War Updates

[light strand]

Eva, do you know which unit of the 3rd Infantry he's with? I believe that I heard that the third infantry has gone in two different directions.

These are the units of the 3rd Infantry (according to their web page):

-7th, 15th and 30th Mechanized Infantry Regiments
-64th Armored Regiment (1st, 4th BNs)
-69th Armored Regiment (2nd, 3rd BNs)
-1st, 2nd BN 3rd Aviation Regiment
-10th, 11th and 317th Engineer BNs
-3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry

According to the Washington Post writer who was at the scene, a journalist was indeed killed in Northern Iraq. However, the reporter was independent (not embedded). The three ITN journalists are still missing. Apparently they got caught in heave crossfire between British Royal Marines and Iraqi regulars.

[Crusoe]

Ananova: the Pentagon's war plans have been severely disrupted by a failure to reach agreement with Turkey on staging ground assaults into Iraq. The entire 4th US Mechanised Infantry Division is now being re-shipped through the Suez Canal to Kuwait. Sources indicate that the first troops from the 4th Infantry will arrive on 30 March, with the division landed in full by 10 April. The delay means that these troops are most likely to serve as reinforcements in the event of a long war, or as an occupation force.

[Dr. Love]

Well, I suppose I'll come out of lurk mode for a minute and post a couple of links:
First, for Eva Luna, I found Rolling with the 3rd into Iraq (http://www.msnbc.com/news/888605.asp). It doesn't say too much, but it's what I've seen.
Then there's a link I got from Fark that has quite a few links to weblogs and reports and such. Here. (http://www.cyberjournalist.net/features/iraqcoverage.html)
Hope some of that helps.

[Apos]

---Iraqi information minister, Al Sahaf, says that CNN has been expelled from Iraq: "those cowards are desperate to show any achievement," he says, but now "will no longer tyrannize the Iraqi people".---

I guess the Iraqis don't think CNN did as good a job of giving them moral approval. :)

[Eva Luna]

Thanks to those who have posted links about the 3rd Infantry. I don't know how many of them I'll be able to read, because I'm a wreck, and for my mental health I think I may have to avoid the news as much as I can. David Bloom isn't my cousin, but just reading his report is making me think of what might happen as the 3rd Infantry encounters the Republican Guard. They seem to have had pretty smooth sailing so far, but I fear it won't stay that way.

(I don't know specifically which unit he's with, but I can check and post later.)

[Eva Luna]

He's with the 1st Brigade Combat Team. Anyone know where they are? (Besidies them, of course.)

[light strand]

Eva here's some info (http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5455845.htm): The division's 1st Brigade Combat Team began moving northwest Friday. It was to advance 63 miles but was hampered by deep sand and low visibility. The trip was supposed to take five hours, but nine hours after the combat team set out it had not reached Objective Lizard.

The column of several hundred Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M-113 armored vehicles, combat assault bridges, bulldozers, M-88 recovery vehicles and other engineering vehicles stretched at least 12 miles. Several fuel trucks and support vehicles had gotten stuck, including a Patriot air-defense battery with seven launchers and a command vehicle. Several vehicles also reported running out of gas.

The combat team passed only camels being herded by Bedouins. Some herders waved, and others fled. The column stopped for 15 minutes every hour for rest breaks and to allow stragglers to catch up. There was bombing or artillery fire to the east, but its purpose was unclear.It sounds like slow going.

[Crusoe]

Originally posted by Crusoe
Some sad breaking news on Sky: the British reporter travelling with the 3rd US Mechanised Infantry Division reports that four US soldiers in two Hummer scout vehicles were killed when they were ambushed and the vehicles hit with rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). It's now being reported--same source--that the soldiers were injured rather than killed, which is something slightly better to report.

[Convict]

MSNBC is reporting that the 101st Airborne Division camp in Kuwait has been attacked, with some U.S. personel wounded

[jacksen9]

CNN is reporting that the leadership of the 101st Airborne was the target and that they were seriously injured. They say ten were injured, 6 seriously. A grenade was tossed into the tent. They are looking for the guilty. Apparently, this person was able to get into the camp. SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Convict]

MSNBC has just reported the same. There is no word on what unit within the division was targeted.

[Convict]

MSNBC just reported that 2 Arabic people are being held in connection with the attack on the 101st.

[Blackeyes]

GERDIGO, Iraq - An apparent car bomb killed at least five people, including an Australian cameraman, at a checkpoint Saturday near a camp of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Ansar al-Islam. At least eight people were injured.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=8&u=/ap/20030322/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_journalists

KUWAIT CITY - The camp of the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait was attacked early Sunday with grenades and small arms fire, wounding 10, including six seriously, U.S. military officials said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030322/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_kuwait_attack

I might have overheard on CNN there were some deaths now fm that.

Turkey said on Saturday there was no truth in reports it had sent troops into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq overnight, as U.S., European and NATO leaders made clear they wanted Ankara to stay out.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&ncid=564&e=2&u=/nm/20030322/ts_nm/iraq_turkey_dc_62

Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators, spanning 30 blocks, marched down Broadway on Saturday as part of a fresh round of cross-country protest against war on Iraq. Military backers also showed their support with flags and "USA" chants. In Chicago, troop supporters came within 20 feet of anti-war activists outside a federal building. As the protesters shouted, "killers, killers, killers," a military backer yelled back, "idiots, idiots, idiots."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=World&cat=Antiwar_Movement

HIGHWAY 80 IN SOUTHERN IRAQ - Allied forces crossed the Euphrates River and were halfway to Baghdad on Saturday, their swift advance unimpeded by lingering resistance in the cities of Basra and Umm Qasr. The biggest hurdle: moving the massive military machine across the desert.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20030322/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_battlefield

[Convict]

It appears the attack on the 101st Airborne Division was not a terrorist attack. NBC is reporting that a soldier is being held in connection with the attack. A criminal investigation has been started by the Army (no online cite yet).

