the port city of Karachi, but in the country. All the clerics belong to the hardline Deobandi school of thought. They run one of the biggest chain of Islamic schools in the country and many of the Taliban leaders were their students. They are ideological gurus of the two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, the two key component parties of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal which dominates the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan province which border Afghanistan. Key militant groups including the outlawed Harkat-ul Mujahedeen, the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Sipah Sahaba Pakistan consider Shamzai, who is believed to have ties with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden, their spiritual leader. That's pretty much the entire Pak jihadi structure, with the exception of Lashkar e-Taiba. Almost everything else is pick-up teams...
The clerics said jihad had become mandatory on more than 1.2 billion Muslims. "They have to participate in the jihad according to their capacity. This has become mandatory against America, its allies and the Muslim rulers" who are siding with Washington, they said in a statement. "Those who keep a soft corner for America compared to Saddam Hussein, or think that it is not a war of Islam, they are wrong," they said. The United States has used "Saddam as an excuse to attack Iraq."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 03:02 pm ||
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#1
"So how 'bout those Red Wings" he says, while eating his bacon-wrapped pork chops.
#3
ahh the peaceful religion strikes again . shame on them . They are ideological gurus of the two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, the two key component parties of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal which dominates the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan province which border Afghanistan
a.k.a clueless pricks with less fore - sight than the average turtle lost in a desert
#4
The clerics said jihad had become mandatory on more than 1.2 billion Muslims.
...and all over the Middle East.
"Going to work, hon?"
"No, the damn mullahs declared another jihad. Honey, where's my RPG?"
"I think you let Ramalama bring it to that wedding last week."
"Allahdammit, that guy never brings back anything!Maybe I'll just bang in sick."
#5
Hmmm...Under Pakistan's constitution, a demographics-based portion of all federal funds, including American aid, flow directly to the jihadi provinces. Ergo: cut off all aid to Pakistan, and break off diplomatic relations.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday ordered release of an alleged Pakistani al-Qaeda suspect, observing that the police have failed to bring sufficient evidence to substantiate terrorism charges against him. He was in bed with Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, but that's not enough evidence â no penetration was shown, I guess. Ahmed Abdul Qudus was arrested in Pakistan earlier this month with top al-Qaeda suspect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Additional District Session Judge in the Rawalpindi city ordered release of Qudus on presenting in court surety bonds of one hundred thousand rupees. Qudus was brought into the court under tight security. Last week an Anti-Terrorism Court in the city of Rawalpindi had declined to hear Qudus' case, as the judge had ruled that the police had failed to substantiate the charges of terrorism against him. The family filed an application for Qudus' release on bail and the court announced judgment Tuesday after the arguments by the prosecution and defense lawyers concluded. Initially, police had charged Qudus with possession of arms, resisting arrest and terrorism. According to Defense lawyer M A Hasan the police complaints against Qudus made no mention of his alleged links with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 10:29 am ||
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#1
sheez, I guess this was Sharia law? I mean, after all we wuz only gonna kill kufars and hindoos, huh? What's the harm, right?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 10:30 Comments ||
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Between 150 and 500 Iraqi troops were killed Tuesday after U.S. Army forces came under attack near An Najaf, in central Iraq, a senior Defense official said. The official said the American troops had come under attack. No U.S. casualties were immediately reported. Elements of the 7th Cavalry Regiment were east of An Najaf when they suddenly came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades, the official said. The Iraqis were on foot; it wasnât clear whether they were from regular army units, paramilitary forces or the Republican Guard. Didn't matter, either...
Some of the 7th Cavalry's equipment was damaged in the attack, according to the Defense official. Early estimates of the number of Iraqis killed in the fight varied widely, from 150 to 500. It was not immediately clear what weaponry the Americans used. My guess is everything they had...
The 7th Cavalry is part of the Army force driving toward Baghdad. Some elements of the force are farther north, near Karbala, with only the Medina armored division of the Republican Guard between them and Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 07:16 pm ||
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#1
Some of the 7th Cavalry's equipment was damaged in the attack
equipment had to sent back to Kuwait to clean the spit wads off the windshields.
#2
The abortive Iraqi armor rush from Basra was futile enough, but this? Foot soldiers attacking the 7th Cav? On purpose? I thought these guys weren't allowed to drink. The battlefield postmortem should be very interesting on this one, hopefully we'll get some daylight reports starting soon.
And what's with the equipment check? Either something important was damaged, or the reporter was trying to be evenhanded: "Lessee, one hundred fifty enemy kills, but they...dinged the coffeepot! Damn yooouuuuuuu!"
Posted by: (lowercase) matt ||
03/25/2003 21:59 Comments ||
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#3
Report is that an Abrahms drove over a bridge that collapsed and they could not get it out of the ditch. 2 others were hit by RPGs in the rear, but were returned to service.
#4
Yep, FNC has an update. The Iraqis attacked during the sandstorm. Perhaps they thought that gave them homefield advantage, to sneak within RPG range? It seems that our Bradleys and their 25mms got a lot of use. Hopefully we'll learn more now that the storm is subsiding.
Posted by: (lowercase) matt ||
03/26/2003 0:07 Comments ||
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U.S. and allied forces have now taken in "excess of 3,500 Iraqi prisoners," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday. At a Pentagon briefing, Rumsfeld said humanitarian assistance in the form of "food, water and medicine" is already being delivered. Still, after five days of ground combat, he sought to minimize expectations of a swift end to the war. "We're still, needless to say, much closer to the beginning than the end," Rumsfeld said. Good thing we don't put them on the teevee. I don't think 3500 EPWs would fit on my 21" screen...
In addition to the prisoners in custody, Rumsfeld said that thousands of other Iraqi fighters have abandoned their units. He said the United States was treating prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Convention and is giving the International Red Cross access to them. He urged the Iraqis to do the same with coalition prisoners. As opposed to shariah or whatever the hell else they're doing...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 03:50 pm ||
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Two British soldiers have been killed in a 'friendly fire' incident during fierce fighting outside the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The pair from the Queen's Royal Lancers were killed when their Challenger II tank came under fire early on Tuesday morning. Two others were seriously injured. According to a reports, their vehicle was fired on by another British tank. A British military spokesman said the incident happened during a period of multiple engagements with Iraqi forces on the outskirts of Basra. The families of those killed and injured are now being informed. A British military spokesman said: "Regardless of training, planning and other measures, in this type of operation in the heat of battle there is always the risk that such incidents might always occur." Dammit, I think we've lost 20 men so far. 10% attributable to Iraqis...
For most of history, the vast majority of the soldiers who died in war actually died of disease rather than at the hands of the enemy. By the middle of the 20th century, medical science solved that problem. But now (for modern militaries at least) it seems as if vehicle accidents and fratricide are steadily becoming a major cause of casualties.
There's got to be something that can be done about this.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
03/25/2003 16:42 Comments ||
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#2
Sorry, Bulldog.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/25/2003 16:49 Comments ||
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Edited for Length
The U.N. Security Council agreed on Tuesday to hold an emergency debate on Iraq but Arab envoys were undecided whether to push a resolution demanding an immediate end to the U.S.-led war. The debate was set for Wednesday at 3 p.m. and council diplomats said all 191 U.N. members would be invited to speak rather than just the council's 15 member-nations.
Arab diplomats said they feared a resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq could be defeated and thereby serve to legitimize the U.S.-British invasion after the fact. Syrian U.N. Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe, who on Monday said the Arab group at the United Nations intended to seek adoption of a resolution demanding an end to the U.S.-led invasion, said on Tuesday that no decision had yet been made on a resolution. The Arab group of 22 countries formally requested an urgent Security Council debate on Monday evening after Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo adopted a declaration demanding an immediate end to the Iraq war and the withdrawal of all foreign forces. The group's request was delivered to the council by Iraqi U.N. ambassador Mohammed Aldouri, this month's Arab group president.
But a resolution demanding an end to the U.S.-led attack on Iraq would appear to have no chance of approval. Both the United States and Britain have veto power in the council. In addition, six of the council's 15 members refused to take sides earlier this month when the United States and Britain pushed for a resolution giving Iraq an ultimatum to quickly show its commitment to disarmament or face war.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
03/25/2003 03:05 pm ||
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#1
I do believe we need to call a pre-meeting to dicusss what we intend to talk about at the Pre- meeting, so as we can be clear of the objectives for the first draft writing meeting prior to assembling the team that would be appropriate to have imput into the first draft... Hey, is it lunchtime yet? I just got my new UN Amex card and its dying to pick up its first tab!
#4
Wow . . . all 191 member nations get to address the Council. 191 windbag ambassadors times twenty minutes each . . . plus two weeks to prepare a preliminary draft resolution . . . plus one hour for debate times fifteen council members equals . . . well, hell, the war will be over by then!
Posted by: Mike ||
03/25/2003 15:12 Comments ||
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#5
The US should not say a thing and let the spittle committee debate, pontificate, salivate, etc etc. As Fearless Fred sez, "no skin off our fore." If they get frisky, we can always veto. You mess with us and we will get the job done with or without you. Now they will get a taste of their own medicine. What clowns!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 15:21 Comments ||
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#9
The U.N. Security Council agreed on Tuesday to hold an emergency debate..
True to form, they're back at it again. And like most of the other issues that has been put in front of it, the U.N. isn't going to do diddly-squat about anything...
#11
I assume this debate will be to discuss the use of human shields and mistreatment of prisoners. Also, is Sammy going to send an ambassador or show up himself?
Posted by: Matt ||
03/25/2003 16:02 Comments ||
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#12
Dumb. They're idiots. Villepin is probably longing for his 15 glorious minutes in the world spotlight to return. Same for the other windbags.
Posted by: g wiz ||
03/25/2003 18:09 Comments ||
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#13
It's all so simple. Just tell 'em now that we're going to "French" them -- i.e., veto anything that has the word Iraq in it or in any way relates to Iraq.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/25/2003 20:41 Comments ||
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#14
On second thought, let's not "French" them, let's "Dominique" them. That has a nicer ring to it and will leave Villepin a legacy.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/25/2003 20:44 Comments ||
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#15
"Arab diplomats said they feared a resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq could be defeated and thereby serve to legitimize the U.S.-British invasion after the fact."
haha, am I the only one who's laughing at this one?
EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday that the European bloc will not call for a ceasefire to halt the war in Iraq, but he hoped that the armed conflict will be short. "We want the conflict to be short as possible and minimize the suffering of the people," Solana told reporters after holding talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Brussels this evening. Asked by a reporter if the EU is going to call for a ceasefire, Solana replied, "At this point we are not going to do that. We have to see how things evolve in the coming days." "I mean, if the Merkins kill Sammy, then they'll probably cease firing, right?"
For the moment the position of the EU is what was agreed by the EUsummit last week in Brussels, he added. The EU summit called for the preservation of the integrity of Iraq and for the UN to play a central role in the reconstruction of Iraq. Ummmm... Okay, and no. See? Who said we weren't willing to compromise?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 02:14 pm ||
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"The EU summit called for the preservation of the integrity of Iraq and for the UN to play a central role in the reconstruction of Iraq. "
Number one is okay
Number two: NO WAY!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 15:32 Comments ||
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A US company has won a $4.8m (£3m) contract to manage Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq. Mwaaahhaaahhaaahhaaa!
The contract is the second awarded under US Government plans for reconstruction in Iraq. Stevedoring Services of America will be responsible for operating Iraq's only deep-water port, with the aim of allowing food and other humanitarian and reconstruction materials and supplies to be delivered efficiently. The company "will provide an initial port assessment, develop improvement plans... and supply technical expertise to ensure an adequate flow of through shipment", said the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the client for the project. "The company will be responsible for the port pilots who will guide ships up the channel, and will manage the access of trucking companies to the port and establish a system of controls to avoid theft and corruption."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 01:44 pm ||
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That's unfair! I heard the Yemeni/Saudi Trading Company had a much lower bid and a diversified workforce consisting of mosque educated young men from the region.
"Hegomistic dogs!" shouts the Arab Street. Tony Soprano and the Teamsters probably run Stevedoring Services of America.
Iran denied Saturday reports it had taken in Ansar al-Islam militants wounded in a US military strike on the group, which is accused by Washington of trying to develop crude chemical weapons and of having links to both Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and Saddam Hussein's regime. After US strikes against Ansar, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan officials openly challenged neighbouring Iran, accusing it of providing a rear base for Ansar and plying the group with ammunition, supposedly to harrass the PUK as it edges closer to Washington. "Iran has been helping Ansar. How else can 800 men fire 200 mortars a day?" argued a PUK military chief, Mustafa Sayed Khader. "So Iran should be very careful, and know that the war against terrorism has no price limit." The Iranian ministry spokesman said "these rumours are part of psychological operations by warring sides".
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 01:32 pm ||
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Underground bunkers built for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein can resist massive bombardment and those hiding inside could survive for up to six months, a retired Yugoslav army officer who helped build them said. "I believe that if Saddam does not leave, and I think he has nowhere to go, they will find him in one of these facilities -- if he does not find a way out by then," retired Lt. Col. Resad Fazlic told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "These bunkers can resist a direct hit of a 20 kiloton- strong bomb or atomic bomb impact and keep those inside independent of the outside world for six months," said Fazlic, who oversaw the building of the bunkers in the late 1970s. I'm hoping that the CIA had a talk with this guy some time ago.
U.S.-led forces started their six-day-old air and land assault aimed at ousting the Iraqi leader by hitting his compound in Baghdad. It was not clear if the compound that was hit was one of the two in the Iraqi capital that, Fazlic said, were built for the Iraqi leader. "I did not take part in the building of this bunker, code-named "2000," but I know it is larger than others, about the size of a soccer pitch, and has everything he might need for a longer stay inside," Fazlic said, referring to one of the Iraqi leader's bunkers. That would be the German built fuhrerbunker
Fazlic said underground concrete fortresses were built by the former Yugoslav military in the cities of Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, Basra and Nassiriya after Iraqi officials toured similar facilities in former Yugoslavia. "We also built the so-called "zero," "P" and "C" types of bunkers which were smaller and meant for the military, communications centers and so on but can also resist heavy bombardment and longer isolation," he said. Hope we bought the plans from them.
Fazlic said he took part in the building of more than a dozen underground bunkers in former Yugoslavia which was then led by late President Josip Broz Tito, who had warm relations with Saddam Hussein. Should of known these two would be buddies.
"We built all of these facilities in Iraq because they liked what they saw here," Fazlic said, citing a large bunker dug into a mountain near the southern Bosnian town of Konjic that was meant for the former Yugoslav government in case of war.
"It was a little bit more difficult in Iraq because of the flat terrain. But you would use a valley, dig at the bottom of a hill, build a bunker and than cover it so it can't be spotted from outside," he said. If they were built in the 70's, I doubt that we were watching
"The most important thing was to design the main bunker and all those layers above it which were the main protection. Even if you only had to penetrate the main bunker with a missile it would have to impact it at the angle of 90 degrees, otherwise it would ricochet off its rounded surface," he said. "But before that, it would have to go through protective layers ... and to calculate all the right angles for impact and fire several successful hits in line is almost impossible," he added. Not with GPS it isn't. If we have a good fix on them, we can drop bunker busters in the same hole all day long.
The bunkers also had their own air filtration systems and alternative exits in case the main entrance was blocked. They could only be opened from inside, Fazlic said. Can't have the neighbors dropping in with torches and pitchforks now, can you?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 01:15 pm ||
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#1
Find the ventilators and start pouring concrete. Won't take long. Either the filters get clogged and the ventilators seal shut, or it reaches the bunker, and it gets filled. End of story.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 13:50 Comments ||
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#2
Old Patriot: actually, I prefer the method where you pour in several tanker-truckloads of gasoline -- following by a lit cigar. But I'm willing to accomodate different points of view and do some experimenting.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
03/25/2003 13:59 Comments ||
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#3
Or just cheap plain old water. As the Northern Alliance did in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Posted by: It seeks its on level ||
03/25/2003 14:14 Comments ||
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#4
Pave over the exits or clog the ventilators--either way, it can be Saddam's multi-million dollar tomb.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 14:30 Comments ||
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#5
Hey, you guys are making me think about Jim Brown's run at the end of "The Dirty Dozen".
#8
If Yugo bunkers are that good, how come Milosovich is sitting in a cell?
Posted by: john ||
03/25/2003 15:22 Comments ||
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#9
John,
Milo's bunker was fine... It was using a YUGO sedan as a getaway car that was the weak link in the plan. Just followed the blue smoke.
(Yugo: The finest in cutting edge Serbo-Croation technology...)
#10
I am sure that we will scope out the area and using various technologies will find the ventilation systems, etc etc. Then with a little time we can turn the most expensive bunker into a tomb in the order of the Pharoahs. Then after all is said and done, we can open it up, sanitize it and make it a postwar tourist destination.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 15:39 Comments ||
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#11
"...late President Josip Broz Tito, who had warm relations with Saddam Hussein"
I suspect that was a Freudian slip - Tito's in hell already, waiting for Sammy to show up, so he can say: "Hot enough for ya Sam? Bwwwaaahhhaahaa"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 18:55 Comments ||
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From Jane's, nice to read a story written by a professional.
UK and US aircraft are conducting intensive air strikes against a first echelon defence line of the Republican Guard Force Command (RGFC) south of Baghdad.
Allied intelligence has identified the Medina and Al Nida Armoured Divisions south of the Iraqi capital, along with the Baghdad Mechanised Division, preparing to meet units of the US Army's V Corps advancing northwards from Najaf. Other RGFC divisions are believed to be south of Baghdad preparing defensive positions. Early on 24 March, 35-40 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the V Corps' 11th Aviation Brigade launched the first deep-strike mission of the war against an 'engagement zone' containing Republican Guard forces. One Apache was lost after the force met intense Iraqi anti-aircraft fire. It was forced to land and the two-man crew was captured and later shown on Iraqi television.
Yeah. We were just grumbling about that earlier...
Since then fixed-wing aircraft, including US Air Force (USAF) A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and Royal Air Force (RAF) Harrier GR7s, have been pounding Iraqi positions in a series of strikes. The Medina Division has been the focus of Coalition air strikes today, but more targets are emerging and being struck, according to US officers in Qatar.
That's more like it. Ask some of those B52 drivers if they want to stop by, too...
Coalition planners have identified the Republican Guard, the best-trained and equipped component of Saddam's armed forces, as Iraq's 'centre of gravity' and are seeking to defeat it as quickly possible. The 'main effort' in coalition operational plans focused on defeating the Republican Guard rests largely with the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanised). Once the RGFC is defeated coalition planners believe that less well-motivated army units will collapse, meaning that costly battles to clear Basra and smaller centres of resistance can be avoided.
"Ummm... How many opposing divisions?" he asked, turning pale...
The first phase of the US battle plan has gone relatively well, with the armoured columns of the 3rd Infantry Division advancing rapidly across 300km of desert from Kuwait. This advance has been relatively unopposed. A major effort has been underway in recent days to 'prepare the battlefield' ahead of the advancing US armoured columns in what military doctrine describes as the 'deep battle'. The Apaches of the 11th Aviation Brigade have been in action, trying to find and destroy Republican Guard tanks in the towns and villages south of Baghdad. Once these efforts to 'find' the main Republican Guard positions have been successful, reconnaissance forces, including attack helicopters, will be sent into action to 'fix' them in their positions while the 3rd Infantry Division's three armoured brigades position themselves to strike.
Where's the part about pounding them to flinders with B52s? I thought that was supposed to come before the helis?
The 'find and fix' phase of the battle is the most crucial for US commanders because they have a numerically inferior force to the Iraqis and have very exposed flanks and supply lines. If US reconnaissance forces and surveillance assets fail to find the Iraqis or misidentify the main Iraqi defensive positions then the US armoured brigades could be committed in the wrong place, exposing them to counter-attack while refuelling or re-arming.
This is known in the trade as being "in deep, deep shit."
The US Army's Apaches will play a key role in hitting 'depth targets' at the same time as the heavy armoured brigades engage the Republican Guard in the 'close battle'. The US aim is to overwhelm their opponents with simultaneous, multiple attacks on the ground, from the front and flanks and in the rear from the air. This unrelenting onslaught is intended to smash through the southern Republican Guard in a matter of a few hours, a day at the longest.
The strategy of Gen Tommy Franks, Commander US Central Command, is clearly daring and carries high risks. Every kilometre coalition forces advance into Iraq extends the depth of the 'rear battle area' and the distance that must be covered by combat service support units to replenish combat units with vital fuel, water, ammunition and rations. The rear battle area extends from behind the advancing combat forces to the ports and airfields in Kuwait through which reinforcements and every manner of supplies enter the theatre of operations.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 12:39 pm ||
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#1
There was a report on Fox earlier today that said that the RG tanks were widely dispursed, not in any sort of formation. I'd guess that's why no B-52 strike. During Rummy's Pentagon briefing just now they had video of a F-15 taking out a dug-in RG tank with a 500 pounder right down the hatch. Looks like we're going to have to hit them one by one.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 12:53 Comments ||
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#2
"Where's the part about pounding them to flinders with B52s? I thought that was supposed to come before the helis?"
Actually, I think the new strategy is to have the helis "freeze" the tanks in place, THEN blow them to smithereens with precision guided munitions from B-52's. Kinda hard to spot tanks from 45,000 feet.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 12:54 Comments ||
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#3
Let's not be forgetting that the Iraqis have learned lessons from GW1 as well. They know being bunched up in static positions in the open means death from above. Dispersal and using civilian structures (and civilians themselves) as shields are among their best options now.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 13:12 Comments ||
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#4
Saddam is employing a classic strategy, trying to set up strong defenses where he anticipates the main attacks will come. He is not in position to manuever.
This sets up some interesting possibilities, because he cannot defend every possible point of entry. He has neither the communications nor the mobility to do so. That can be exploited.
Gee, I wonder what the 101st has planned? Notice how they've sort of quietly disappeared from the radar?
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
03/26/2003 1:13 Comments ||
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Baghdad told Arab leaders on Tuesday they were not doing enough to halt the invasion of Iraq, urging them to stop oil exports and to block the use of their airspace and territorial waters by U.S. and British forces. Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said a condemnation of the U.S.-led war against Iraq by Arab foreign ministers who met in Cairo on Monday was "meaningless" and that concrete action was needed from the Arab world to try to halt the war. "C'mon, you guys! We're dyin' in here!"
"Why don't they decide to suspend oil exports to the states who are launching aggression against us?" an angry Ramadan said at a news conference in Baghdad. "Why don't they close the embassies of the states who are committing aggression against Iraq? Why don't they block their waters to American and British vessels and why don't they close their airspace to American and British warplanes and missiles?" "They don't care. They just don't care. And after all we've done for them..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 01:16 pm ||
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They don't care, and their help isn't necessary, Ramadanadingdong...or haven't you been following your own press releasesm, oh victorious one...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 12:12 Comments ||
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#2
"ummmm....Taha? We can barely hear you...lots of static on the line...maybe you've hit a bad cell? Call back later, ok? A lot later."
Taha was quite delighted when the multi-nation organization of the United NAtions talked the talk but didn't want to back their talk up with action. But now he's ticked about THIS multi-nation organization that's not backing their talk up with action.
U.S. forces withdrew from a logistics base near the Iraqi border Sunday after Washington abandoned plans to send ground troops into northern Iraq from Turkey. Jeeps, trucks and other military equipment were being hauled out of the small base near Nusaybin on flatbed trucks. The base is about 75 miles from the Iraqi border in Turkey's southeast. U.S. officials said Sunday that troops were being withdrawn because they had completed their work at Nusaybin. Dozens of ships carrying weaponry to Turkish bases were redirected to the Army's 4th Infantry division to the Persian Gulf, officials had said Saturday.
The troops are among some 3,500 American personnel who arrived in Turkey last month to set up a string of logistics bases between southern Turkish ports and bases and the Iraq border. Washington had hoped to move heavy armored forces and ground troops into northern Iraq from bases in Turkey but abandoned the plan Saturday after weeks of wrangling with Ankara. Turkey granted overflight rights on Friday, and coalition forces used Turkish airspace overnight Saturday to put insert some forces into northern Iraq, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on ABC's "This Week." But relations have also been strained over Turkey's plan to send its own troops into northern Iraq. Ankara fears that instability in northern Iraq could encourage rebels to create an independent Kurdish state or lead to a massive flight of refugees.
In Nusaybin, flatbed trucks were headed toward the town of Kiziltepe, apparently destined for another base camp further inside Turkey. The Anatolia news agency said the trucks would eventually make their way to the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun. U.S. troops also were spotted removing equipment from flatbed trucks in Iskenderun, where the U.S. military has unloaded hundreds of jeeps, trucks, medical vans and fuel-haulers, the private NTV television station said. Goodbye, see you in Kurdistan.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 11:49 am ||
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#1
So long, buttheads. Had your chance - muffed it. This will not be forgotten.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/25/2003 11:50 Comments ||
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#2
Here's a quarter. Call France if you need help. Ask for Jacques "Itch" Chirac.
#5
As Murat's perspective has often indicated, the Turkish people were determined to sabatoge their future as a modern European nation by pandering to Islamic anti-Americanism. And they've succeded brilliantly.
Basra :: Richard Gaisford :: 1715GMT (Tuesday, 25 March)
This is a most significant development this evening. There is a popular uprising in the city of Basra.
People are rising up against the ruling Ba'ath regime, we are being told by military intelligence officers there that they have had enough.
Iraqi soldiers in the city are actually firing mortar rounds on their own people. That is the information we are getting.
FOLLOWUP: Here's the SkyNews story...
Rioting is taking place in Basra by locals opposed to Saddam Hussein, reports say. Iraqi troops are reported to be firing on the rioters with mortars. British forces are firing back at the Iraqi positions, which are trying to crush the civilian uprising.
The ruling Ba'ath Party HQ is reported to have been hit after two large explosion rocked the city centre.Reporter Richard Gaisford said intelligence from the city suggested that local people had indicated they would welcome the Allied forces but were in fear of Saddam loyalists. "Now it seems they have had the courage to stand up to Saddam Hussein and his regime and they will be supported by British forces," Gaisford said.
Earlier, about 20 of Saddam Hussein's henchmen were killed and a key party official captured in a night-time raid by British forces near Basra, British military sources said. Soldiers from the 7th Armoured Brigade raided a regional Ba'ath Party headquarters in Al Zubayr, near Basra, where there has been fierce resistance from Iraqi troops, the source said. They moved in on the complex in the early hours with the aim of capturing the high-ranking party figure. He was guarded by members of Saddam's Special Security Organisation and fanatical Fedayeen fighters loyal to the Iraqi president, the source at the Coalition Command HQ in Qatar said. The Desert Rats surrounded the building with Challenger 2 tanks before the lightning raid. As the British soldiers swooped, a fierce gunfight broke out and dozens of Iraqis were hit. There were no British casualties. The senior party figure, thought to be responsible for helping organise resistance in the Al Zubayr and Basra area, was successfully snatched and taken prisoner.
Posted by: A ||
03/25/2003 12:15 pm ||
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Fascinating... I was just about the post the following, from AP:
British to Fight Militia Forces in Basra
In an about-face, British forces said Tuesday they had decided to move against militia fighters who blocked them from securing the southern Iraqi city of Basra -- even as Iraqi forces in the area allegedly began using civilians as human shields.
British troops fighting around Basra reported "gunmen, irregular forces, coming forward with civilians in front of them," British commander Col. Chris Vernon told the British Broadcasting Corp. "Clearly, we cannot engage the gunmen for risk of causing undue civilian death."
British Royal Marines fired artillery at Iraqi troops around the city Tuesday in a bid to continue the push northward, despite a strong sandstorm that slowed the pace and thwarted coalition air missions across Iraq.
Previously, coalition forces said they wanted to avoid urban combat in Iraq's second-largest city.
The decision to declare parts of Basra "military targets" came after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said "urgent measures" had to be taken to restore electricity and water.
British forces have surrounded Basra and secured its airport but have continued to face resistance fighters, including members of Saddam Hussein's elite Fedayeen paramilitary force.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2003 11:46 Comments ||
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#4
We need for this to happen. This could be the story of the day, if the "dead-enders" can't put it down. I see the story is being reported now on CNN radio
#6
I really hope this spreads. Keep your fingers crossed.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
03/25/2003 11:52 Comments ||
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#7
Maybe this answers liberlhawk's suspicions earlier. Iraqi armour moving out of Basra because they were feeling the heat from the populace. Heck, maybe they even had their turrets turned away, trying to surrender at speed to the relatively friendly infidels, whilst simultaneously covering their rear from rolling-pin wielding housewives.
#8
This brings to mind the one way that Saddam has left for increasing the tempo...
Gassing civilians.
If that were to start, I'd hope that our military would conclude that the best way to minimize civilian losses would be to remove the kid gloves.
#9
Fox was just carrying Sky News coverage of this. Baath Party HQ was bombed, US and UK forces are trying to help, but hindered by darkness. Tough to seperate good guys from bad guys in the dark.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 11:58 Comments ||
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#10
It's ironic that the BBC has still got an article up entitled "Basra: Why they are not cheering?"
Posted by: A ||
03/25/2003 12:05 Comments ||
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#11
Slightly OT, but why does the media insist on calling the Saddamite goon squads things like "Saddam Hussein's elite Fedayeen paramilitary force?" There's nothing "elite" about a bunch of street thugs with AK-47s.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/25/2003 12:14 Comments ||
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#12
Mike,
It's the hats. You can't be an "elite Fedayeen" without a hat.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2003 12:18 Comments ||
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#13
Now I understand why we haven't taken down the Iraqi media. The Iraqis wouldn't rise up until they knew that we were willing to shed Yankee and Brit blood. Now they know, thanks to Saddam and his thugs.
The people have risen up against Saddam Hussein's regime and the Iraqi soldiers who are still within the city are starting to fire mortars upon their own countrymen.
Artillery is going in to try to destroy these mortar positions - they have special radar equipment which can trace exactly where it is coming from.
As quickly as the mortar rounds come off, they are then piling artillery in. In the last few minutes we have heard they have dropped a large bomb on the ruling Ba'ath party headquarters.
Two large explosions were heard. We were told the headquarters had been destroyed.
We had thought that troops would be going into the city tonight. But it may be they will wait until first light to see when the situation is clearer."
Yes, Bulldog, that what I was suspecting, though Im not certain they are related.
#19
Yosemite Sam , I agree . oppression sucks bad - maybe the civs are seeing that we aint that bad bear saddam has made us to be over 30 years of hard times . one fight is all it takes to get the courage to over run a maniac
#21
This is the most encouraging news since Friday, in my opinion. If the Shi'as come to see us as liberators and recognize that we're serious about deposing Saddam, this could free up a lot of security for our logistics and rear areas for the main event up north.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 13:17 Comments ||
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#22
About time! They finally connected the dots and realized that, as long as these assholes were running things, they couldn't get humanitarian aid. They decided they weren't going to buy the argument: I am not responsible for the suffering you are feeling because I am fighting the invaders who would relieve you of that suffering.
#23
Last report from Basra said Thugs were mortering civilians,and Brits were lobing in artillery shells at those locations. This thing may have been orchestrated
I can envision Special Ops in Basra spending the afternoon painting target locations, setting off a couple of big booms at sundown at Bathe Party HQ, and saying "Let's get this party started"... and invite others out onto the dance floor. Reports say Brits won't go in until morning. It should be a chaotic night for the dead enders. Smoke, sandstorms, chaos in the streets, tar and feather parties forming, no place to hide for bad guys...a virtual wet dream for SF.
#24
Latest from Sky News: Baath thugs are dressed as US troops and accepting surrender of Iraqi soldiers. Then taking them out and shooting them. I wondered where those uniforms went, this is one I had not thought of. Evil, but clever.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 14:20 Comments ||
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#25
Any Ba'ath S.O.B. masquerading in one of our uniforms should be shot as a spy if caught--the same thing we did to Skorzeny's men in the Bulge.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 14:33 Comments ||
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#26
Thugs were mortering civilians
Sadly, I'm sure one reason we are not going in, is so that when CNN does, it will be harder to insist that America was to blame for civilian the carnage. Not that they won't manage.
#27
As of this afternoon, this is the most detailed account I can find of what's going on in Basra. It's from ITV:
British troops are said to be firing on Basra in support of a "popular uprising" against Saddam Hussein's troops by the people of Iraq's second city, according to military sources.
Thousands of people took to the streets of the key strategic city in the early evening and began rampaging through areas heavily populated by known sympathisers of the country's regime.
By nightfall dozens of buildings were on fire as the predominantly Shia Muslims of the south took their revenge after years of domination by Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslim ruling Ba'ath party.
Mortars were fired at rebels who took to the streets in support of Allied forces encircling the city on three fronts.
The public revolt was one of the British force's main objectives and undercover intelligence officers have been working in the port city for weeks trying to foment exactly this kind of unrest.
The disorder gave the troops of the 7th Armoured Brigade - the famous Desert Rats - the perfect opportunity to move into the city and take control of a battleground whose capture is vital to the allies.
Earlier, British forces destroyed 20 Iraqi tanks as fighting intensified around the city. Scores of Iraqis are thought to have been killed.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
03/25/2003 15:16 Comments ||
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#28
Fred:
LOL on the hats comment!
In all seriousness, calling a goon squad "elite" is an insult to real elite troops like the Rangers, or the Black Watch, or the Marines, or the Gurkhas. (You don't want someone like the Gurkhas mad at you--they have those long knives and they like to use them.)