[ShibbOleth]

They're now saying that 13, not 10, were injured in the Kuwait camp grenade attack, and that a US soldier is under arrest. They've no indication yet of his motive. Heard this on MSNBC and they mention it (with no attendant story) on their website.

[Arden Ranger]

From ABC:

Military officials said 13 soldiers were injured, two critically, during the early Sunday morning attack at Camp Pennsylvania of the 101st division. Military officials have detained one member of the 101st division as a suspect in the attack, and are searching for another suspect.

Time reporter Jim Lacey told ABCNEWS that he talked to an eyewitness who said that grenades were rolled into tents that housed the leaders of the brigadier unit. A culprit, the witness told Lacey, shot the first two people who exited the tent.

The injured soldiers were rushed to a field hospital but there is no word on their condition.

[Arden Ranger]

CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/22/sprj.irq.101.attack/index.phtml)


Military criminal investigators said the suspect was recently reprimanded for insubordination and was told he would stay behind when his unit left camp for Iraq, according to Time magazine correspondent Jim Lacey, who is accompanying the unit.

[Rilchiam]

Arden Ranger, your link doesn't work. Might they have taken it down, like a retraction?

[Tabithina]

Try this link:http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/22/sprj.irq.101.attack/index.html

[GIGObuster]

One soldier was confirmed dead :(

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12212-2003Mar22.html

Elsewhere, in other message boards, the buzz seems to be that the army is requesting moderation on reporting this attack. Perhaps the reason why that other CNN link is not working now?

[Arden Ranger]

That's weird. The link that does work has a similair story but it's not quite the same. Actually, I think the one that does work has more information in it. It's more up to date. Must be why mine's a dead link now.

[Arden Ranger]

"The area has been secured and an investigation is under way to determine the circumstances of the attack," the department added.

US Fox News said the soldier being questioned was a Muslim American and that he had been described as "acting strange" before the attack

From One News (http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,177452-1-9,00.html)

[Arden Ranger]

"The area has been secured and an investigation is under way to determine the circumstances of the attack," the department added.

US Fox News said the soldier being questioned was a Muslim American and that he had been described as "acting strange" before the attack

From One News (http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,177452-1-9,00.html)

[GIGObuster]

Well, here are two choices:

The original report was wrong.

Or the news was censored, but they changed it too late to prevent other news sources to pick it up.

I fear that in any case, Muslims in America are going to suffer a lot of hate coming from ignorant Americans. :(

[Stinkum]

The link I have on the grenade attack is from Sky

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1084723,00.html

[Weirddave]

Originally posted by GIGObuster

I fear that in any case, Muslims in America are going to suffer a lot of hate coming from ignorant Americans. :(

Might be interesting to note that ( no link, was on ABC radio news tonight at midnight ) that the two Arabs who were detained in reguards to the grenade attack were released when it was found they had nothing to do with it. That's positive.

[Coriolanus]

Umm Qasr has finally we-likely-mean-it-this-time has fallen into mostly British troops hands. A pink pickup truck with a light machine gun in back seemed to be the last vehicle out. It had a NYPD (New York Police Department) bumper sticker, reportedly.

Supposedly a Republican Guard Commander had surrendered. But lo! Seems there's more gunfire.

It seems one of the vastly-overrated 'patriot' missles might have downed an RAF fighter.

[Coriolanus]

correction The pink pickup truck was involved somewhere up in central Iraq - not Umm Qasr. It was pink, had a 7.62mm gun mounted in back, and a NYPD sticker on the windscreen(/shield).

[Liberal]

Originally posted by Corbomite
Umm Qasr has finally we-likely-mean-it-this-time has fallen into mostly British troops hands. A pink pickup truck with a light machine gun in back seemed to be the last vehicle out. It had a NYPD (New York Police Department) bumper sticker, reportedly.

Supposedly a Republican Guard Commander had surrendered. But lo! Seems there's more gunfire.

It seems one of the vastly-overrated 'patriot' missles might have downed an RAF fighter. This thread is for news. Please take editorials elsewhere.

[Liberal]

Fox News

The Iraqi Vice President says that Iraq holds US prisoners of war who will be displayed "sometime soon" on Iraqi television. Centcom says that it is unaware of any American troops missing. A four-hour skirmish unfolded on live TV near the southern Iraq town of Umm Qasr as a US Marine battalion encountered a small pocket of resistance from remnant Republican Guards. A combined air and ground assault eliminated the resistance. A British aircraft of unknown type (rumors are that it was a Tornado) was apparently shot down by a US Patriot missile. Officials are still investigating, but enemy fire has been ruled out.

[Crusoe]

UK military officials have confirmed that a Tornado strike aircraft was engaged by a US Patriot battery. The aircraft and the two crewmembers are missing, presumed dead.

[Liberal]

CNN

Experts speculate that one reason for sporadic resistance might be due to people remembering how Saddam tortured and killed some of those who had surrendered in the 1991 war. They say that resistance is not likely to end until Iraqis know for a certainty that Saddam and those closest to him are dead or captured. The CIA reports that it is monitoring suspected sites of WMDs to help ensure that bio-chem weapons will not be used against coalition forces, who are said to be closing in on Baghdad.

[Liberal]

MSNBC

Coalition forces have crossed the Euphrates river, and are fewer than 100 miles from Baghdad. Basra is now surrounded and under the control of coalition forces. American airborne troops are enroute to somewhere in northern Iraq, and are purposely avoiding flying over Turkish airspace. The Iraqi army's 11th infantry division is in the process of surrendering after a seven-hour battle just south of Baghdad.

[Liberal]

MSNBC

An embedded reporter with the Marines 1st division says that so many Iraqis are surrendering that Marines are now telling them, "Just go home. You've surrendered, and we have no fight with you. Go home and wait for your country to be liberated." The former Iraqi troops are reportedly cheering the Marines as they push forward toward Baghdad.

Fox News

An explosion has been heard near Cencom in Qatar. A reporter is on his way to the scene.

[Tuckerfan]

Earlier today CNN was running a blurb on their ticker that France was sending 39 soldiers to look for WMD. Anyone know the scoop on that?

[Crusoe]

Originally posted by Libertarian
An explosion has been heard near Cencom in Qatar. A reporter is on his way to the scene. Sky News (also a Murdoch outfit) has confirmed a "massive blast" at the Allied HQ in Doha, Qatar.

[Liberal]

Fox News

The explosion heard near Centcom headquarters in Doha, Qatar was apparently part of an industrial accident, or might even have been planned. No hostile action is suspected.

[Liberal]

Originally posted by Tuckerfan
Earlier today CNN was running a blurb on their ticker that France was sending 39 soldiers to look for WMD. Anyone know the scoop on that? Yes. That has been reported on all three networks.

[Crusoe]

Ah, you have to love the response time of TV news. The reporter in Qatar is saying that the explosion was at a construction site near the HQ, and had nothing to do with war or terrorism.

[Crusoe]

Er, this is a bit of a duplication of effort. I'll bow out to you, Lib. Thanks for posting this thread.

[Liberal]

Fox News

B52s are taking off from Fairford, UK. Vice-admiral says this morning's skirmish in Umm Qatar is what soldiers refer to as "mopping up". Iraqi foreign minister is on his way to a meeting in Cairo, and says that Saddam is alive. Egyptian officials are "uncomfortable" with the foreign minister's visit in conjuction with a scheduled meeing among Arab states.

-----

Crusoe

You go ahead. I could use a break. Thanks. :)

[Crusoe]

No problem.

UK military sources are reporting that ground forces could assault Baghdad on Tuesday at the current rate of progress, with no troops being diverted from that aim to help out at Basra or other objectives.

[Tuckerfan]

CNN's reporting that Iraqi soldiers are firing into the Tigris river with small arms fire.

[Coriolanus]

Originally posted by Libertarian
This thread is for news. Please take editorials elsewhere.

Libertarian - all due respects to your fargin tens of thousands of brilliant posts - don't tell me where to go and what to say, M'kay?

Proceed to tell us all what you and your alter-ego Crusoe believe is 'News'

[auliya]

Oh dear

"British plane downed by US missile" (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s814102.htm) (ABC Newsonline, Australia)


But this (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/National/story_7350.asp) (Channel 9 TV, Australia) was good to see, apparently our pilots at least have the ability to refuse to follow US orders if they don't agree with them
RAAF fighter pilots refused to bomb a target they were unsure of.

[carnivorousplant]

Abu DHabi TV shows Iraqi civilians burning reeds on the riverbank while a boat searchs for downed pilots.

[carnivorousplant]

Al Jazerra is interviewing American POWs.

[Convict]

NBC News is reporting that Arab TV is showing video of the American POWs, apparently executed.

[Eva Luna]

Originally posted by Convict
NBC News is reporting that Arab TV is showing video of the American POWs, apparently executed.

Are the Iraqis admitting they've executed POWs, or are they saying the Americans were killed in combat?

I'd look myself, but I really don't have the stomach for it. I've been ignoring the TV news (or trying my best to, anyway).

Any news on whether the U.S. has taken POWs, and if so, in what numbers andwhere are they putting them?

[Liberal]

All the networks are now reporting that Al Jazeera is broadcasting a 3-minute edited tape of Iraqi interogations with alleged American POWs, including one woman and one injured man who was wounded and whose head had to be propped up by the interogator. All networks are reporting that such interviews are violations of the Geneva Convention. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has said that the American soldiers are part of a maintenance unit attached to the Army's 3rd infantry division, and that they had taken a wrong turn, falling into Iraqi hands.

[Convict]

Here are some links:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030323/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_war_soldiers_tv&cid=1514&ncid=1473

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030323/ts_nm/iraq_usprisoners_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

It appears that the soldiers were killed in combat.

[Liberal]

Fox News

Military personnel at Centcom who have reviewed the tape believe that the bodies shown on the tape were laid out on the floor, and appear to have been shot in the head. Those who were alive seemed frightened as interrogators taunted them.

Article 13 of the Geneva Convention:

Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.

Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited.

[Tuckerfan]

CNN is saying that it's a maintence unit. Anybody know the details on what unit? I've got a classmate who's in one and over there now.

[Liberal]

All networks report that they are from the 507th maintenance unit attached to the Army's 3rd infantry.

[carnivorousplant]

NPR says there were KIA and POWs in the same room.
One of the guys I saw on Yemen TV kept looking at something off camera.

[Liberal]

From Iraq.Net (http://www.iraq.net/erica/news-e/archives/00001115.htm)

It is not clear whether the Iraqi regime can be relied upon to observe articles of the Geneva Convention, given a statement by General Ali Hassan al-Majid on an audio tape recorded a few years before the 1991 war regarding official Iraqi treatment of the Kurdish population:

I will kill them all with chemical weapons! Who is going to say anything? The international community? Fuck them! the international community, and those who listen to them!