Posted by: Mike ||
03/25/2003 15:18 Comments ||
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#29
Mike--I've felt exactly the same way. Every time the media call the Republican Guard "elite", I snicker. They're nothing more than well-equipped thugs who can't even begin to compare to any US or UK line division, much less TRUE elites like Seals, SAS, Delta, and the like.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 15:46 Comments ||
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#30
Dar,
My local gangbangers are better equipped than these "elite" thugs and dress better, too. These guys are Uday's psycho youth groups who get to pretend they are capo's in Udays army. I think "small animal torturer" during youth is a prerequisite. They need to ferret out these "lost boys" and drive a stake through there hearts.
#31
When I hear of these "elite" fighters, I can't help thinking of that scene from The Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know the one, where the mighty Arab fighter swings his sword around before Harrison Ford just pulls out a gun and shoots him.
Translation: US EOD team went to a village in Turkey to collect the dud Tomahawk which landed there. I just loved the word picture this story paints.
The 15-member U.S. team which came to AyaklÜ village of Viransehir town of southern SanlÜurfa province to examine the guided missile which fell outside the village on Sunday, started studies on Monday. The team which came to the village from Incirlik base in Adana, were protested by villagers at the entrance of the village. The villagers protested the war. The protest later ended. A whole lot of protesting going on.
The team went to the area where the guided missile fell from the sky and started the examinations. "Missile fall from sky! Ahhhhhhhh!"
The guided missile will be taken to Incirlik.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 11:25 am ||
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Golly, how did THIS get here. Shucks, I hope this doesn't happen again. Good thing nobody was trying to move troops through here. Wheeeew.
US and British planes attacked Tovailah district in Iraq's Halabja city Tuesday morning three times. There were no reports of casualties or damage inflicted by the attacks. Several explosions were heared emanating from Iraq by residents of Paveh city, in the Iranian province of Kermanshah. Coalition forces bombarded positions of Ansar al-Islam, a group accused of having links with Al-Qaeda based in Iraqi Kurdistan, on Tuesday. A representative of Iraqi Kurdistan's Jamat-e-Islami in Iran's Kurdestan and Kermanshah provinces, Bahaoddin Barzanji, told IRNA that US-led coalition forces heavily bombarded the group's bases in Biyarah, Tovailah and Sargat regions. Again. I'm looking forward to seeing Ansar and the Jamaat both taken out...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 11:24 am ||
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#1
Is it OK for a little bloodlust to appear? I want more.
#2
Here's your bloodlust:ARBIL, Iraq, March 25 (UPI) -- Iraqi Kurdish forces have repulsed an attack by Ansar al-Islam in an area near the Iranian border in a first such offensive since the Muslim hardliners' positions in northern Iraq was hit by a U.S. missile strike, a Kurdish official said Tuesday. Saadi Bira told United Press International that the Peshmerga forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, run by Jalal Talabani, repulsed Monday an attack by Ansar al-Islam which was believed to have links with al-Qaida. Bira, the PUK official in Arbil, said three of the attackers were killed during clashes that took place in Anab, a village near the Iranian border. He said the PUK fighters were ready to oust the Ansar al-Islam guerrillas from their strongholds in the villages of Bayara and Tawila.
Additional reporting has stated that around 50 of the Ansar baddies have been waxed by the airstrikes.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 12:47 Comments ||
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US air attacks killed local leader of Iraq's ruling Baath Party Attieh Shahin and a number of other Baathists in the southern city of Nasiriya on Monday. The Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI) said in a statement that US fighters targeted Iraqi positions in Nassiriya and killed a high number of the party's officials and members who were heavily resisting the advance of US and British forces. The statement added that the coalition forces have taken control of Nassiriya's railway station which is an important position on the road to Baghdad. Toe tags should become a required part of the Baath party uniform in the next few days...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 11:19 am ||
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Just wait until normal Iraqis determine that it's safe to begin stringing up the remnants.
Posted by: B. ||
03/25/2003 11:46 Comments ||
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#2
It's safe.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 12:12 Comments ||
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#3
Actually, it seems we'll have to explicitly TARGET Baath party leadership. The revolt in Basara didn't start until the party leader got captured.
The ruling Ba'ath Party of Iraq has warned its people not to evacuate the city or their houses and property or these would be confiscated by the government. According to IRNA correspondents, the Baghdad government has announced that those who leave the city will not be allowed to return. It further referred to the increasing number of bunkers that are being dug out all over the city including in streets, schools, governmental and non-governmental buildings and medical centers. But the IRNA correspondents quoted a foreign reporter as saying the US-led coalition forces have set a number of days for civilians to leave Baghdad after which they will announce the city as a military region. That says Sammy's determined to keep the civilians as human shields. No surprise there, just confirmation...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 11:15 am ||
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"But the IRNA correspondents quoted a foreign reporter as saying the US-led coalition forces have set a number of days for civilians to leave Baghdad after which they will announce the city as a military region."
Sounds like Tommy is going to let his troops have a couple of days' rest before we start dismantling Baghdad. Good - those guys need and deserve it! Just don't wait too long, and let Sadsack dig in too much.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 12:00 Comments ||
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#2
Sammy's gettin' squirrely - he's really startin' to feel the heat. A couple of days lull is good. We need rest, to secure our supply lines and get more troops into the theatre of operations. Then, turn off the lights.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/25/2003 12:11 Comments ||
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#3
So, where's our tanks? They're not in Germany. And it seems to me the Desert Rats got there a lot sooner than I thought.
#4
The people should leave anyway. The "government" that will confiscate their houses and/or property isn't going to be legit once Baghdad is taken, so they really don't have anything to lose.
Head of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI), Mohammad Baqer Hakim, here Tuesday warned coalition forces to leave Iraq in the earliest or face the military resistance of the Iraqi opposition. Gosh. I'm quivering in my boots...
"The world does not approve of any colonialism and occupation and we will take peaceful measures in this respect at the beginning but we will use force later," he told representatives of Iranian and foreign media. "Foreign troops must exit Iraq in the earliest," Hakim said, adding the "Iraqi nation will resist by any possible means" if US-led forces opt to stay in Iraq. This loudmouth is one of those who haven't been able to dispose of Sammy for 30 years. Now that we're doing it, he intends to take Iraq away from us when we're done...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 11:06 am ||
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#1
probably Ed - but then again half of them change their minds more often than i change babies nappies . both are full of shit :P
#2
Is he a mullah? A mufti? A grand mufti? An Ayatollah? Has there been a fatwa issued? C'mon Mo. You should know the proper way to issue an Islamist threat. Where's your paperwork?
An Iranian military expert Amir Hayat Moqaddam said the US enjoys high airlift capability but suffers from weak war management which has prevented it from achieving its goals. Hayat Moqaddam told IRNA that the US and British forces have not yet been able to achieve their objectives in the war although Iraq has not put up much serious resistance. He pointed to high casualties and high number of air incidents suffered by the US in Iraq, as an evidence of the US army's weak war management. Thought this would be good for a laugh. Iran, in the course of its ten year war with Iraq, didn't manage to beat up Sammy. Our "high casualties" aren't spit compared to the droves of deaders both Iran and Iraq suffered. Yet Goobie presumes to criticize...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 11:01 am ||
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From the Weather Channel, of all places...
A howling desert sandstorm cast a yellow pall over the city and distant explosions could be heard more and more frequently Tuesday as Baghdad braced for the onslaught of coalition forces closing in on the capital. More security and police officers were seen around the city, and residents said members of Saddam Hussein's feared intelligence agencies were also posted on the streets. More and bigger trenches were being dug around Baghdad, including in the courtyard of the Iraq museum, home to priceless antiquities, some dating to 7,000 B.C. Witnesses said the intelligence headquarters was hit again in a Monday raid. The sprawling defense complex was also hit, with a large building severely damaged. The intermittent sound of distant explosions was heard throughout the city for much of the day. By early afternoon, a sandstorm was in full swing over the city, dramatically reducing visibility. Strong winds howled across the city, adding to the discomfort of residents. Iraq often sees sandstorms in the spring, but Tuesday's storm was exceptional, bringing dust and sand from as far away as Egypt and Libya, AccuWeather meteorologst John Gresiak said. He said lighter winds were forecast Wednesday and then no major sandstorms for at least several days. Sandstorms are brutal, but you can't do much in them. Maybe the troops can get a bit of a rest. They gotta be exhausted.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
03/25/2003 11:02 am ||
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#1
hehe wow what interesting new news . sandstorms in a desert . ... wait theres sea in the ocean too !! and air in the skies along with a few planes and birds
#2
NEVER underestimate the impact of weather in a battle. Many battles are are decided just on the weather alone. If this was a battle at sea, we want to hear about big swells and hurricane winds - likewise these sandstorms.
The US and British forces are 56 miles from Baghdad, advancing towards the capital city through Najaf and Samaveh, said sources close to Iraqi tribal opposition on Tuesday. The sources told IRNA that coalition forces would reach Baghdad on Wednesday morning if they do not face any difficulty. They say that concurrently a front would likely be open to Baghdad from the north, and that through Sulaimaniya. In that case Baghdad would face bad days, they added. The sources say war in Baghdad would be tough with heavy casualties and damages. Looks like the Medes and Persians are seeing the military situation more clearly than the Guardian or the NY Times...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 10:39 am ||
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Interesting theory.... who knows.... may even be true
...Away from the main arena, a small yet illuminating scene played out just across the Iraqi border Monday morning. Syria complained that a stray American missile had struck a bus killing five civilians and injuring ten. According to DEBKAfileâs military sources, the only true fact in this terse account was that the bus was Syrian. The missile was no stray. It was deliberately fired from an F-15 fighter-bomber at a bus carrying armed Palestinian volunteers to join up with Iraqi forces, in order to make sure this was the last such Palestinian group of volunteers for Iraq. That F-15 made a piece of history; it carried out the first American air attack on a combatant Palestinian group. More will certainly be heard of this episode....
Posted by: ----------<<<<-- ||
03/25/2003 11:09 am ||
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Debka is usually best flavored with a lot of salt, but this one rings true
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 11:16 Comments ||
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#2
I like it...but let the media keep trumpeting the "Great Satan hosed a bus full of parapalegic nuns" story, anything to reduce desert traffic. Our airborne intel assets seem a little overtaxed as it is.
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 11:32 Comments ||
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"Our airborne intel assets seem a little overtaxed as it is."
One of my old bosses is running part of this. I hear from him now and then. The biggest problem for airborne intel assets is the traffic. We have more than enough assets, just having a hard time getting them where they can do some good because of all the other aircraft in the way.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 12:19 Comments ||
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As I told my spouse, why would anyone want to cross the border? The US army has been coming for 6 months, should have left a while ago.
#5
Absolutely no disrespect intended, Old Patriot. On NRO, Jed Babbin reported that the Apaches on the raid hadn't been connected to JSTARS, and I (mistakenly) assumed that they just hadn't made priority, so there must be too much going on. I shouldn't assume such things.
So now that I'm done chewing on my own ankle, a question: what will it take for airborne intel to be 'where they can do some good'? Is it primarily logistical, airbase sortie schedules, refueling, those sorts of issues?
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 13:21 Comments ||
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#6
It's coordinating airspace. Intel doesn't have the same priority as tactical or strategic assets, which don't have the Predator's loiter capability. Predators, on the other hand, don't handle explosions nearby very well - tends to upset the guidance. With a sandstorm in progress, and high winds, most of the Predators are probably grounded. We're relying on high-fliers and satellites, which have a rough time seeing through sandstorms. It's not impossible - we have a few tricks we can use - but it's not CAVU conditions, and the intel will be limited. As soon as things start to settle down, Predator will be up again, looking for tracks in all that fresh sand. Bad time to be in Baghdad.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 14:02 Comments ||
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The United States is preparing to establish immediate sole control of postwar Iraq, initially without recourse to the United Nations, with a civilian administration under the direct command of the military, according to senior administration officials.
I'm hoping that's the concensus that's built up in Washington. Yeserday, Joe Lieberman was opining that it would be best if the UN just stayed the hell out...
Even before American troops reach Baghdad, administration officials are assembling a team of civilian officials, largely retired American diplomats, to run Iraq as soon as the fighting is over.
Retired... diplomats? That's a bad sign. A very bad sign...
While the issue is debated endlessly at the United Nations and the European Union, the administration is going ahead with its plans for a civil peacekeeping operation under the direction of Jay Garner, the retired general who directs the Pentagon's new Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Mr. Garner arrived in Kuwait last week. He is overseeing the intense recruitment of his staff and preparing to administer Iraq under plans drawn up over the last two months. Senior officials are quick to say this arrangement is only temporary â lasting, they hope, no more than a few months â until an interim Iraqi government is in place. They also said they were still debating how to work with the United Nations when the time comes for that.
I'd suggest a thumb pressed firmly to the end of the nose and four fingers wiggled, either together or in quick succession. Maybe with a side order of razzberries...
The goal, according to an administration official, is to avoid a "bloated, inefficient civilian U.N. peacekeeping force," yet still encourage United Nations participation in postwar Iraq under the American administration.
"What? No Food for Nooky Program? How can a proper UN Humanitarian® get by without the simple pleasures of life?"
Richard H. Solomon, president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, has worked with the administration on the postwar Iraq plans and said that officials were caught between two goals. "This Pentagon doesn't want the military to get bogged down in extensive peacekeeping operations, but at the same time they don't want to make the classic American goof of winning a war and losing the peace," he said. Good reason to keep the UN out.
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/25/2003 10:45 am ||
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If you want it to be done right, do it yourself.
Posted by: Don ||
03/25/2003 10:34 Comments ||
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... the administration is going ahead with its plans for a civil peacekeeping operation under the direction of Jay Garner, the retired general who directs the Pentagon's new Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance
Sorry to disagree, but the choice is pretty damn good: A civilian who's an ex General. He can talk turkey and REALLY share the pain of the military and knows how to crack the whip to get stuff done. His military background makes him more credible to the post-war occupation forces: When he says there's sh*t coming down in Basara, the military ain't gonna question him.
Take a good, LONG look at Bush's cabinet: He KNOWS how to pick good people. If Bush picked this guy, we should be at ease.
Now, the only question is, will this guy be like Rice, Rummy, Powell, Cheney, or Fleischer? I don't think Bush'll pick a Powell clone (been there, done that, got the scars to prove it), so expect the UN to go take a shit in the Seine....
#7
Ptah,
I agree... very good hire, but I doubt this person will have a "Washington" type personality... This person is wired into the mid east circles, and my guess is a very much behind the scenes operator whose phonecalls get returned.
PS...OT, but I always thought W should have flip floped Colin and Rummy's roles... Don can be very diplomatic, you know!
Six satellite jamming devices, which Iraq was using to try to thwart American precision guided weapons, were destroyed and have had "no effect" on U.S. military operations, a U.S. general said Tuesday. President Bush had called Russian President Vladimir Putin to complain about the alleged sales of high-tech equipment, which could pose a threat to American troops. The Kremlin denied the allegations that Moscow had broken U.N. sanctions to sell such weapons. "We have noticed some attempts by the Iraqis to use a GPS jamming system that they obtained from another nation. We have destroyed all six of those jammers in the last two nights' airstrikes. I'm pleased to say they had no effect on us," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart. He also said that they used GPS guided bombs to destroy those GPS jammers. Snicker, hope the Russians got paid up front.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 09:28 am ||
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I hope the Iraqis kept the reciept, Cause at "Crazy Ivan's Used Cold War Weapons Barn', they only give you store credit, no refunds.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
03/25/2003 9:38 Comments ||
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Heh. One wonders if there's a fallback mode: "Oh, my GPS signal isn't being lost. It's being jammed. Changing target coordinates..."
#3
Actually, there is an informative post on Sensing's site that explained these jammers away as insignificant. Apparently, when our guys came up with the idea of using GPS, they anticipated jamming attempts and made it so relevant bombing coordinates are loaded off of the planes computers and therefore if the GPS is "jammed" the JDAM uses its internal gyros to adjust to the presets. At worst it was something like 30m from the target instead of 3m, but in a test with a Navy designed setup, a JDAM dropped within .95m of the target in non GPS mode.
US and British planes bombarded positions of Ansar al-Islam Party of Kurdistan in north of Iraq on Tuesday. Representative of Jamat-e-Islami Party of Kurdistan in Iran's Kurdestan and Kermanshah provinces Bahaoddin Barzanji told IRNA that during the air attacks, the coalition forces bombarded heavily the party's positions in Biyarah, Tovailah and Sargat regions. Softening them up before the Kurds assault their positions.
The Kurds don't appear to make a distinction between Jamaat Islami and Ansar — would the same were true in Pakland...
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 09:30 am ||
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An Iraqi Kurdish official declared here on Tuesday that American forces have been observed in the costumes of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the city of Halabja since Monday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IRNA that the American forces appearing in PUK clothing are armed. Weapons being an official part of any PUK costume.
He added that no more details were disclosed on the said US troops, but their presence in the city is confirmed. "The presence of the American forces in Halabja indicates that PUK ground onslaughts on the Ansar al-Islam positions are imminent," he concluded. These would be SF troops blending in just like Afghanistan. About time for Ansar to go bye-bye.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 09:33 am ||
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I found this via Instapundit.
EXPERTS are examining suspected Scud missiles discovered by British soldiers searching a chemical plant outside Basra. A number of the grey-painted rockets, about 23ft long, were found in the Dirhamiyah petro-chemical plant close to Iraqâs second city. If this pans out, it's obviously a big find.
The discovery has raised suspicions that Saddam Hussein was planning to arm the missiles with chemical warheads. British officers say it is difficult to find an innocent explanation for storing missiles in a chemical plant. No kidding.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
03/25/2003 09:35 am ||
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Apparently, the first plant isn't a real WMD plant, although one wonders what WAS being manufactured there for it to have camoflage, barracks, an electric fence, AND a general minding the store.
#2
It's way too early to tell, and rumors and contradictory reports keep flying around, but you KNOW that something sinister was going on there. You don't spend all that money and effort to camouflage a Baby Milk Factory(TM).
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 9:54 Comments ||
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Oh - I thought Saddam didnt have anything. Kill the bastard.......What are the French saying now????........They should level out Iraq and get the hell out of there.....Kill everyone that comes in their path...
Posted by: Andrea from Jersey ||
03/25/2003 10:41 Comments ||
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I am anything BUT a chemical engineer, but it's my guess that we won't find evidence until later, after the military phase is over. SammyCo have had plenty of time to hide / destroy the most incriminating evidence of any WMD program, so I wouldn't expect our troops to trip over any 55-gallon drums with Mr. Yuk stickers all over them. It could come down to small stockpiles (juh'know, in Damascus), or just chemical detection of what used to be a pond full o' VX. The sci-tech people are really going to be earning their paychecks on this one.
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 11:24 Comments ||
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Gotta hope/believe we are "disarming WMD" nearly every evening in those flashes in the distant skies, and I agree it may take some longer term forcenics to reconstruct our proof... which will have been "planted" by the Great Satan anyway, according to the Arab street. Hans would be proud of our pace, but would caution us against moving to quickly... The "good stuff" will probably in the paperwork trail that emerges from private homes. Let's see, postmarked Paris? Frankfort? Hummm.
An Iraqi committed a suicide attack in the southern region of Fao overnight and destroyed a tank of the U.S.-British alliance, an Iraqi military spokesman said Tuesday, March 25. "The first martyr operation (suicide attack) was carried out this night," Hazem al-Rawi told a press conference in Baghdad. The attack was carried out in the Fao peninsula which British forces say they have secured. An Iraqi civilian "penetrated behind enemy lines and destroyed a tank", the spokesman said, without giving details. There was no immediate confirmation of the report. No confirmation from anybody. Most likely untrue, but we'll see.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 09:36 am ||
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#1
There's now talk in the blogosphere that the fedayeen Saddam are Al Qaeda under new management, but employing old tactics.
It doesn't matter anyway, though: We're in Iraq because we're worried about a passing of WMD from Saddam to terrorists. It appears he has some already, home grown and loyal to him.
#2
I don't picture any Iraqis suicide bombing for Saddam, espeicially considering they're so pussy they need to put civilians in front of them when they shoot.
Posted by: g wiz ||
03/25/2003 10:37 Comments ||
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If this guy did destroy a tank with a bomb-belt, it sure was a *big* bomb-belt.
Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) troops have taken part in "shoot and scoot missions" behind enemy lines in Iraq, the Australian defence chief said on Tuesday. Army commander Lieutenant General Peter Leahy said the troops had gained significant intelligence about Iraqi movements, as well as destroying Iraqi military camps. The 150 SAS troops are part of 2,000 personnel Australia has committed to the US-led war in Iraq. The Australian troops are now working with British and American forces in the push towards Baghdad. Defence officials said there had been no reports of Australian injuries. Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill said on Tuesday that a fresh contingent of Australian forces could be sent to the Middle East. "If the conflict continues for some time, there may be a need for the rotation of forces," he said. But he added that the total deployment is likely to remain at about 2,000. Australian Prime Minister John Howard warned on Tuesday that the next stage of the war would be extremely difficult for the coalition forces. Mr Howard said he was pleased with the progress so far, but added that the allies faced many challenges in the coming days. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Mr Howard seemed to be regaining his popularity on Tuesday, after weeks of angry protests at his pro-war stance. For the first time, more Australians back war in Iraq than oppose it, according to a poll published by The Australian newspaper. Anti-war protests are still continuing, however. On Tuesday, 35 women in the southern island of Tasmania stripped bare and lay down in a paddock to spell out the words "No War". You can never have too many naked women.
Despite being a far smaller contingent than the US or UK troops in the Gulf, Australian forces have been involved in numerous offensives in the Iraq conflict. On Monday, Australian defence officials said members of the SAS had destroyed a missile command bunker deep in Iraqi territory, where they were involved in close fighting with Iraqi forces. The SAS has also helped coalition aircraft target enemy troops. The Australian warship HMAS Anzac has been bombarding Iraqi coastal positions on the al-Faw peninsula, giving support to British forces in the area. Well done, Mates!
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 09:37 am ||
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The government may not be reliable, and the people even less so, but one thing I learned about the Auzzies, their troops know their sh*t, tough as nails, and are the best people to have on your side -- with one exception: if you want to go into a bar and NOT get into a fight with the rear area pogues : -).
#5
Aussie SAS, US and British SOF use terrorist tactics against the enemy. With the difference being that we go after military assets, not defenseless civilians. This is excellent. You hit, you run, you confuse. We're getting inside their decision loop and that is a very, very good thing.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
03/26/2003 1:28 Comments ||
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First of all, there is the lack of the outflow of Iraqi refugees Using our self-imposed assumptions, we have interpreted this to mean that the populace has faith that the coalition forces will not harm them.
It would be nigh on impossible to hide a 40,000+ man force and, therefore, we should able to effectively target it. Yet that is not our current situation.
We have hit the various compounds and facilities in that urban area with great precision, seeking to spare the populace from harm. Yet in ignoring the publicly announced paradigm of our enemy, we are in all likelihood targeting places long empty of the enemy's strength. So where are these divisions of Republican Guards?
In town after town in southern Iraq, our forces have found only a few organized units, usually poorly supplied and equipped, and assume that the bulk of the forces have slunk away rather than face the coalition onslaught. As long announced, we have not sought to enter these towns for fear of inflicting civilian casualties, and so have routinely bypassed them intact. But the news is that our hyper-extended supply columns are now being attacked in the area of these same towns by irregular units, is the assumption, rather than line units in mufti. But the populace of the coalition-spared towns are not coming out to greet our forces other than in small numbers who, immediately after we depart, turn to the Arab media to back the Baath regime. Why is this the norm?
If we use the same facts plainly in evidence â but evaluate them by first taking Saddam at his word, in the awful knowledge of his brutal tactics and arrogant disregard for human life â it becomes apparent that he has not planned to use human shields for his facilities, but rather for each of his individual soldiers. This stratagem at a stroke accomplishes several critical military and political goals. First, it reduces the effectiveness of our advanced standoff weapons â forces us into close combat and the increased casualties, both civilian and/or coalition that it will inevitably create. It also suppresses any internal revolt without diverting forces away from engaging coalition forces. On the political side, it uses our own citizens' paradigm of expecting quick, bloodless victory and our public policy of reducing civilian casualties against us.
So where is the Iraqi military? It is hiding in the homes of everyday citizens, suppressing any nascent revolt while using their own country's women and children as living sandbags â a stunningly brutal, but highly effective tactic. Hitler told us what he was planning in "Mein Kampf" and was ignored at the cost of rivers of blood, but we cannot afford to discount Saddam's announcement â nor should we. Sept. 11 should have already taught us that innocents are of no concern to terrorists or their supporters.
What I have seen leads me to suspect that what we are being drawn into is a partisan style, urban conflict rather than the conventional one we hoped for. This will create a flood of civilian and coalition casualties with the predictable adverse political fallout. We will have to deal with the political costs, for the world is not likely to blame Hussein for the death of the innocents that he so blithely positions to hide behind. If true, it shows how our goodness will be used against us very effectively. The Blame America First Crowd won't let the continued slaughter of Iraqi citizens bother them today any more than it let them bother them yesterday. At least, not if it can be manipulated to humiliate America.
Posted by: becky ||
03/25/2003 09:38 am ||
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Someday soon, we will start to transition the Iraqi Television Network toward the free Iraq. Outside of Iraq we discuss "is he or isn't he the Real Slim Shady (Saddam). Internally they still see Saddam's machine on the tv screen. Once we pull the plug on him it will become more difficult to keep the image up that he is in control. It has been a subject of debate between "intelligence" wanting tv information to analyse and "military operations" wanting to squeeze the dying power structures remaining assets- the media.
#2
Source? Even if you don't link it (preferred), you need to at least mention it.
Posted by: Joe Katzman ||
03/25/2003 10:19 Comments ||
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Joe: Source links usually hide under the article title (which doesn't seem to show if you're viewing the "comment on this article" page). This one excerpts Tom Marzullo's March 25 "Strategies and Paradigms" column from World Net Daily.
Posted by: Old Grouch ||
03/25/2003 11:22 Comments ||
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President Saddam Hussein urged Iraqi tribesmen on Tuesday to join the battle against U.S. and British forces, giving them instructions on how to wage a guerrilla campaign against invading troops. A statement read out on Iraqi state television and attributed to Saddam told Iraqi tribes to "fight the enemy wherever they are" without waiting for battle orders from military commanders. Note that it is "attributed to Saddam", not that he said it himself. Wonder why that is?
"The enemy has violated your lands and now they are violating your tribes and families," the statement said. "If you cause them any damage, no matter how small, they will flee. Don't wait for our orders. Just fight them. Every one of you is a military leader." Saddam's statement also offered the tribesmen a crash course in military strategy, cautioning them against fighting U.S. and British troops head on and telling them to employ guerrilla tactics instead. "Fight them in small groups, hit their frontlines and their rear units so the whole advance will stop. And when it stops, attack them," it said. "If they deploy, leave them alone, don't fight them, but if they rest somewhere, attack." Sammy read Mao's rules for guerrilla warfare.
U.S. and British forces advancing toward the capital Baghdad have met stiff resistance from Iraqi forces, including paramilitary and militia units employing the kind of tactics described in Saddam's statement. U.S. officials say some Iraqis have pretended to surrender, and then opened fire. People in civilian clothes and non-military cars have shot at U.S. troops, and small roaming bands of Iraqi militiamen have mounted attacks in areas thought to have been secured. Time to round up every male, throw them in POW camps and sort them out later.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 08:02 am ||
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British forces south of Basra have blocked an attempted breakout by up to 50 Iraqi tanks seeking to press southward from the edge of the city, a British naval commander said on Tuesday. Captain Alan Massey of the flagship aircraft carrier Ark Royal said British light tanks from the Queen's Dragoons' Guard and marines from two battalions on the Faw Peninsula had halted the advance of the Iraqi tanks overnight and on Tuesday morning. "They were aided by small helicopter gunships and further surveillance helicopters stationed on board ships in Britain's amphibious task force off the Iraqi coast," he told Reuters. "We can't attack them directly because of fear of collateral damage (civilian casualties) so we get them when they poke out," Massey added. There's a trend here I don't like.
He said the helicopter and ground forces had destroyed five to seven Iraqi tanks in the fighting so far. British troops have taken over all responsibility for southern Iraq as U.S. forces press on toward the north in their campaign to oust President Saddam Hussein. Earlier, a British spokesman at Central Command headquarters in Qatar said British troops would not enter Basra, Iraq's second city, to battle "Fedayeen" irregular Iraqi fighters. "We're not going into Basra, it's simply considered a target," a British military spokesman at Central Command headquarters in Qatar told Reuters. "The reason it is a potential target is because it has an enormous political and military importance in the area." If you don't go in you don't have the town.
Brigadier Jim Dutton of the 3 commando brigade of the Royal Marines told Reuters an Iraqi unit of T-55 tanks was causing problems for the British at Abul Khasib, southeast of Basra, because they were hiding among houses. "They pose no real threat to us. They are not going to be able to advance but it is very difficult to winkle them out because of our collateral damage requirements," he told Reuters. "They are in built-up areas on the southern edge of Abul Khasib on the main east-west road that runs into Basra," he said. Since the United States and Britain invaded Iraq last Thursday, British troops have been reluctant to engage in urban warfare which would endanger the civilian population. "If we were prepared to flatten the houses we could destroy the tanks but we are not prepared to flatten the houses because that is not what we have come here for," Dutton said. And it's going to cost us lives.
British Lieutenant Colonel Ronnie McCourt, also at Central Command, said: "All options are open to us. If you're going to put your hand into the hornet's nest you have to make sure you are fully protected. Close-quarter stuff (fighting) really would not be our first choice." We don't have a choice, I'm afraid. Sammy's hard boys are dispursed within the population and will shoot anyone who trys to give up. People won't give up or turn them in if we don't put forces in the city and they see we aren't going away.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/25/2003 07:47 am ||
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I am disturbed by the reports from the field of the problem of distinguishing the Iraqi soldier from the the Iraqi civilian.
In addition to dropping leaflets advising Iraqi soldiers to surrender, we should have also dropped leaflets advising all Iraqis that anyone carrying a weapon of any kind is a legitimate target. That, it seems to me, would alleviate the need for the soldier vs. civilian distinction that our rules of engagement apparently is causing our troops.
It is going to be a tough and bloody fight, no doubt about it....with many thousands of American and coalition deaths in street to street fighting. For the sake of the future of the free world, it is a sacrfice we have to make. Once this regime is toppled, it will send a clear message to ALL of the rogue regimes that the Americans are not the same people they were prior to September 11. I personally see no end to terrorism. However, if we can make the price for support of terrorism by Rogue nations the toppling of their govt., then, in that event, one may think twice about doing so.
#2
"but it is very difficult to winkle them out"...
Sorry for being an ugly American here, but did he really say "winkle them out"? Would it be correct, using the Kings English instead of the "pig english" used over here in the states, to say "we are in the pro'-cess of winkling the wankers out"?
#3
Yep, Capsu. Does "winkle" mean something else your side of the pond?! Over here to "winkle out" means to extract something, with difficulty. It comes from the name "winkle", short for "periwinkle", which is an edible snail-shaped shellfish, so you winkle them out of their shells.
#4
Bulldog,
It will take many more generations for us Americans to culturally develop our linguistics to the fine precision of your dialect... and one could argue we have taken a serious detour on the way to elequence with Rap music, but that is another rant. Thank you for a fine cultural exchange. You have educated an American today with not only verification, but a fine background explanation.
To answer your question, no "winkle" in common use here, and no shellfish I have come across named periwinkle either. Thanks again!
youre the iraqi commander at Basra. Your forces are all INSIDE the city, where the coalition forces can't hit you easily by air cause of the civilians, and where if they come in with ground forces you'll use the urban terrain to make them pay. Your mere presence is an embarassment to the coalition. So, you send 50 tanks OUT of the city, to be slaughtered in the open by helicopters. WHY??????
Theres something going on here we dont know about.
#6
LOL Capsu, there's no need to be hard on yourself. There's no 'proper' English. In many respects US English is more faithful to the English used centuries ago than ours is over here now. Languages evolve and we can get as much from you as you can from us, if not more so.
PS "Winkle" can also mean "penis", apparently. I suppose you could "winkle out the wanking winkles".
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 12:00 Comments ||
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#8
Cross our fingers that the uprising now being reported in Basra means the Basrarians have begun the "winkling process" and there will be "wankers" swinging on lamp posts by sundown...you know, before the Brits can establish a security perimeter and reestablish human decency. Look for that image on Al Jezzera...
#10
Where are the A-10's? This is their specialty - hitting difficult targets with massive firepower in limited space.
I know, I know, the US Air Force pilots don't like to be saddled to anything that doesn't do mach 12 upside down in a climb, but the A-10 IS the preferred tank-killer.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 13:20 Comments ||
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#11
Old Pat,
I believe the Warthog might be a little "too much club" for close quarters fighting, don't you?
Sneek over and see what Tiger's pulling out of his bag!
The next big milestone of the war in Iraq will be a fierce assault on the Iraqi Republican Guard's Medina division, which guards the gates of Baghdad. Shattering the Medina division is now a central goal of the U.S. war plan for psychological as much as tactical reasons. U.S. officials hope that destroying the division with an overwhelming display of American firepower â a ground version of the "shock and awe" air campaign â will break the spirit of four other Republican Guard divisions surrounding the capital, and perhaps tip the political balance decisively against Saddam Hussein and his regime. Pehaps indeed!
Made up of some 10,000 troops, the Medina division is deployed about 50 miles south of Baghdad. It straddles one of two key highways into the capital, in a heavily defended area that Pentagon officials call the "Red Zone." Rumbling toward it, or already there, are 20,000 American troops, tanks and armored fighting vehicles from the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division. U.S. ground forces could begin attacking the Medina division as soon as American commanders decide that air attacks have sufficiently weakened the Iraqi forces surrounding Karbala.