I will not attack them with chemicals just one day, but I will continue to attack them with chemicals for fifteen days.

[KSO]

A new bombardment of Baghdad has started.

I know this is an update thread, but I want to just say that the news of the U.S. POWs just sickens me. My prayers for all of the soldiers over there and all of their friends and families here (and around the world).

[Blackeyes]

The Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera aired footage from Iraqi television Sunday of interviews with what the station identified as captured American prisoners, and also showed bodies in uniform in an Iraqi morgue that it said were Americans.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld told CBS that if they are indeed coalition soldiers, "those pictures are a violation of the Geneva Convention."[quote]

[quote]There was no confirmation that the prisoners were U.S. troops, or if they were, what unit they were attached to. Two of the prisoners identified their unit only as the 507th Maintenance; there is a 507th in both the Army and the Air Force.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_prisoners&cid=514&ncid=514

You should read that whole article.

Grim-faced Rumsfeld declines comment on al-Jazeera prisoner videotape

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030323/pl_afp/iraq_war_us_rumsfeld&cid=1521&ncid=1473

WASHINGTON - Some American soldiers are missing in the fighting in Iraq and possibly being held as prisoners, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said he thought fewer than 10 soldiers were missing in southern Iraq and that military officials were trying to account for them. "Beyond that, we don't know," Gen. Richard Myers said on "Fox News Sunday."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_us_iraq&cid=540&ncid=1473

LONDON (Reuters) - British intelligence reports suggest President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) emerged alive from the initial U.S. raid of the Iraq (news - web sites) war but left the area in an ambulance, junior Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien said on Sunday.

"We've received information that Saddam Hussein left the area in an ambulance. There was some talk that he had been injured, even some suggestion that he had been killed. It seems that is unlikely, that if he was injured it doesn't appear it was a serious injury," O'Brien told BBC radio.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030323/ts_nm/iraq_britain_saddam_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

US soldiers are 60-100 miles from Baghdad.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030323/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_war_battle

Go to CNN.com right now and you see this message in big, bold black letters:

CLASHES INTENSIFY

U.S. Marines destroy pocket of resistance in Umm Qasr
Clash 'escalated from a skirmish into a full-scale battle'

UMM QASR, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Marines waged a four-hour firefight with pockets of Iraqi troops in the southern city of Umm Qasr on Sunday, a day after British troops captured the strategically important port.

At least some of that (the non-active part, at least) was broadcast on CNN, CNN Headlines News, FoxNews, and MSNBC.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/23/sprj.irq.umm.qasr/index.html

• One U.S. soldier was killed and another injured in a vehicle accident Sunday in southern Iraq.
• Jordan's foreign minister said Sunday that airstrikes in Mosul killed four Jordanian students, adding that it is unclear who fired the missiles.
• At least 14 U.K. and 9 U.S. military personnel have died during the conflict, according to coalition military sources. Fewer than 10 soldiers may be unaccounted for in southern Iraq, Gen. Richard Myers said.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/war.tracker/index.html (Scroll down to "Casualties")

Seven U.S. service personnel and 14 British soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq and Kuwait since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the Pentagon. The casualty list below reflects the names of the personnel whose families have been notified.

Poor fellas.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/index.html

[Apos]

Just from some of those links: International Red Cross has that the footage of POWs violates the Geneva convention. A BBC correspondent notes that U.S. video footage might also violate the convention, though not as egregiously, the problem being that the Conventions were written long before mass media news worked the way it does.

Contrary to the assertion that the KIAs were killed in combat, the wounds described sound not only like executions, but also humiliating wounds to the groin.

I should also note that Iraq has violated this particular convention before.

The reports also say that the captured soldiers were taken at Souq al-Shuyukh, southeast of the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya. The major question is where they are now, and if they and their captors are within range of Coalition troops. That a videotape got out to central command at least shows that Iraqi communications and transport are not, after all, completely shut off. Nassiriya is under major assault, so if they are still there, they may not have long to wait.

BBC reports that Terry Lloyd, of the missing ITN has been reported to have died, and is in Iraqi hospital not currently controlled by our forces. No word on his two remaining missing collegues.

Huge abandoned arsenal of cruise missles discovered by British troops in the southern cities (Basrah?).

[Apos]

BBC reports that six Marines have been lost in Nasiriyah: Iraqi regulars are reported to be forced into fighting by more loyal troops, and there are reports of Iraqi snipers in the town giving us trouble.

BBC also reports: Iraqi and Kurdish troops are confirmed fighting each other in the North. U.S. Special Forces are working within the Kurdish militia.

[Apos]

Iraqi military claims 25 soldiers killed in Nasiriyah, U.S. confirms around 50 have been wounded there.

[Apos]

Doha, Qatar briefing covered on BBC.

First, a basic overview of operations, north, south, and central.

Confirms major resistance in Nasiriyah, with many killed and wounded. Confirms that the supply convoy was ambushed and twelve U.S. servicemen are reported missing.

British commander praises Patriot system as shooting down 4 incoming missles, and regrets the tragedy of the accidental shooting of the Tornado.

They are creating places in Basrah to house Iraqi prisoners and call Iraqi treatment of our POWs "disgusting." No word on who the Iraqis involved were.

Praise for allies saving of most the oil fields.
A weapon called Stormshadow has been deployed and performed well.

[Apos]

Air forces have been focusing on Republican Guard outside Bahgdad, which is where the Tornado incident took place.

Nasiriyah:

The ambush destroyed the vehicles of the convoy: U.S. forces came upon the wreckage, took wounded to medical care, but could not find the 12.

Iraqis there have been fighting in plainclothes and modified commercial vehicles. There have also been reports of surrendering Iraqi troops being used as traps for ambushes.

[Blackeyes]

There's a CENTCOM briefing on now.

Here's what I've picked out: Supply convoy ambushed, number of soldiers wounded, twelve missing. The POW treatment is in violation of the Geneva Convention. The downed British plane is under investigation; no word on the crew.

One link:

NEAR NASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi troops and paramilitary fighters loyal to President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) held up a U.S. advance toward Baghdad on Sunday, inflicting casualties and taking American prisoners on the fourth day of war.

Pockets of resistance in southern Iraq (news - web sites) continued to pin down U.S. and British manpower as Western planes returned regularly to bomb the capital in their efforts to overthrow Saddam.

A guerrilla counterattack by a militia group known as Saddam's Fedayeen stopped a major thrust north toward Baghdad by U.S. Marines, who took significant casualties in heavy fighting as they tried to cross bridges over the Euphrates river at Nassiriya, Reuters correspondent Sean Maguire said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&ncid=564&e=2&u=/nm/20030323/ts_nm/iraq_dc

[Apos]

CBS reporter asks why there haven't been as many mass surrenders, and if not spending weeks bombing them was a problem. Response: Iraqi forces weren't trapped in Kuwait in the same way as 1991. Here, Iraqi troops can simply abandon their posts and "melt away"

Reporter asks about 15 Marines reported killed in surrender ambush incident. Lt. General responds: There have been several "ruse" incidents. A collection of regular and irregular Iraqi forces have been used: not clear whether surrendering troops were in on it. Marines won the particular engagement, destroying eight tanks. Surrender flags raised, and then artillery fire given.

Reporter asks loaded question: "Are you facing a new Vietnam, or are you victims of overconfidence?"

Evidence of Mass Destruction so far: recieved leads from prisoners, but no conclusive evidence yet: confident that they will find it.

Reported: any encounters of Iraqis using human shields? Lt General responds that regular forces are purposefully fighting in civilian areas.

Hong Kong reporter asks about morale and the 101 incident. Lt. Gen Abazaid says that it is very high, as embedded media can attest, and the incident was isolated.

They will be much more cautious in the future with surrenders.

[carnivorousplant]

I saw the POW video again on Lebanese NBN. While some of the bodies had bandages on their chest, two had wounds on their foreheads and many seem to have bled where they were lying.

[Apos]

Reporter asks about human shields in Baghdad and explosive plants. Lt Gen reports that explosives have been planted in civilian neighborhoods and on bridges: very worrisome.

[Apos]

No U.S./British planes have been shot down by Iraqis and no one has parachuted.

Lt. Gen also notes that they have seen no coherent military plan. Small groups seem to be doing things on their own, which while bad, but doesn't threaten overall mission in any serious way.

[Apos]

No WMD found: suspect that they have been removed to Baghdad. Still looking for evidence of SCUD missles.

More on Terry Llyod
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/23/sprj.irq.itn.lloyd/index.html
Saw him reporting on TV last night. :(

[Apos]

Lloyd had been with ITN for 20 years and was ITV's longest serving reporter. He is the first journalist killed on assignment in ITN's 48-year history, the UK Press Association said.

He was the first reporter inside the Iraqi town of Halabjah in 1988 after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein attacked Kurds there with chemical weapons. He had also reported from Kosovo, Bosnia and Yugoslavia,

ITN Chief Executive Stewart Purvis said: "Terry was brave, he was determined and he was safety conscious. He was a lovely guy."

[Apos]

Small arms fire reported in Baghdad: men are running up and down the riverbank, police cars driving around. Reporter speculates that Iraqis are searching for downed pilots.

Baghdad reporter notes that Iraqis are making very exaggerated claims about causality reports in Baghdad.

[Apos]

More on enormous amount of missles at Basrah in about 40 bunkers. Cruise missles, rockets, anti-shipping mines, warheads. Info comes from AFN embedded reporter with British troops.

[Apos]

It has been reported that Turkey has expelled foriegn journalists from its borders and territory it controls.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_3.html

[Apos]

Troops in Baghdad are still firing machine weapons into the water under the bridge over the Tigris, ostensibly at a downed pilot (if I had to guess, I would say that Special Forces were operating within the city already, and perhaps had used the river to move.

[Apos]

More on the deaths of the ITN Journalists
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=24100

Report on conditions in Iraqi town Safwan
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030323.wsafwan220303/BNStory/Front

[Apos]

Bush, from his weekend in Camp David, reports that the launch site of the SCUDS is almost 100% secure. No word on what he's talking about, and this contradicts the more recent report from Qatar that no evidence of SCUDS has been found so far.

[Tuckerfan]

Originally posted by Apos
Bush, from his weekend in Camp David, reports that the launch site of the SCUDS is almost 100% secure. No word on what he's talking about, and this contradicts the more recent report from Qatar that no evidence of SCUDS has been found so far. Not necessarily. Bush could mean the SCUD sites from the last war, which Saddam would need if he was going to try and launch attacks against Israel again.

[Apos]

Right: I believe the general noted this as well, without implying that they had found SCUDS (since the question was whether or not they had).

[Ashkicker]

Originally posted by Apos
....The major question is where they are now, and if they and their captors are within range of Coalition troops.....

I got a stupid question. Forgive me for jacking the thread. Don't we have GPS tracking systems? Why don't they make soldiers have one of these put under the skin? I am not a fan of these things, but I can see where it would be a good thing in this case.