I'd expect that intel assets are mapping where all the elements of Medina are deployed, as close to real time as possible, and that there's some detailed target lists going to the Air Force and Navy. Butting heads with the RG is the wrong way to go â 3ID and the Marines should be serving as recon elements right now, helping with the mapping, and should be anticipating engaging any survivors. I read an article yesterday â Sydney Morning Herald, I think â where they were expecting the allied forces to take 12,000 dead in taking Baghdad. If we don't run it as a combined arms operation, that could well happen...
Still Monday's fighting made clear that some optimistic early predictions of a swift and overpowering U.S. victory over Iraqi forces may not come to fruition. Apache pilots attacking the Medina division, one of Mr. Hussein's best units, Monday night reported encountering a torrent of fire that frequently forced them to abandon targets. In other cases pilots said they had to abandon planned strikes because Iraqi tanks were too close to homes or holy sites.
That's what happens when you use tactical aviation too early. Switch from helis to A10's and things will look different, especially if they follow B52s or Tomahawks...
In the south, U.S. Marines were still reporting hit-and-run attacks on U.S. supply lines. Pentagon officials described those attacks by Iraqi guerrilla forces as a nuisance. The real battle lies ahead in Baghdad. While U.S. forces have been allowing many regular Iraqi Army troops in southern Iraq to lay down their arms and walk away, planners say they need to break the Medina division, or turn its leaders against the regime, to prevent the elite troops from falling back to the capital and reinforcing Iraqi soldiers there. U.S. officials say they have been in regular contact with commanders of key Republican Guard units, trying to persuade them not to fight. So far there is no sign that they have succeeded.
It's a waste of time. Break it off and then get about the business of breaking them up...
Highly targeted strikes continued Monday, as U.S. ships and submarines lobbed cruise missiles at Iraqi leadership facilities in the capital city, accompanied by sorties from B-2 bombers. But as fighting moves closer to the capital, the Pentagon may find it hard to stick to that plan, especially if the Republican Guard, which is better-armed than other Iraqi military units, puts up a tough fight. To make the task harder for the Americans, U.S. planners say, troops and tanks from the Medina division appear to have dispersed widely in and around Karbala, placing themselves close to homes, schools, mosques and the region's many ancient Shia shrines. U.S. officials believe the Republican Guard units near Al Kut have been authorized to use chemical weapons. To hurt the Medina division from the air, U.S. commanders may have to risk far more civilian casualties and wider damage than they have to date.
Then risk them. The Bad Guys are the ones standing next to Grandmaw and Little Timmy, not us. There are good ideas, and then there are good ideas taken to an extreme. Christ knows, there were enough churches in Europe that had to be rebuilt 60 years ago...
British Prime Minister Tony Blair heralded the coming battle with the Medina division Monday as "a crucial moment" of the war. The division's troops "are those closest to Saddam that are resisting and will resist strongly," he told Parliament Monday. "The vital goal is to reach Baghdad as swiftly as possible, thus bringing the end of the regime closer." Mr. Blair will meet with President Bush at Camp David on Wednesday or Thursday to discuss the campaign's progress.
Medina should be engaged by then, I'd suspect, and they'll know how it's going...
By Monday afternoon, soldiers from the U.S. Third Infantry Division had reached the outskirts of Karbala and were about 50 miles from Baghdad. The vast Army convoy was slowed by sandstorms and by resistance from irregular Iraqi forces armed with rockets and grenade launchers near Najaf. Gusts were expected to reach up to 70 mph, stirring enough sand to make flying helicopters and driving trucks treacherous, said Col. Joe Anderson, commander of the 101st's second brigade at Camp New York, Kuwait. But Pentagon officials insisted that the troops are still ahead of the schedule set by Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in the region.
Sand storms are a bitch. They're a bitch for both sides...
The 101st is expected to advance rapidly in trucks and helicopters, which both transport infantrymen and shoot at the enemy. The division's third brigade, which also was deployed in Afghanistan, has set up refueling facilities in Iraq. The 101st's two other main infantry units â the first and second brigades â are still in Kuwait. Commanders wouldn't say when they'll move, but suggested that the winds probably will delay them. The 101st could be used either to defend vulnerable U.S. supply lines in the south or to provide added punch to attacks on the Republican Guard.
I'd say bring it up and overwhelm Medina in a sandwich job â but I'm not a general...
For a second day, U.S. Apache helicopters pounded the Medina troops and tanks from the air, preparing for the coming ground battle. Army Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said the attacks had "significantly degraded" the division's combat punch. The Pentagon has been preparing for the battle with the Republican Guard at Karbala since the opening night of the war. Air Force and Navy attack planes spent the first two days of the war striking at the Medina division's air defenses. Starting Sunday night, lower- and slower-flying A-10 tank killers and Apache helicopters began blasting the division's tanks and artillery pieces. The Army fired dozens of surface-to-surface rockets at the dug-in division. One senior military official said it appeared that Gen. Franks "wanted to make an example of the Medina division."
Take it apart and the others will be unhappy at the thought of engaging. Screw it up, and they'll all expect us to to screw up with them, too...
While the Army's Third Infantry prepares for the fight around Karbala, the U.S. First Marine Division is racing toward Baghdad, preparing for its own fight with a second Republican Guard Division stationed near Al Kut, 70 miles southeast of Baghdad and blocking the second major highway into the capital. Marines crossed the Euphrates River unopposed, apparently on the way to Al Kut. One contingent of Marines traveled for 26 hours straight, making slow stop-and-go progress, almost completely without Iraqi opposition. At 2 a.m. local time Tuesday they were awaiting orders in a convoy shrouded in total darkness.
So they're going to do two at once â simultaneously?
So far the Republican Guard unit there has been spared attacks from Marine helicopters, which have been operating farther south where Marines were facing resistance from irregular forces. That means that the Marine battle at Al Kut could be two or more days away as the helicopters are brought northward to destroy tanks and prepare the battlefield.
Where's the heavy air prep? What's missing from this story?
U.S. officials have warned that enemy troops at Al Kut may be armed with chemical weapons. American officials are hoping that a stunning defeat of the Medina forces outside Karbala might be enough to persuade the forces at Al Kut to surrender faster and without using their chemical arsenal. this logic seems a bit suspect to me.
Too much psychology here, and not enough air support...
How the Medina forces will fight isn't known. For now, it seems unlikely that they will rumble out of their defensive positions to try to attack U.S. armor. "The Iraqis simply can't maneuver in large formations without exposing themselves to attack from the air. To move in formation for any of these units is to die," says retired Col. Rick Sinnreich, who takes the role of the enemy commander in Army war games. Instead, the Army's biggest concern is that Republican Guard divisions will dig in until U.S. tanks get within striking distance, and then abandon their tanks and speed toward the urban sanctuary of Baghdad.
That would amount to insanity on their part. You can't expect your opponent to be insane...
To prevent that, the U.S. is unleashing a torrent of air power to kill as many of the enemy as possible. Once the battle begins, U.S. troops will seek to kill or capture Iraqi fighters before they have a chance to flee and regroup in the capital. The Third Infantry Division is likely to pursue fleeing Republican Guard units to the edge of Baghdad. Once there, U.S. forces could face an inner ring of defense around Baghdad that consists of two Republican Guard divisions as well as Mr. Hussein's 15,000-man Special Republican Guard unit. U.S. Navy and Air Force planes also have been hitting those forces hard in recent days.
I hope they're hitting them a lot harder, and a lot more systematically than is coming across in the news reports...
Gen. Franks, the U.S. commander, said Monday that the Iraqi leader's ability to communicate with and direct his forces is damaged but still working. In Baghdad the Iraqi government continued to demonstrate its political control. Iraqi state television broadcast a speech by Mr. Hussein, which included references to the battle for Umm Qasr that began Saturday. The references seemed intended to confirm that Mr. Hussein had survived two separate cruise-missile attacks on his residences Thursday morning and again on Friday night. U.S. officials said they couldn't tell when the speech was recorded. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz told reporters at a news conference that Mr. Hussein is "in full control of the army and the country."
I was hoping he was toe-tagged, but if he's not, tough luck. We'll have to get him later. He can stand against a wall with Tariq and Taha Yassin and count muzzle blasts...
U.S. planners are hoping to have most of the major cities in the south under control by the time they fully engage the Republican Guard outside Baghdad and move on toward the capital, so they don't have to divert much needed firepower southward. In the south Monday, U.S. and British troops continued to battle small but dangerous groups of Iraqi militia and regular forces around several towns and the key city of Basra. One British soldier was killed near the town of Az Zubayr south of Basra, the BBC reported. Fighting continued around the port city of Umm Qasr, which U.S. and British forces are eager to control so they can begin shipping in large amounts of humanitarian aid to help win the support of local residents.
I listened to Blair's news conference this morning. Some of the reporters seem unable to think of anything but Humanitarian Concerns®, demanding to know why these haven't been addressed, since we're all of five days into the campaign...
While most of the attention has focused on the southern region of the country, important work lies ahead for U.S. forces in the north, where a large oil field isn't yet fully under U.S. control. In that region, coalition warplanes bombed a military barracks near the Kurdish-held town of Chamchamal, not far from the Iraqi oil center of Kirkuk. Bombing also continued in Mosul, close to Kurdish territory. The U.S. hopes to use lighter forces, special-operations troops and some U.S. Army infantry units to secure the oil fields there. Defense officials said that the U.S. plans to begin airlifting large numbers of U.S. troops into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq over the next few days. Movements there have been somewhat hampered by the Turkish parliament's decision several weeks ago to deny ground access through Turkey to coalition forces.
Yeah. You might say that. 4ID driving south toward Baghdad would have produced an entirely different picture than what we're seeing today. Thank you, Turkey. Bastards.
Posted by: becky ||
03/25/2003 09:49 am ||
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"Too much psychology here, and not enough air support..."
Yup. Is Franks trying to wage a war against cavemen, frightening them into submission with our great armored boomsticks? Because when it comes to fear and subjugation, the Ba'ath have us beat hollow, and it's difficult to desert your unit with fedayeen guarding the door.
So, to repeat an oft-voiced question on these pages, "Why is Iraqi TV still broadcasting?"
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 8:42 Comments ||
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#2
Iraqi TV is broadcasting because its facilities are housed directly in a childrens hospital.
Its ok, both the hospital and the TV station will be under new management in about 5 days by my guess.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
03/25/2003 9:42 Comments ||
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#3
It was my understanding that we could have pirated "Saddam TV" broadcasting capabilities whenever we chose and replaced it with more "wholesome" programming. It may be useful for the transition to Free Iraq... Wonder how many stations a pair of rabbit ears picks up in "south Central B-town?
#5
They should hijack Iraqi TV and make it "All Porn, All The Time". By the time they snap out of it, we'll be eating lunch on the steps of Baghdad City Hall.
The British military is claiming to have captured a member of Saddam Hussein's ruling party. British forces say the activist, who is thought to be one of tens of thousands of Iraqi Baath Party members, was taken in a raid at Al Zubayr on Monday night. The operation was carried out by members of the 7th Armoured Brigade. British military chiefs want to separate political and military leaders of the regime. A military source said: "A raid was carried out last night by a patrol after they located a member of the Baath Party in a town."
One? We've got one single Baath party member? This doesn't sound right...
#1
Fred, they went for two, and came back with one. According to TV this raid quietened the town down pretty well. I don't think we want too many of these guys alive if we can help it.
#2
I don't know... capture as many as possible, squeeze them until they're dry, then feed them toes first into a large plastics shredder. Broadcast the resulting screams on Iraqi radio and television.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 14:49 Comments ||
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#3
I don't know... capture as many as possible, squeeze them until they're dry, then feed them toes first into a large plastics shredder. Broadcast the resulting screams on Iraqi radio and television.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 14:50 Comments ||
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#4
That's a nice picture. Looks like the Desert Rats got themselves a nice souvenir.
#5
Lets see, where shall we put it on the 'wall of shame':Old Nappy, The Kaiser, Adolf, Eva, Mussolini, il Duce's "girl friend", Galtieri, ahhh, here we go - thats a nice spot, right there after Galtieri.
Someone hand me the hammer.(too bad they cant nail his ass to the wall as well)
Posted by: frank martin ||
03/25/2003 18:53 Comments ||
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Edted for length.
A British defence firm has categorically denied supplying Iraq with boxes of rocket-propelled grenades bearing its name reportedly found near Basra. Hampshire-based Wallop Defence Systems told BBC News Online it had never produced anything with high explosives and had never sold anything to Iraq. The company, formerly called Wallop Industries, was responding to reports Scottish troops from the Black Watch regiment had discovered cruise missiles and warheads hidden in bunkers and cases of rockets, anti-shipping mines and other ammunition. One pile of boxes in a store housing rocket propelled grenades bore the name of Wallop Industries Limited, based in Middle Wallop. Company spokesman Matthew Smallwood said: "The company only makes things like smoke grenades and flares."
Maybe they just put the high explosives in Wallop boxes, huh?
He said the company had sold several thousand smoke grenades to the Kuwaitis in 1985. Six years later it was informed by the Ministry of Defence that some of these were found in an Iraqi arms cache. "It was concluded then as it is now that when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991 they got their hands on the smoke grenades. We are investigating these claims as best as we can in a highly fluid situation," he said.
Uh-oh! I feel the benefit of the doubt kicking in here. One of the boxes — don't know if it was Wallop's — was stamped "Contract AS Navy. 5/1980 Iran"...
Reports said British-made explosive components, believed to be fuses for detonators, were in boxes stamped "Wallop Industries Limited, Middle Wallop, Hampshire". They were said to carry danger signs and a prohibition on the product being carried by air. Major Nick Channer, second in command of Black Watch, which found the weapons arsenal at Zubayr civilian heliport south of Iraq's second city of Basra, said experts had been called in to examine the discovery.
Perhaps Mr Wallop would like to stop by to examine them in person?
Two Russian-made Harith long-range anti-shipping Cruise missiles dated 2002 were also among the weapons found in concrete bunkers.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/25/2003 07:42 am ||
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If you were Mr. Wallop's butler and he were getting ready for holiday, would people say you pack a Wallop?
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 10:02 Comments ||
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silly Mr. Wallop . in an age when we trying to limit weapon use . we have some dip shit company selling millitary hardware to unstable governments for profit . and thats all it is . PROFIT IN BLOOD . I am British and and not proud of these foolish actions . I hope that company rots in hell for agrovating an already escalating problem .
#4
Dar, unfortunately there is no Mr Wallop, the company's based in Middle Wallop, Hampshire, UK. Middle Wallop's situated between Over Wallop and Nether Wallop, if case that helps.
I don't think we should pre-judge the Wallop boys too quickly. If you want to check out their website, you might find products other than flares and aircraft/naval countermeasure devices, but I didn't. Admittedly some of their countermeasures, particularly the anti-air stuff, would be useful if Sammy had his hands on them. And also, simply because items they have manufactured are found in Iraq doesn't mean they knowingly provided Sammywith them.
#5
Wallop will most likely have all the necessary documentation to clear this up: what they built when, and where it went. So the bad guys recycled some boxes for RPG storage, so what? It's not like finding cruise missiles all marked up in Cyrllic.
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 12:21 Comments ||
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#6
You need to see the "special products catalog" kept in the back room, behind the counter...
#7
"simply because items they have manufactured are found in Iraq doesn't mean they knowingly provided Sammywith them."
Bulldog,
I think we will probably here the same excuse from France/Russia/Germany.
Ain't that like the drug dealer claiming"I didnt'sell drugs to those Middle-school children."
British forces are preparing a move to secure the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Several days ago British military officials they would prefer to negotiate surrenders with enemy troops rather than move into the city itself. But the British force has continued to face intense resistance on the fringes of the city. There were artillery exchanges throughout Monday.
So now they're through passing gas and they'll do what they should have done in the first place? Good idea!
Group Capt Al Lockwood, spokesman for British forces in the Gulf, said: "Our forces now surround Basra and we are obviously assessing the situation before we commence operations to take out the non-regular militia." He said time was on the British side, but acknowledged that the humanitarian concerns were an issue. Shameless UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned of a rising humanitarian crisis in the city, saying urgent measures had to be taken to restore electricity and water supply to Basra's 1.3 million people.
"I mean, it's been five, six days now! Why, oh why, haven't the Humanitarian Concerns® of the World Community® been addressed?"
Group Captain Lockwood continued: "What we wish to do is obviously secure Basra as quickly as possible. "There are over a million people in Basra and we are only dealing with a very small number of opposition. "We need to secure the city for the inhabitants and to ensure that their basic necessities in life are taken care of, and obviously that the necessary humanitarian aid, medical facilities are restored as quickly as possible."