[Tuckerfan]

Originally posted by Ashkicker
I got a stupid question. Forgive me for jacking the thread. Don't we have GPS tracking systems? Why don't they make soldiers have one of these put under the skin? I am not a fan of these things, but I can see where it would be a good thing in this case. I don't think we have any which can do the kind of tracking we need in this situation. AFAIK, the only implantible chips we have are passive devices good for someone flying overhead and checking for the device when it's out in the open. They're mainly used for tracking cattle and pets. There's been some talk of implanting them in people (soldiers and children), but privacy advocates have had the screaming fits when this is brought up. After this and the Elizabeth Smart case, that may change, however. IAC, the units wouldn't be of much help in this kind of situation. It'd be almost impossible to get a signal through the walls of a building (I know sat phones don't work inside buildings for the most part, though something like a tent or being near a window will allow you to get a signal through.) so we'd have trouble pinpointing their exact location and if the bad guys knew we were using such technology, they could take steps to prevent the signals from being transmitted (say by transporting the guys in a shielded vehicle or worse, cutting the chips out of the troops).

[Apos]

Perhaps the first evidence troops have discovered of illegal chemical weapons plants?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/PrinterFull&cid=1048389497622

[Blackeyes]

AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq - The fiercest fighting yet in the battle for Iraq (news - web sites) flared Sunday near this city on the Euphrates River. Firefights went on for hours, and dozens of Americans were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

The battles at An Nasiriyah drew some attention from the relentless advance of the U.S.-led forces, now less than 100 miles from Baghdad after four days of the ground war. Scores of American military personnel landed in Kurdish territory, as the move to open a northern front gathered strength.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030324/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_battlefield_76

U.S. Troops Withdraw From Turkish Base

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20030323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_turkey_us_2

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Sunday identified a soldier held on suspicion of a fatal grenade attack on his comrades in Kuwait and military sources said he may have acted out of anger over the war with Iraq (news - web sites).

He converted to Islam and did it allegedly because he "rejected to the killing of muslims." :rolleyes:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&e=1&u=/nm/20030324/ts_nm/iraq_kuwait_attack_dc_13

CAIRO (Reuters) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said late on Sunday that President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was alive and well despite intensive U.S. and British bombing of his palaces in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad

"Mr. Saddam Hussein is very well, in good condition and he is leading our people and our fight against this colonial aggression," Sabri told reporters in Cairo ahead of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Monday.

Sometime between 9/11 and the early stages of the Afghanistan war Time magazine had an essay on colonialism's scar on the middle eastern people.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&e=1&u=/nm/20030324/wl_nm/iraq_saddam_dc_1

This next story you'll want to read:

Huge Iraqi Chemical Weapons Factory Found -Fox News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces have found what they believe to be a "huge" chemical weapons factory near the Iraqi city of Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad, Fox News and the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030324/ts_nm/iraq_chemical_weapons_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

U.S.-German Rift Reaches Schoolyard Level


By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer

BERLIN - The U.S.-German clash over war in Iraq (news - web sites) has filtered down to Murfreesboro, Tenn., where a high school has canceled precisely the kind of student exchange that is supposed to promote mutual understanding.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030323/ap_on_re_eu/war_germany_us_strains&cid=518&ncid=1473

[Blackeyes]

Correction: The suspect converted to Islam and did "it" (perform the grenade attack on fellow US soldiers) because he "rejected to the killing of Muslims." :rolleyes:

[Rilchiam]

Hussein just gave a speech (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/24/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html). We're trapped and they're heroes. Yeah, right, asshole.

[Liberal]

MSNBC

Iraqi ex-patriot believes that most recent tape was recorded earlier. Points out that two of the generals whom Saddam mentioned by name and thanked for their bravery had surrendered to coalition forces yesterday. Says that Saddam mentioned Umm Qasr simply because any invasion force would of necessity take that city.

CNN

Embedded reporter says that 3-7th Calvary are encountering elite Iraqi troops who are using civilians as human shields. The tactic of firing from behind hostages has slowed progress through the area.

[Rilchiam]

Thanks, Lib. I was reading too fast.

[Liberal]

Fox News

Advanced coalition forces are engaged in combat on the outskirts of Baghdad. Genarl who surrendered near Al Najaf was in charge of bio-chem facility and is providing infromation. Iraqi television has shown video of what it calls peasants who say they shot down an American Apache helicopter. Many of the peasants were dressed at least partially in military uniforms. Iraqi Vice-President says that pilots were captured and that Iraqis "might show them on TV and we might not."

[Liberal]

MSNBC

Expert says that video of the helicopter is "suspicious". There is no sign of damage from ordnance. He suspects that chopper set down after mechanical failure. Russian companies have sold night vision goggles and GPS jamming equipment to Iraqi military, in violation of UN rules and resolutions. Embedded reporter says that today's mission for his division is expected to encounter "extremely heavy resistance", but will not divulge either the location or the nature of the mission.

[starman]

The US military have confirmed that a chopper has been downed about 100km south of Baghdad. Other Apaches have been damaged, including one which lost an engine to a RPG.
-Oli

[Liberal]

Fox News

Centcom confirms that one Apache has been lost. More than 2,000 sorties were flown yesterday. Wounded American soldiers, including the 14 injured in the grenade attack at 101st, have arrived at Ramstein Airforce Base in Germany. Iraqi Defense Minister promises that prisoners of war will not be harmed.

[Liberal]

CNN

US State Department has lodged an official protest with Russian government over sales of prohibited military equipment to Iraq. Embedded reporter says that 3-7th Cavalry is being assailed with rocket fire. His unit is awaiting air cover. Michael Moore at the Oscars was booed and jeered so loudly that he could barely be heard while giving a speech condemning the war. Bill Hennon reports that one Iraqi missile was launched at Kuwait last night. Kuwaiti Patriot missiles shot it down.

[Liberal]

MSNBC

3-7th Cavalry is "within one day's march" of Baghdad. "Credible sources" say that terrorists, using the war in Iraq as an opportunity, may be targetting Americans in Indonesia. Polls show that support for both President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are growing in their respective countries. Blair now has support from a majority of Brits. Coalition troops have defeated Iraqi troops defending the south central city of Nasiriyah.

[Liberal]

Fox News

"Irregular" Iraqi troops, dressed in civilian clothes and driving modified civilian vehicles, have infiltrated into southern Iraq in an attempt to disrupt supply lines to forward coalition forces. A marine regiment has been slowed as it awaits fuel and ammunition. Expert reports that Saddam might not meet the coaltion soldiers head-on, but rather use residential and commercial areas on outskirts of Baghdad to shield the Republican Guard.

[Liberal]

Fox News

9 Marines were killed when irregular troops faked a surrender near An Nasiriyah. Iraq says that Apache chopper was shot down by 2 farmers. Greece has expelled the Iraqi ambassador. US Defense department has 30 soldiers in custody who worked at alleged chemical plant near Al Najaf, and are presently interrogating them. The facility is roughly 100 acres, and was shrouded by desert camouflage.

[UncleBeer]

Moderator's Notes:
Corbomite requested:Libertarian - all due respects to your fargin tens of thousands of brilliant posts - don't tell me where to go and what to say, M'kay?
Proceed to tell us all what you and your alter-ego Crusoe believe is 'News'
Actually, Libertarian is correct in his assertion. This thread is for news, as reported by the mainstream media. At least that's the condition under which I will allow it to continue. Opinions, such as you have interjected, are unwelcome in this thread. If you have questions, I refer you to the announcement I've made at the top of the forum page.

Further, your attitude as displayed in the quoted post above, appears to be confrontational and overly-aggressive. Please take it elsewhere. It, too, is unwelcome in this thread, and, indeed, in this entire forum.

[Liberal]

A sincere thanks to UncleBeer and the SDMB staff for allowing this thread.

-----

CNN

In his press conference, General Franks showed reconnaisance images of pre and post hits on targets in Baghdad. The strikes have been so precise that the walls of buildings are still standing while the insides of the buildings have been destroyed. In one before/after image, even the cars in the parking lot next to the building were undisturbed. Franks denied that farmers had shot down the Apache helicopter, and noted that the video showed it to be completely intact. He would not comment on whether the pilots had been rescued. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold a press conference at 10:30 ET.

[Crusoe]

Ah well. I have better things to do than be labelled as some kind of tedious sock puppet.

Sources I've been using: [Sky News] (http://www.sky.com/skynews/home): Fox-owned but generally fastest to the draw for breaking news
[BBC News] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/) : generally reliable, but not as up-to-date as others;
[Evening Standard] (http://www.thisislondon.com/) : sacrifices accuracy for speed -- fast-breaking but not always reliable;
[Ananova] (http://www.ananova.com/) : average mix of speed and reliability, not in-depth though;
[Reuters] (http://www.reuters.com/newsChannelIraq.jhtml) : mix of first-hand stories but not as wide-ranging.

[Liberal]

CNN

US Predator Drone has taken out an Iraqi anti-aircraft gun. Pentagon reports that specialized bio-chem testing units have been dispatched to undisclosed locations. Early warning systems in Baghdad apparently have been disabled. Polls show that public support for the war "holds", but that hope for a quick finish "wanes". Tony Blair says that coalition troops have begun staging 60 miles from Baghdad. The Red Cross is still trying to gain access to prisoners of war held by Iraq.

[Liberal]

Fox News

US Marine cavalry has engaged the famed Medina Republican Guard about 60 miles outside Baghdad. A fierce battle is underway. Coalition forces are securing bridges near Nasiriyah. One of the seven oil well fires in southern Iraq has been extinguished. US Infantry is working to mop up dead-enders. First UK combat casuality has been reported.

[Apos]

Salam is back: internet access out for two days
http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/
Reports that bombing has indeed been precise. Also reports that Al-jazeera is showing all sorts of things the free western press is not, not merely the illegal exploitation of POWs.

BBC reports that the city of Basrah is now entirely cut off from Iraqis, so though there are still insurgents there, they will have no more large scale support.

Iraqis still torching oil fields as they abandon their positions. No source has described why they would do this (and though knowledge of Iraq's history makes it sort of obvious in context, no news source seems to have delved into it)

[Apos]

According the BBC, despite "stark warnings" from the U.S. Turkey seems to be stepping up its deployment, contrary to what seemed to be recently agreed. U.S. troops who were there to potentially set up bases are packing up and leaving to crowds of jeering Turks. Western journalists banned from the area.

BBC is now showing the POW tape (?), though not the KIA section. They report that at least one mother learned about her son's capture from watching the tape, prior to being notified by the US government.

FoxNews: Franks doesn't know where the POWs are, and Red Cross has yet to get to them (despite that being Iraq's responsibility).

Things are heating up with Russians over their sale of weapons to Iraqis. The jamming equipment, in particular, could cause missles to misfire and hit unintended targets.

[rsa]

Gary Tuchman (CNN) at an airbase says that 1000 sorties will be flown Monday into Tuesday. 800 of those are to be in the Baghdad area, primarily Republican Guard positions.