Start by killing all the Baathists. The rest will follow naturally.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/25/2003 07:46 am ||
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According to the latest news there may be a Shiite uprising against the Iraqi forces in Basra...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 12:10 Comments ||
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Headline in Guardian: 'We could sink in the swamp of Iraq' A sampling of editorial opinion
Sabah Turkey, editorial, March 22
"US-Turkish relations are ... drifting towards very dangerous waters ... The US has revealed that it is fiercely opposed to Turkish soldiers entering northern Iraq ... Iraqi Kurds' threat [to take Kirkuk] ... shows that the aim of sending forces into northern Iraq has gone way beyond [providing] humanitarian aid. In other words, in the same way that the US has sent soldiers to Iraq as a 'pre-emptive war' strategy, Turkey must enter northern Iraq for a 'pre-emptive intervention'."
Fikret Bil Millyet, Turkey, March 23
"The US is placing its emphasis on negotiations with the groups in northern Iraq and ... has left Turkey's worries in the background. This is why [the Turks] distrust the US so much ... Acceding to all US requests by instantly saying 'with pleasure' is the sort of thing only seen in banana republics ... It is not realistic to be this afraid of America ... "The foreign minister, [Abdullah] Gul ... has explained under what conditions and with what aims Turkey will enter northern Iraq ... [to maintain] border security, prevent large waves of refugees, and to intervene when confronted with attempts to massacre the Turkmens."
Mensur Akgun Hurriyet, Turkey, March 24
"The rejection of the motion [to allow US troops to be stationed in Turkey] ... gave the Kurds in northern Iraq a new hope ... If America cannot, or does not want to, obstruct the Kurds then Turkey could sink in the swamp of northern Iraq. Not only will our relations with America and Europe break down, we could also inadvertently help in the creation of a Kurdish state."
Mahmut Sakar Ozgur Politika, March 24
"Until Turkey changes its approach and comes to an agreement to integrate with its own Kurds, then [the situation] will become even more painful. Turkey must ... adopt a new political perspective that has peace and a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem at its core." Ozgur Politika is a European-based Kurdish newspaper
William Safire New York Times, March 24
"The Turks ... insist that Iraqi Kurds plan to set up an independent state, which would then supposedly cause Turkish Kurds to secede and break up Turkey. "That's strictly [Tayyip] Erdogan's cover story for an oil grab, undermining the coalition's plans for an Iraq whole and free. Even America's severest critics recognise Turkey's move as venal ... The novice wheeler-dealer in Ankara [has] succeeded in alienating both the transatlantic coalition of the willing and old Europe's union of the unwilling."
Jordan Times Editorial, March 24
"To be sure, Turkey has legitimate national concerns about the war against Iraq. But taking a unilateral decision to move troops into a neighbouring country is no way to deal with them. If all of Iraq's neighbours started taking international law into their own hands and began a process of direct military intervention in the Arab country, the result would be disastrous for regional stability and security. It would mean a breakdown of law and order in the region."
Alon Liel Maariv, Israel, March 24
"America's acceptance of a Kurdish state would be ... fatal for the historic alliance between Washington and Ankara, a heavy blow to the integrity of Nato, and imperil Israeli-Turkish relations ... The key is with Ankara, not Washington. Turkey will have to withdraw its objections to an independent Kurdish state, even if that seems impossible at the moment. The US will need Europe's help in this. Only the prize of full EU membership will make it possible for Turkey to agree to the formation of Kurdistan. But it is hard to see the Bush administration's clumsy diplomacy resolving this soon."
Posted by: Kerry ||
03/25/2003 07:47 am ||
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Were those first two editorials before our warning shot "stray" bombs? I can't believe they think we're not serious.
Good thinking, Maariv. You can be sure that Turkey and the EU will continue to show the concern and support for Israel that they have in the past. What a backstabbing dolt.
#5
I've always liked McCaffrey, and here he brings up some very good points. Iraq is not the place to be experimenting with the new way of fighting. Already, it looks like events are conspiring to allow / force us to bring in more troops for Baghdad. If I remember correctly, 4ID equip transited the Suez 2 days ago. But, I also think that 3000 casualties is high, unless the Iraqs are able to really hit us with Bio/Chem cap. The bottom line here is that Turkey strung us along or those 4ID troops would be there right now. Sorry Murat, but that's the truth of it - and we WILL remember that.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/25/2003 11:47 Comments ||
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#6
I've been baffled by Turkey for a while. Now I realize they're just bungling. Golly, Erdogan, don't be a Mr. Bungles.
#7
Apologies for submitting to wrong article - this should have gone under
'McCaffrey' but I stand by my comments regarding Turkey. Quite an appropriate name now, don't ya think?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/25/2003 13:43 Comments ||
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Slightly edited
American Marines battled their way into the heart of Nasiriya on Monday, but they appeared to be stepping into just the sort of urban imbroglio they had been hoping to avoid. In the reporters' OPINION
Following heavy fighting here on Sunday, in which 10 Americans were killed in an ambush, Marines found themselves wading into a protracted street fight on Monday that took them into the heart of a populated area. Helicopter gunships fired rockets into the city, and residents of Nassiriya complained that the air raids had killed and injured scores of civilians. The Marines countered that the Iraqis were using civilians as shields, pushing women and children into the streets to drive up the civilian body count. They also said Iraqi men were leaping out of the buses and taxis to shoot at them.
Tough for the Marines, tougher still for the taxi riders...
The fighting continued until sunset, with the Marines gaining control of much of the urban center but sustaining an unknown number of casualties. OPINION ALERT. Howell Raines boys are at it again. Necessary as it may have been, Monday's battle was not the sort of warfare that American commanders had envisioned to persuade the Iraqi population of America's good intentions. For American commanders, winning the war means destroying the Baghdad government, but it also includes an effort to avoid the kind of urban fighting that might enrage the Iraqi people.
But if we've got to do that, then we'll do it. I think the "urban warfare" mess is a matter of holding actions, enough to keep supply lines secure, not enough to really take the cities and towns. The strategy seems to be to cut off the head and then roll up the appendages...
"No Iraqi will support what the Americans are doing here," said a man at an American checkpoint at the city limits who gave his name as Nawaf. "If they want to go to Baghdad, that's one thing, but now they have come into our cities, and all Iraqis will fight them." And this man on the Arab street has surveyed each Iraqi.
In interviews on Monday, residents of Nassiriya, including Nawaf, said that American bombs dropped on the city in the morning had killed 10 Iraqi civilians and injured as many as 200. Of course, Saddam would never want to harm his dear people by drawing the fighting into the cities.
Some of the Iraqis conceded that loyalists to President Saddam Hussein had operated bases inside the city center. But many Nassiriya residents, including those who said they were opposed to Hussein, expressed outrage at the entrance of American troops. No Baath Party Stalinists influenced this free speech, I'm sure!
In the chaos of the fighting, it was impossible to verify the Iraqi claims of civilian deaths. An American commander said on Monday night that the fighting had taken them into the heart of the city, and he did not discount the possibility that Iraqi civilians could have been killed. Col. Glenn Starnes, the commander of an artillery battalion firing on Nassiriya, placed responsibility for any civilian deaths on the Iraqi soldiers who drew the Marines into the populated areas. "We will engage the enemy wherever he is," Starnes said. Amen to that.
Nasiriya, a southern Iraqi city that spans the Euphrates River, is coveted by American commanders for a pair of bridges that could be used to help a Marine division move north toward Baghdad.
Posted by: Kerry ||
03/25/2003 07:56 am ||
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SkyNews reports that these bridges have now been crossed by the armored column and are heading toward Baghdad.
#2
Ugh. From the NYT to the Strib. Best of the Left, here.
Look at the last sentence: "coveted by American commanders". Coveted! By commanders! GAH
Posted by: matt ||
03/25/2003 8:52 Comments ||
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#3
More on Nasiriyah:
"The BBC's Andrew North in Nasiriya says he found Iraqi weapons, uniforms and chemical protection suits in a hospital in Nasiriya. US marines who took control of the complex said they had also come under fire from soldiers at the hospital."
I hope we are spreading the word on this sort of thing around the world.
#4
I hear the hold-up on the Northern front is that we are trying to link up a division of Armenians with the Kurds. They will be serving as a rear guard, watching for backstabbing poultry.
1. Any civilian who sees an Iraqi soldier or illegular enter a building with a gun, will flee because it is obvious that the combatant is taking up a snipe position.
2. Any soldier who is under attack from a building can assume that civilians have fled, and fire at will.
Edited for length I don't know if General McCaffrey has a major axe to grind or if he is trying to inject realism into the public's understanding of possible costs to this war.
The U.S.-led force in Iraq risks as many as 3,000 casualties in the battle for Baghdad and Washington has underestimated the number of troops needed, a top former commander from the 1991 Gulf War said on Monday. Retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, said the U.S.-led force faced "a very dicey two to three day battle" as it pushes north toward the Iraqi capital.
We will if we go head to head with the Republican Guard, rather than running a tightly coordinated combined arms operation...
"We ought to be able to do it (take Baghdad)," he told the Newsnight Program on Britain's BBC Television late on Monday. In the process if they (the Iraqis) actually fight, and that's one of the assumptions, clearly it's going to be brutal, dangerous work and we could take, bluntly, a couple to 3,000 casualties," said McCaffrey who became one of the most senior ranking members of the U.S. military following the 1991 war. "So if they (the Americans and British) are unwilling to face up to that, we may have a difficult time of it taking down Baghdad and Tikrit up to the north west." McCaffrey said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had misjudged the nature of the conflict. Asked if Rumsfeld made a mistake by not sending more troops to start the offensive, McCaffrey replied: "Yes, sure. I think everybody told him that. I think he thought these were U.S. generals with their feet planted in World War II that didn't understand the new way of warfare."
This is the test of the "new way of warfare." It has lots of points in its favor, but there are also points against it. One of them is that when engaging heavy armored formations, it's good to have heavy armored formations of one's own...
U.S. forces have advanced more than 200 miles into Iraqi territory since the start of the war and are beginning to confront an elite division of the Republican Guards deployed to defend the capital. "So it ought to be a very dicey two to three day battle out there." McCaffrey said of the confrontation with the Republican Guards. He said his personal view was that the invading troops would "take them (the Iraqis) apart."
That's my view, too. But the manner of the taking apart is the important thing. If we spend too much time trying to minimize casualties on their side, we're going to increase casualties on our side...
"But we've never done something like this with this modest a force at such a distance from its bases," he warned.
Posted by: Kerry ||
03/25/2003 08:01 am ||
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3000, hmmm that's way to low, the numbers of casualties will hit twice that number, and it won't be British or US soldiers but Kurdish as the US plans to use the peshmerga's for urban warfare, speaking of moral values and Geneva conventions!
Posted by: Murat ||
03/25/2003 2:54 Comments ||
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My knee-jerk reaction is that McCaffrey is telling it that way he sees it. Most folks on this board don't need the reminder that "3000 casualties" doesn't equal 3000 dead, but I'll do that anyway. Given that, McCaffrey's prediction is not out-of-line with most reasonable prewar estimates of our losses -- and is a lot more favorable than some of the more hysterical ones.
The question of "did we commit enough troops?" is a big one. The generals wanted more troops on the ground (five divisions). Rumsfield wanted less. Who's ultimately right or wrong is still up in the air, but it sure seems that Franks would have found another division very useful.
As for Murat's comments, I don't think that it's in the plan to get the Kurds all the way to Baghdad, except perhaps as a blocking force. And if the Kurds are less than kind with any of their former overlords in any of the regions they ultimately control -- well, that's a whirlwind being reaped.
Posted by: Patrick Phillips ||
03/25/2003 3:28 Comments ||
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#3
I doubt very much that his BBC audience got the casualties/deaths distinction.
As for the other division, shouldn't we be asking the Turks about that?
#4
Don't forget thanks to the Turks we have One division (the 4th) out of this fight for a while as well. Would be nice if we had even as many as we planned for, Then with a 2 day sandstorm forecast the Iraqis may have some time to regroup before the tanks come rolling in.
#5
someone, I think most of the newsnight audience would have got the distinction, but with different ideas as to what the ratio of killed:injured would be.
#6
This [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,82089,00.html] is the type of thing that pisses me off! Why are we shoving a notepad, mike, and camera in front of every mom and dad of POWs/MIAs? Can you imagine CNN/Fox/etc covering D-Day? The Allies suffered 36 casualties per minute during the first day at Normandy Beach! War is hell and people get killed and slaughtered. If we have to make the focus of this war bodycounts, and not actually winning it, we are in serious trouble....
#7
3,000 casualties? That sounds really high and scary. But I guess when you compare it to the 3,000 deaths we suffered on 9-11, and the fact that we are there to prevent an even bigger catastrophe than that, it almost seems like nothing.
Though I still think MOAB is the way to go.
Posted by: g wiz ||
03/25/2003 8:02 Comments ||
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#8
His main beef is that his advice wasn't followed. Sore loser. And, besides, he gets paid to pundit, and pundits have to generate headlines.
The Fourth, if it had entered from Turkey, would be working around Tikrit right now. Unlikely they would have bypassed Tikrit, because of the hardcore nature of its defenders. So, no use to us in Baghdad anyway.
You know, very quiet in the West. Elements of First Armored were deployed weeks ago, where are they? Also, is the 4th actually going to Kuwait, or to Jordan? I think there's one more surprise up the sleeve.
#9
Don't forget thanks to the Turks we have One division (the 4th) out of this fight for a while as well.
Thanx to Turks? No buddy, thanx to the big political failures of the white house, who planned everything from the positive side with disregard of every worst case scenario. What about the Shia who were supposed to join in and the Iraqi army revolting? Somebody (Rumsfeld?) really screwed up while typing out the Iraq picnic scenario
Posted by: Murat ||
03/25/2003 8:17 Comments ||
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#10
Point the fingers wherever you like, Murat, but Turkey made a choice and now gets to live with the consequences.
#12
Anonymus, I think our government did the right thing, it is not our war nor is it a NATO defense action and certainly not a legal war.
Apart from this strange activity has been sighted at some naval ports. In the port city of Ãskenderun, the freighter 'Republica Roma' who was docked for 10 days started to unload military equipment, amongst them 6 sikorsky black hawks and tracked vehicles. Also at the port of Mersin the ships âPacifik Linkâ and the âMersk Rostolkâ started unloading of military equipment this morning. I thought the US had given up the northern route, does somebody know more what is going on, why are the ships unloading their military freights?
Posted by: Murat ||
03/25/2003 9:29 Comments ||
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#13
"it is not our war nor is it a NATO defense action and certainly not a legal war."
It occurs to me that we made the same mistake in anticipating Turkey's action's that Turkey, (and EU and UN) made regarding us. People like Murat, and others, including the UN don't understand that the word games, like, "legal war", may have played well for Clinton, but, the Bush administration doesn't play the, What is the meaning of the word "is" game. Period. And the American people are sick of it too.
Likewise, we expect democratic govn'ts to change, but everyone expected the Turkish Government to behave as it had done in the past: sane and in the best interests of the country. But Commanders grow old and retire. The assumption that the Turkish military will act in accordance as they have done in the past is as unrealistic as it is for countries like Russia and Turkey to think that Bush will be willing to play the "illegal war" game, any more than he was willing to play the "inspections" game.
Thanks to Monica and OJ, the country just wants to "move on" and "get back to the business of the country", eliminating terrorists. When we want to play word games, we'll pull out the Scrabble.
#14
I hear the hold-up on the Northern front is that we are trying to link up a division of Armenians with the Kurds. They will be serving as a rear guard, watching for backstabbing poultry.
#15
I'd like to see the Turks try and justify their land grab, Murat. They should be treated as hostiles. I believe taht Incirlik and other bases in Turkey will become less useful and eventually Turkey can have them back..they won't need them after their country slides into economic ruin...who'd want to invade them? You used to sound thoughtful and reasonable, even if I disagreed with your points, now you're just trolling
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 12:36 Comments ||
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#16
As (ex)Gen. Al Haig said: "Hell, in Vietnam we were taking 500 dead a WEEK."
#17
Anyone can say it is not a "legal" war as long as they do not mind a peverse and willful reading of past SC resolutions (for those who actually give a rat's arse about that formerly viable institution), and conveniently ignore other reasonable grounds for the war.
That's just an excuse, not a justification. Turkey does not want to help, fine, they want to impede our efforts, fine. Then Turkey must accept the consequences, whether they like them or not.
#18
Murat: "does somebody know more what is going on, why are the ships unloading their military freights?"
Murat, I wouldn't tell you if I knew. Right now Turkey is drifting to the "foe" side of my "friend or foe" list and I'd treat any armed Turk in Iraq as a possible enemy combatant.
Frankly, I'd give the Kurds their own country too, so I guess I just don't care too much about Turkish sensibilities. I don't see why the Kurds deserve anything less.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/25/2003 20:34 Comments ||
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair will visit President Bush this week, giving the two allied leaders a chance to compare notes and plot strategy in the war with Iraq. Blair will arrive Wednesday and the two leaders will go to Bush's presidential retreat at Camp David to continue their talks Thursday, a diplomatic source told The Associated Press.
By then they'll see how the fight with the RG is shaping up and that'll give them an idea of how much is left to do...
Blair, at some considerable political risk, has stood firmly with the United States on using force to disarm Iraq. Of late, though, his popularity appears to be rising. Bush and the prime minister joined against a strong anti-war bloc, led by France and including Russia and Germany. The rift has created strains in the United Nations and the NATO alliance, a topic likely to be on the two leaders' agenda along with the war to unseat Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Postwar Iraq is another likely topic. Blair favors a strong U.N. role in authorizing a post-Saddam authority in Baghdad. But France and Russia appear determined to block the move, as they did a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution designed to support use of force against Iraq. Oh well. We tried. Guess we'll have to do it on our own. Their loss.
Reconstruction of Iraq is already under discussion, with the United States likely to foot most of the bill, although contributions from others will be sought.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 08:04 am ||
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Noted on CNN overnight; long but will generate a lot of buzz.
Hopes of a joyful liberation of a grateful Iraq by US and British armies are evaporating fast in the Euphrates valley as a sense of bitterness, germinated from blood spilled and humiliations endured, begins to grow in the hearts of invaded and invader alike. Attempts by US marines to take bridges over the river Euphrates, which passes through Nasiriya, have become bogged down in casualties and troops taken prisoner. The marines, in turn, have responded harshly. Harsh? Sounds like al-Guardian editorializing. We're being remarkably restrained.
Out in the plain west of the city, marines shepherding a gigantic series of convoys north towards Baghdad have reacted to ragged sniping with an aggressive series of house searches and arrests. A surgical assistant at the Saddam hospital in Nassiriya, interviewed at a marine check point outside the city, said that on Sunday, half an hour after two dead marines were brought into the hospital, US aircraft dropped what he described as three or four cluster bombs on civilian areas, killing 10 and wounding 200. Mustafa Mohammed Ali said he understood US forces going straight to Baghdad to get rid of Saddam Hussein, but was outraged that they had attacked his city and killed civilians. "I don't want forces to come into the city. They have an objective, they go straight to the target," he said. "There's no room in the Saddam hospital because of the wounded. It's the only hospital in town. When I saw the dead Americans I cheered in my heart. Your name again, sir?
If you don't want us in your city, then point out the snipers and Fedayeen to us and we'll take care of it, and leave you alone.
"They started bombing Nasiriya on Friday but they didn't bomb civilian areas until yesterday, when these American dead bodies were brought in. We know the difference between a missile and a cluster bomb. A missile shoots to one target whereas a cluster bomb spreads after they release it." Mr Ali said marines now controlled the centre of the city, but that fighting was continuing, with members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party in the forefront. Asked about the much-vaunted fedayeen militia, reported by some sources to be leading the battle, Mr Ali said: "They are children." Other travellers from Nassiriya said they were press-ganged youths who went into battle dressed in black with black scarves wound around their faces and who fight for fear of the execution committees waiting to shoot them if they try to run. So let's find the execution committees. Shouldn't be too hard -- hard boys with guns towards the rear.
Watching from behind a barbed wire barrier as hundreds of the marines' ammunition trucks, armoured amphibious vehicles, tankers, tanks and trucks lumbered past through clouds of dust as fine as talcum powder, Mr Ali asked why such a huge army was needed just to catch a single man. This guy is right up there with Michael Moore — and the Guardian reporter.
"We don't want Saddam, but we don't want them [the Americans] to stay afterwards," he said. "Like they entered into Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar and didn't leave, they will do here. They are fighting Islam. They're entering under the pretext of targeting Ba'ath, but they won't leave." Light dawns on Mr. Ali.
Another Iraqi squatting next to him leaned over, pointed to the convoys and said: "This is better than Saddam's government." The marine convoys, which have been passing northward now almost non-stop for two days, are using a partly-built concrete motorway bridge over the Euphrates which US military engineers have made strong enough to take one tank at a time. At this point the river is a narrow, slow-flowing blue current. Nasiriya is at the western end of the waterlands once occupied by 200,000 Marsh Arabs, the Ma'dan, whose culture, thousands of years old, was all but destroyed by Saddam with terrible loss of life.
Most things appear to be better than Sammy's government. But I can understand the some of the Iraqis' sentiments of patriotism — they're are thinking of their image of their country, rather than of the regime. It's like having surgery that you know is going to hurt, and that isn't going to totally fix your ailment, but you'll get worse without it...
Staff Sergeant Larry Simmons, a Floridian from a marine reconnaissance unit in a foxhole overlooking the bridge, was not impressed by what he saw. "You learn about the Euphrates in geography class, and you get here and you think: 'This is the Euphrates? Looks like a muddy creek to me'." The marines are aggrieved: aggrieved that the Iraqis aren't more grateful, aggrieved that the Iraqis are shooting at them, aggrieved that the US army's spearhead 3rd Infantry Division tore through Nasiriya earlier in the invasion without making it safe. "They didn't clear the place, and then they left, and now the marines sure have to clear it," he said. "Just like the goddam army."
Oh, shuddup. That's what the plan was. They get Baghdad, you get Nasiriyah — for awhile...
And the Iraqis are aggrieved at the marines. A 50-year-old businessman and farmer, Said Yahir, was driving up to the main body of the reconnaissance unit, stationed under the bridge. He wanted to know why the marines had come to his house and taken his son Nathen, his Kalashnikov rifle, and his 3m dinars (about £500). Son is probably about 25 or so, right? Add it up: hard boy, rifle, and money. Take your time, Said, we'll wait for you to figure it out.
"What did I do?" he said. "This is your freedom that you're talking about? This is my life savings." In 1991, in the wake of Iraq's defeat in the first Gulf war, Mr Yahir was one of those who joined the rebellion against Saddam Hussein. His house was shelled by the dictator's artillery. The US refused to intervene and the rebellion was crushed. "Saddam would have fallen if they had supported us," Mr Yahir said. "I've been so humiliated." We're sorry about that; that's why we're here this time.
Under the bridge, Sergeant Michael Sprague was unrepentant. The money, the marines said, was probably destined for terrorist activities — buying a suicide bomber, for instance. "The same people we determined were safe yesterday were found with weapons today," he said. Marine scouts shot two Iraqi men yesterday when they were seen carrying Kalashnikovs. Each man was found to be carrying three magazines, but they never fired at the marines before they were killed. "They were pointing their weapons in an aggressive manner, and they were taken out," said Sgt Sprague. Nathen had been captured the previous day, along with dozens of others, and like them, had been let go, Sgt Sprague said. Then they caught him again with a Kalashnikov in mint condition and 3m dinars. Sarge is a lot quicker than daddy Said was.
"So the question I would like to be asked is, if this person already went through EPW [enemy prisoner of war] questioning and was found to be OK, why on earth would he come back? The problem with these people is that you can't believe anything they say." Could he understand the locals' distrust of the US after what happened in 1991? "If it weren't for the liberal press, we might have taken Baghdad last time," said the sergeant. Attaboy, Sarge, tell us.
In the end the marines let father and son go on their way with gun and money, accepting that both were for personal use. But Sgt Sprague was none too happy to see them go. The convoys have, after all, come under sporadic mortar attack. "There's a mad mortarman out there," he said. I would have kept the rifle. Have Said sign a receipt.
Those mortars are probably for personal use, too. When's elk season in Nasiriyah?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 08:17 am ||
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#1
Al Guardian, home of Charlotte Raven, temple-whore of the Hate America Cult (their arch-druid, Bob "hit me again" Fisk works for the laughably named Independent). The day after 9-11, Raven wrote of the United States that "a bully with a bloody nose is still a bully." Another Guardian slut, whose name escapes me, wrote that the money being spent to identify the dead from the WTC should be sent to third world countries instead, since the feelings of the rich oppressor class that populated the building did not matter. They are bigots, terror-apologists, and prostitutes, pure and simple. Any trustafarian or Mumia-cong halfwit who is offended by this can report me to the Thought Police.
#2
Any combatant without uniform can be executed on the spot. I can't understand why they allow locals to retain arms during a war.
Posted by: TJ Jackson ||
03/25/2003 1:31 Comments ||
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#3
I have seen some film of Fedayen irregulars. My evaluation: paunchy but fanatic. They appear to be recruiting any idiot who would feel gratitude for being empowered now by a dicator who disempowered people for over two decades. As the front tightens, they will become useless. However, during occupation they would be deadly. Perhaps, at victory Coalition troops should shoot anybody who isn't smiling.
#4
There have been reports of some Iraqi gratitude and jubilation at liberation but the overwhelming picture painted by the media is negative - grumbling, if not outright hostile. Saddam may be a thug but he's their own thug. Why do they have to make things difficult for themselves?
I hope there's a change if we can break the back of the Rep. Guard resistance. Perhaps they'll be more relieved when the shots have stopped and relief aid arrives and the reconstruction begins in earnest. The best antidote will be to kill Sammy. Then they'll be less suspicious of reversals or reprisals. In the mean time, I feel bad for the boys that have to watch their backs and wipe out the hornet's nests. Good luck. I hope Baghdad doesn't turn into a big Moghadishu.
#5
Since "Three Kings" is one of my favorite war movies, I can understand their ambivilance towards us this time.
That said, Atom Conspiracy is correct. Forget the sensibilities of the Eurocreeps who would leave these folks in slavery and let's just do a hardcore WWII-style de-Nazification program with summary judgements on gunnys like that creepo son.
These Ba'athists need to be locked up and tried, not let go in 24 hours to terrorize the local yokels. We'll never be safe unless we administer the proper whupass.
#6
Let's connect a few points. Iraqis I've seen on TV have been polite with a little dancing. (See Safwan) Remember it was the Marine who started tearing down Saddam's portrait, then the local beat S's image with the sole of his sandal. They do, I'm sure, remember '91, so they're not going to jump into our arms until they KNOW they will not be punished by mukhabarat/feyadeen folks. You can be assured that they've been told as well about all the atrocities that Coalition forces would commit. Sounds ridiculous to us, but these folks have been conditioned to think like that.
My next point is related to the preceding sentence. These folks have also been traumatized by 30-40 or more years of terror; they have learned not to trust anybody. They see our guys and they're naturally reticent. So let's not get in a tif about why garlands are not being placed around our necks. The Kuwaitis were happy to see us. It's been said here on Rantburg many times before: The big opportunity was '91, but the UN mission was only for the lib of Kuwait. All the more reason to keep the UNSC the hell OUT until we and those Iraqis who want to help have started to rebuild people's minds and not just their infrastructure. Cambodians were probably in shock when Vietnamese came in to get rid of Pol Pot. Remember reaction of Dachau prisoners. Why didn't they look happier? Obvious answer.
Posted by: Michael ||
03/25/2003 10:29 Comments ||
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#7
Michaels points are very good.
I would simply point out that this means we need patience. On the left there are some who are already calling this a quagmire. On the right we are getting murmurings to get tougher, stop worrying about civilian casualties, win and get out.
We're not at that point yet - we're not even a week into this thing. Lets see what happens after we've cleaned up Basra, after we've brought food in, after we've taken down a RG division. Hold firm - be resolute.
#10
Yes, Robert, I realize that the movie was fiction. Many good films are fiction. The point I was trying to make about the ruthless crushing of the Shi'ite rebellion has been made much more eloquently by Michael.
Edited severely.
A British soldier who was shot as he tried to calm rioting civilians in southern Iraq died yesterday, the first British combat death since the war began, the Ministry of Defence said. The soldier, whose name was not released, was shot on Sunday evening near Az Zubayr and died from his wounds. The dead man's next of kin were informed yesterday. It is understood they asked the Ministry of Defence to give them time before releasing the name so that they could inform all the man's relatives. The MoD would not release details of the man's regiment for fear this would alarm all the relatives of personnel serving in that regiment. Thank you, soldier.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 08:06 am ||
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#1
God bless the British. I hope that in the future rioting civilians are dealt with in a prompt and direct method. Iraqis understand deadly force.
Posted by: TJ Jackson ||
03/25/2003 1:32 Comments ||
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#2
Thank you from me too.
Make an announcement: No rioting. Turn in the fedayeen amongst you, or get shot while we shoot back.
Huge explosions shook buildings in the heart of the capital Tuesday, apparently from U.S. forces bombing Iraqi positions on the city outskirts. With coalition troops closing in, the streets were nearly empty as people hunkered down in anticipation of the battle for Baghdad. Thousands of Marines poured toward the city in convoys, taking dirt roads to avoid cities and towns and creating traffic jams in the push north.
There's the second force. 3ID's already moving into position...
A cold, howling wind blew gray smoke over Baghdad from fuel fires that Iraqi authorities started to conceal targets. Blasts could be heard in the distance. The explosions started at midnight Monday, flashing a faint orange glow on the horizon to the south, where units of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard are located. In Washington, Pentagon officials said Monday that U.S. helicopters had begun attacking Saddam's forces arrayed around the capital. Baghdad's many dogs stopped barking during the explosions but the late-night Islamic call for prayer continued to sound from minarets. Good idea, one last prayer for the RG.
On Monday in Baghdad, security and police officers dug more trenches around military offices in the center of the capital, as smoke from fires set to conceal targets from bombing hung over the city. Daytime traffic was heavy in some areas, youngsters played soccer on side streets and Iraqis walked the city despite the tension from days of bombing by coalition forces. Some shops reopened along the commercial Al-Rasheed Street, but most were suitcase vendors. The upscale area of Irasat al-Hindiah, where Baghdad has its fashionable restaurants and boutiques, was nearly deserted.
"Getcher suitcases now, before it's too late... Whoops. Too late. Sorry. No refunds."
The Iraqi government continued to urge citizens to resist invaders as the military prepared defenses against U.S.-led troops advancing on Baghdad. Anti-aircraft guns that had been removed earlier were placed once again atop one of the main gates to the Old Palace, a presidential compound hit in earlier attacks. Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said the U.S. bombardment of Baghdad had injured 194 civilians. Announcers on Iraq's two TV stations have started wearing olive-green military uniforms to introduce patriotic songs, archival footage of Saddam and old films with a patriotic message. I think archival footage is all we're going to get of Sammy now.
``You Iraqis are in line with what God has ordered you to do, to cut their throats,'' Saddam said in his television appearance. Saddam looked strikingly more vigorous than he did in the speech that aired hours after the first airstrikes on Baghdad last week. Rewinding the tape by six months will do that.
Saddam referred specifically to U.S. tactics and the fighting around Umm Qasr in an obvious attempt to show that the address was current. Still waiting on your picks in the Sweet Sixteen, Sammy!
In Washington, a senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said U.S. intelligence had determined that Saddam's speech was recorded. However, it is unclear when it was taped. I knew I should have kept my collection!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 06:58 am ||
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#1
Arrgh. Sorry Fred, can you move this to the Iraq section?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 0:38 Comments ||
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#2
Sammy congratulated "Chicago" on Best Picture but many in the film industry had predicted that months ago.
I'm thinkin' Sammy's shufflin' off this mortal coil!
The US state department claimed yesterday it had received credible reports that Saddam Hussein's regime was planning to use chemical weapons against Shia Muslims in the south of the country, and then blame it on the United States.
"There are such reports. I have no doubt that he would do such a thing if he thought it would serve his interests," Colin Powell, secretary of state, said in a TV interview.
That'd be pretty stupid. No one expects us to use chem weapons in a first-use situation, and I think it'll be pretty easy to prove we didn't...
A state department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that intelligence had been received that General Ali Hassan al-Majid [Chemical Ali], President Saddam's cousin, had been given authority to use chemical weapons against the Shias. But the official would not comment on the source or reliability of the report. The claim was one of several made yesterday and on Sunday hinting at the existence of a significant chemical weapons capability in Iraq.
Sounds like rumor or speculation wearing somebody else's hat...
But there was still no further information last night regarding a facility described as a suspected chemical weapons facility at Najaf, the Shia holy city south of Baghdad. "I think they came upon a facility that they want to take another look at, but I think we have to be very cautious about announcing that a facility has been found and could be — and therefore it is — producing weapons of mass destruction," Mr Powell said. "We have to be careful about this."
I think they're going to be very careful with the verification of the claim...
One sceptical administration official suggested that Saddam Hussein would be unlikely to base a chemical weapons manufacturing facility amid a Shia population where its location could more easily have been leaked to inspectors. According to another report on the TV network CBS, US officials claim that the Iraqi leadership has drawn a "red line" around Baghdad on the map, and has authorised members of the Republican Guard to use chemical weapons if coalition troops cross it. Matches another red line around Baghdad some people are suggesting.
But Mr Powell pointed out that the Iraqi leader had a huge political incentive not to use chemical weapons. "The world knows he has done it before, and, were he to do it again, it would be immediate acknowledgment of the fact that he has weapons of mass destruction of the kind that he has been swearing that he does not have and we have been insisting he does have," Mr Powell said.
Which suggests he'll wait until all is lost before using them, at which point the henchmen may or may not be willing to put their own necks in nooses by pulling the triggers...
In recent days, officials of the Bush administration - while unwilling to express an opinion on whether President Saddam or his sons are dead - have been quoted as saying that Majid is known to be alive. They do not believe he was present at any of the sites targeted in Tomahawk strikes last week, reportedly intended to kill senior figures in the leadership.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 09:47 am ||
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Secretary-General Kofi Annan told U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday that the United States is legally responsible for providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis "gravely affected by the war" in areas controlled by coalition forces. President Bush promised on Sunday that "massive amounts of humanitarian aid should begin moving with the next 36 hours." No aid has materialized, and Annan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and international aid agencies gloat about warn of a potential humanitarian crisis. Scrambling to answer critics, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer blamed Saddam Hussein's regime for slowing the flow of $105 million in U.S. aid by placing mines in the southern port of Umm Qasr, a key transport point on the Persian Gulf. "Scrambling to answer critics" ... geeez!
Annan stressed to Rice that the United Nations was prepared to provide humanitarian assistance but could not until security conditions allowed the safe return of U.N. staff, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said. "Until then, humanitarian assistance would have to be provided by the United States and its coalition partners in those areas under their control," he said. No kidding
Annan said any United Nations role in postwar Iraq beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance must be approved by the Security Council in a new resolution. He also emphasized the need to maintain Iraq's territorial integrity "and the right of its people to determine their political future and exercise control over their natural resources," Eckhard said. "Annan said any United Nations role in postwar Iraq beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance must be approved by the Security Council in a new resolution." Bwaaa-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh!
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/25/2003 08:54 pm ||
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Secretary-General Kofi Annan told U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday that the United States is legally responsible for providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis "gravely affected by the war" in areas controlled by coalition forces.
Yes, Kofi, we assume responsibility for humanitarian aid in areas under our control, unlike your UN record. Unfortunately, there are a few hostiles that we have to clean out before we can take care of the rest. So quit grandstanding and lecturing and STFU. We will send you progress reports, typewritten and double spaced, with lots of illustrations from time to time showing you how it is done right.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 20:39 Comments ||
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#2
Nooooo! I posted this without changing the default "file under" setting (really needed to be under "STFU"). The title sucks too. Think I'll go sulk for a while.
Posted by: John Phares ||
03/25/2003 20:40 Comments ||
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#3
Yes, Kofi, STFU. The cuisine is changing from French to American. Oil-for-Weasel-food-and-GPS-jammers is changing to oil for American grain. Bon apetit!
Posted by: Tom ||
03/25/2003 20:58 Comments ||
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#4
Out of the mouths of blathering idiots....
"Annan said any United Nations role in postwar Iraq beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance must be approved by the Security Council in a new resolution."
How wonderful! We can not only keep the United Nations safely out of Iraq, we can do as we damned well please for as long as we need to. "Without a further UN Resolution". Isn't it just poetic justice that WE can forestall any resolution, just as the fratricidal French threatened to do to any resolution presented by the United States.
We really, really must thank Kofi for this wonderful opportunity. Sometimes, I believe that an IQ below 50 is absolutely essential for a UN Secretary General.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 21:00 Comments ||
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#5
Well, we heart from Kofi. Anyone heard from Blixie lately, pray tell?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 21:07 Comments ||
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#6
You're exactly right, Old Patriot. We have a security council veto and we can use it to further our own "unilateral" agenda just like France and Russia.
Keep those resolutions coming! We got our big, red "STFU" stamp ready!
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg ||
03/25/2003 21:13 Comments ||
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#7
'Zackly. Stand back you blue-helmeted tranzis and we'll show you how it's done.
Posted by: (lowercase) matt ||
03/25/2003 21:44 Comments ||
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#8
Kofi, wake up and smell the coffee! It's over! You're done! We don't care what you want or what you say! End of story!
#10
I think that any resolution regarding UN control of Iraq after this war is over should be vetoed by both the US and Britain. Fuck Chiraq and his fellow French parasites who want to take economic advantage after our troops shed blood...
Boycott all French goods!
Posted by: Bill ||
03/26/2003 0:20 Comments ||
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International donors have frozen funding of a leading Palestinian human rights group after an independent audit raised suspicion of mismanagement of millions of dollars in grants, the European Union said Tuesday. The group under scrutiny is Law Society, which has been monitoring Israeli and Palestinian human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1990. More Israeli than Paleo, I'd imagine...
An audit by the accounting firm Ernst & Young indicated that Law Society funneled at least $1.5 million in donor money into a savings account without the donors' knowledge. The group did this by overstating wages and other expenses and by falsifying annual budget statements and audits, according to an initial report. Ah, yes. Skimming.
The Haaretz newspaper, citing the audit report, said Tuesday that $4 million are unaccounted for. A partial copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press makes note of about $2 million that apparently were mismanaged. The audit spans the period from September 1997 through August 2002, a time when LAW received nearly $10 million in grants. Ummm... $4 million out of $10 million is a 40 percent rake-off...
The report names LAW's former director, Khader Shkirat, as being involved in the mismanagement of funds. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Shkirat acknowledged setting up savings accounts without the donors' knowledge, but denied any money disappeared. "I mean, I've still got it here... somewhere. Fatimah! Have you seen the loot, uh, donor funds?"
The accounts were set up to make sure the group would have money should donors decide one day to stop the funding, Shkirat said. "We wanted to secure the future," Shkirat said. "The donors would not have agreed to allow us to save money for the future which is why we didn't tell them." "I had to look out for my retirement, y'know? I'm not a young man anymore."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 04:04 pm ||
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The accounts were set up to make sure the group would have money should donors decide one day to stop the funding, Shkirat said. "We wanted to secure the future," Shkirat said. "The donors would not have agreed to allow us to save money for the future which is why we didn't tell them."
The president of Somalia's transitional government has condemned the United States-led attack on Iraq as naked aggression. Abdulkassim Salat Hassan said he was praying for an Iraqi victory. "I mean, if the Iraqis can't fight off the Merkins, what the hell are we gonna do when the Rangers come back?"
Somalia has denied repeated accusations that it is harbouring members of the al-Qaeda network. That's okay, buddy. We know which side you're on. See you later.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/25/2003 02:01 pm ||
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Next time in Mogadishu, we bring AC-130s, Bradleys and mobile artillery,. Think about it, Hassan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/25/2003 14:47 Comments ||
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what wass he doing with his right hand during his speech /// writing notes or wanking off furiously to the thought of manageing to say a few anti american words to fuel some more hohoh 'relious hatred'
Heavily Edited
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a preliminary challenge to the government's expanded powers to wiretap and search people who are suspected of having links to foreign terrorists. The justices refused to allow the American Civil Liberties Union to appeal on behalf of Arab Americans and others who believe they may be being secretly monitored. just because you are paranoid doesn't mean you're not a terrorist
Last year, in an unusual court hearing behind closed doors at the Justice Department, Attorney General John Ashcroft won the legal authority to merge the FBI's crime-fighting and spying units to track suspected terrorists. Before last year, the FBI had maintained a "wall" between spying and criminal probes, a legacy of the Watergate era. "FISA was supposed to apply to a narrow category of intelligence investigations. Under Ashcroft's interpretation, they can use FISA in ordinary criminal cases," said Beeson. Justice Department lawyers deny that charge. They say they use FISA warrants only against foreigners who are believed to have ties to terrorist organizations. That counts me out...too bad for Mohhamed.
Secondly, civil libertarians also object to the closed-door legal hearings on FISA. Since these intelligence probes must be kept secret, the Justice Department was authorized to seek warrants in secret hearings within its building. When one FISA judge said Ashcroft was exceeding his legal authority, a special appeals court met to review the dispute and to rule on the matter. Outside attorneys, including the ACLU, were barred. I don't like that, but .... what else can you do when there are people like Lynn Stewart in this world?
Still, the civil liberties advocates believe they will have a chance to challenge the sweep of Ashcroft's order in a future case. "At some point, the government will introduce evidence in a criminal case that came from a FISA wiretap. The lawyers can challenge that as illegal, and the issue can be appealed," Beeson said. But that will offer a remedy only for people who are indicted for crimes, she noted. How can we create class actions?
"We are most concerned about innocent victims of this surveillance," Beeson said. "Since they won't be charged with anything, they will have no opportunity to challenge it." hmm...What you don't know...
If they're not harmed, what's to challenge?
Hmm...Actually I'm a little uncomfortable with abuse potential - but there is so much information available to people who have NO restrictions, like the Feds do - health records, credit reports, private investigators, internet/video/book/grocery tracking systems and especially those little cameras for perverts that apparently the ACLU is just fine with. So this law against foreigners doesn't excite me as much as it does others.
#2
Ummmm, Lynn Stewart was barred? Why isn't that communist hag behind bars? After all, she was busted for helping that blind sheeeeek/islamofascist pass info to his operatives. Probably got off the hook courtesy of.......the ACLU.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/25/2003 13:54 Comments ||
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Yeah, They're still around... James Kelly, U.S. assistant Secretary of State, said at a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that North Korea would produce weapon-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium in a matter of months and therefore, it is necessary to force it to scrap its program for the development of weapons of mass destruction. Earlier, Rice, special assistant to the U.S. President for National Security, claimed in her ABC appearance that the maximum pressure should be put on North Korea to disarm it. Rodong Sinmun today says this in a signed commentary. It goes on: ...it always does.
These remarks are little short of forcing the DPRK to yield to the U.S. pressure after forfeiting its right to self-defence and remaining bare handed.... with our piddling million man army. And now... a KCNA Social Commentary!
The U.S. has, in fact, the world's poorest human rights record as it is beset with serious social and political issues at home including the issues of religious performance and racial discrimination, crimes related to the random use of guns and other weapons and narcotics and violence. Moreover, it mired in serious economic recession due to arms race. You should starve your people and keep them in line. It works for us.
The U.S. violation of human rights and infringement upon other countries' sovereignty are getting all the more serious worldwide due to the bush administration's high-handed and arbitrary foreign policy and its war policy. This is eloquently proved by the Iraqi war, a war against humanity, started by the U.S. to acquire oil concessions. Maybe they're practicing for...?
If U.S. Congress truly wants to protect and represent the just interests of the U.S citizens, fairly judging this reality, it should, above all, properly check the Bush administration's war policy based on its cold war way of thinking. The U.S. should drop its hostile policy toward the DPRK, too. In case you don't remember, Commie dickweeds, we WON the Cold War.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
03/25/2003 10:09 am ||
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Kim must really be getting worried. I hear the tape machine is running at full speed.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 15:36 Comments ||
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Never understimate your enemy, but Kimmie has been blowing alot of smoke out his ass, but I have not seen any more overt acts, like buzzing recon planes, missile tests, etc. Of course, as soon as I post this observation, he will do something ominous and off the wall. Still, the Iraq message may be getting out....one can hope...
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/25/2003 17:46 Comments ||
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#4
Check out the Steve Breen comic in our local paper today 3/25/03
it'll change overnight
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2003 19:20 Comments ||
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Long but laughable
BEIRUT: Arab nations denounced the American-British offensive against Iraq Monday, issuing a resolution blueprint that calls for an immediate and unconditional end to hostilities.
"You, there! Stop that immediately!"
âThe resolution was approved by consensus with a single reservation and many cursings from the state of Kuwait,â said Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general, during a news conference aired on most Arab satellite channels. The conference was held in the presence of Libyan African Unity Minister Ali Triki, whose country has taken the chair of foreign ministers meetings from Lebanon. The Monday draft also calls on âall Arab states to abstain from participating in any military action damaging to the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq or any other Arab country.â
"You Kuwaitis and Qataris, you stop that, too, or we shall, ummm... do something."
Moussa added that unlike conclusive statements, the resolution has mandatory effects designed to cool the anger of the 'street' and would be taken to the Security Council for final approval. During their meeting in Cairo, the first since the outbreak of the war, divisions between the sixteen Arab foreign ministers were evident along two lines. While some states supported an immediate end to hostilities, others lobbied to issue a draft condemning the Iraqi missile attack on Kuwaiti territories.
Well, that'll never fly... Or if it does it'll be shot down, and not by a Patriot...
A strong-worded proposal denouncing the aggression was circulated by Arab Leagueâs secretariat as heads of these countriesâ delegations met with the Moussa prior to the meeting.
Oooh! Lookit! It's a strongly worded proposal!
The guidelines of the draft resolution were laid out by Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud who chaired the opening session before handing over the chairmanship to Libya. That bastion of human rights and high principle
âIt is inconceivable to give up prematurely on the ability of the Security Council to draft a resolution which should put forward diplomatic solutions (for the Iraqi crisis),â Hammoud said during the opening session, which was also broadcast on satellite. Hammoud, who urged the Security Council to hold an emergency session to deal with the Iraqi issue, said that Arab states should reaffirm their stance on the illegal status of the American military offensive. He demanded that Arab countries denounce the American-British aggression and call for âan immediate and unconditional withdrawal from the Iraqi territoriesâ and âthe respect of the unity and the sovereignty of Iraq.â
Ummm... Lemme think, here... No.
The Lebanese official and friend of Hezb'allah argued that UN weapons inspectors should be sent back to Baghdad to complete their mission, before moving on to the Bekaa Valley accusing America of thwarting the UNMOVIC mission by opting for war. âWe refuse any measure that would give legitimacy to a postwar occupation (of Iraq). We also refuse to transform the UN into an organization for humanitarian, economic, and social concerns regardless of its role of preserving world security,â he added.
Don't worry. It's not even good for that...
For his part, Triki said during the opening session that he supported the draft. He also paid tribute to the âheroic resistance of the Iraqi people and armyâ to what he termed an âoccupation,â triggering sustained applause from fellow officials. âWe want to tell our brothers in Iraq that we are supporting you,â said Triki, who added that the Arab world was witnessing the revival of an imperial era.
Actually, the imperial era's starting to look better all the time — except that we don't want to rule the stagnant backwaters making up the Middle East. It's the smell of stagnation — we find it offensive.
Qatarâs Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jassem al-Thani, whose country is hosting the US Central Command, directing the military operations, pulled out of the Cairo meeting as it was discussing the strongly-worded resolution. âThese meetings are not useful, they are organized to appease the Arab public opinion,â. he told reporters, while stressing that his departure from Cairo was prompted by âa prior commitment,â not disagreement. No, nothing of the sort.
"I just have to wash my hair, that's all..."
Kuwait said earlier Monday that it would request that the ministers condemn the Iraqi bombardment of the emirate. In an interview with the BBC, Kuwaiti speaker Jasem al-Khorafi argued that the Cairo meeting would yield ânothing,â saying that Arabs âhad said what should have been said at the last Arab summit,â the Kuwait National Agency (KUNA) said. âHad Arabs had the courage to demand Iraq comply with international resolutions and consider the (Emirates Sheikh) Zayed initiative, all this could have been avoided,â he added in reference to the Emirates proposal that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein step down. Al-Khorafi criticized âthe unfair focus on Kuwaitâ and confirmed Iraqi claims that other Arab states were helping the Americans in private by saying that âthe Americans and the British did not exclusively head to Iraq from Kuwait.â
Kuwait's just the ones who're taking the heat — hang in there, guys. There are brighter days ahead.
Therefore, the Kuwaiti delegation to the Cairo meeting headed by Ahmad Al-Kelib was due to submit a counter-proposal which called on Arab states to denounce the Iraqi missile attack. Kuwaitâs request had the backing of fellow Gulf states including Bahrain and Qatar as well as Egypt and possibly Jordan. But on the eve of the meeting, Jordanâs stance on Iraq seemed to be unresolved. Reports of the American rescheduling of $177 million of Jordanâs debts and the flow of Saudi crude oil to Amman for the first time in a decade have undermined the Kingdomâs credibility that it would not allow the passage of American troops and bombers into Iraq. Jordan also seemed closer toward severing its relations with Iraq in light of the kingdomâs expulsion of five Iraqi diplomats shortly after Washington instructed world governments to end diplomatic ties with Baghdad. Jordan, however, expressed its acceptance to replace the diplomats. It's all in a day's work for these guys... be seen doing whatever it takes to pacify the people.
Posted by: Kerry ||
03/25/2003 10:06 am ||
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"Hey, Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"What'd we do with that big red FUCK YOU stamp?"...
#3
Some of these jokers realize we won't be satisfied just by changing things in Baghdad. Watch the weight drop from these turkeys as they begin to sweat! "Which one of us will be next?"
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2003 16:50 Comments ||
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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.
The British military is claiming to have captured a member of Saddam Hussein's ruling party. British forces say the activist, who is thought to be one of tens of thousands of Iraqi Baath Party members, was taken in a raid at Al Zubayr on Monday night. The operation was carried out by members of the 7th Armoured Brigade. British military chiefs want to separate political and military leaders of the regime. A military source said: "A raid was carried out last night by a patrol after they located a member of the Baath Party in a town."