[Eva Luna]

From CBS:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/24/earlyshow/main545738.shtml

Seems the U.S. military has been interviewing Iraqi prisoners of war for intelligence reasons, and have found Cipro tablets among their possessions; they’re making much of the idea that Cipro is used to prevent/treat anthrax infection, but having taken it a few times myself for (obviously) non-anthrax related reasons, anyone care to comment on the significance of the Cipro tablets?

[Apos]

BBC British report that the strategy of Iraqi troops is definately to try and draw them into urban, street to street warfare. Basrah is nearly out of water, and thousands of ununiformed people (not clear whether they are Iraqi special forces or not) are seen cheering and pumping machine guns. Humanitarain aid is on its way, but it appears that either the population is not as happy about invasion as previously reported, or Saddam's special forces have spread out wide into the population.

Our Special forces have been called in to deal with snipers.

They've also found gas masks among the equipment of captured soldiers, which might mean that the troops at least believed that poison gases would be used by someone.

Iraqi minster says that more captured POWs will be shown. Since he has previously claimed that our pictures of surrendering soldiers were faked, he can't reference them as an excuse, and so just inexplicably claims that their showings do adhere to Geneva conventions.

Iraqis apparently expected a sea landing instead of an air landing, and left behind most of their weapons when they fled, as long as detailed maps, and countless documents.

Tariq Aziz says that tapes were indeed Saddam (says using a double at a time like this would be absurd). Says that Iraq will "turn the tide" by dragging out the conflict, and will not "let our troops die in the desert," hinting at the urban warfare theory. BBC says that the propaganda has downplayed Saddam and urges people to think of this as a war for Iraq, not for Ba'ath. Aziz also claims our videos of POWS bound in the desert are Geneva violations, while their interview of soldiers "sitting on couches" are not, and demands international arbitration (which is a little hard when you wont let the Red Cross get to them).

[Apos]

Sporadic reports coming in of a large explosion in Bahrain, at the US Navy's 5th Fleet Headquaters.

The first British soldier who was killed was killed during an apparent domestic dispute, which may or may not have been a ruse operation.

[Apos]

Cipro is indeed used to treat all sorts of severe infections, but it would be expensive to deploy it to individual troops for that purpose, and probably not particularly useful (blood loss is what kills soldiers on the field: infections from wounds left untreated that can be treated by Cipro are usually related to things that would require more professional medical care anyway).

Bahrain reports turn out to be a dustbin that exploded for "unexplained reasons." No one injured, apparently: could have been an overreaction even to report it.

[Liberal]

An update on this from Apos:

BBC is now showing the POW tape (?), though not the KIA section. They report that at least one mother learned about her son's capture from watching the tape, prior to being notified by the US government.From CNN

In an interview with the mother herself, she says that her daughter learned of the capture while watching the tape being broadcast on a Philippines network to which she happened to subscribe, and then called the mother to inform her. This was occuring as military personnel were attempting to make contact. A spokeswoman for the Pentagon explained that notification procedures design to assure accuracy and to respect the privacy of families are strictly followed. Rather than broadcast identities over the media as Al Jazeera and others did, they make every attempt to contact the family directly when only when identities and circumstances have been completely verified.

[carnivorousplant]

Iraqi TV is working again; in adddition to patriotic video, a talk show with a guy in uniform, a guy in a suit and a woman. The only words I could understand were "Adolph Hitler" and "Aba Eban".

[Blackeyes]

Republican Guard units defending Baghdad bombed.

Ground troops now within 50 miles of the city.

Bush puts $75 billion as a down payment for the war.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_rdp&cid=716&ncid=716

France blasts America. Says, "no country should set itself up as the world's guardian."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030325/wl_afp/iraq_war_us_france&cid=1512&ncid=1478

SOUTH OF NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFP) - Days into the US-led war, Iraq (news - web sites)'s civilians are still waiting for the food, water and other help Washington and London promised they would distribute behind their advancing soldiers.

But with unexpectedly tough combat holding up the humanitarian aid convoys, hope is rapidly turning to anger against the invaders. You should probably read the whole article.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030325/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_war_civilians&cid=1514&ncid=1478

And this next story. It's glurge, I know, but it's sweet glurge.

LOMITA, Calif. - Eight years ago, a 14-year-old Guatemalan boy traveled alone across Mexico, looking for a better life in the United States. He found a foster family, went to high school, then joined the Marine Corps in gratitude to the United States.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_casualties_gutierrez&cid=540&ncid=1478

[deb2world]

I have heard on the radio (CNN affiliate) as well as Fox News (cable version) that the Iraqi's have drawn a red line around Baghdad and when the Allied forces cross this line, they will use chemical weapons. I do not know where this info comes from.

[Apos]

BBC in Nasiriyah: substantial numbers of U.S. forces pushing directly through the town, despite lack of security. They have control of the bridge crossings, however.

British troops have entered Basrah in great numbers, despite continuing fears about urban conflict. Change of plans announced: get the humanitarian aid in, first priority. Civilian aid workers cannot go in until the city is secure.

Huge sandstorm makes helicopter cover problematic, and will continue for at least a day.

More on ITN reporters: the survivor relates that they were filming some Iraqis who they thought were surrendering. As they were driving away from doing this, Allied forces opened up on them and the Iraqis with heavily caliber, virtually vaporizing their news van and the Iraqi positions. It's not clear whether this was a mistake and friendly fire accident all in one or if the this was due to one of the "surrender ruses."

[Rilchiam]

The 7th cavalry of the 3rd infantry has crossed the Euphrates.

[url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/25/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html[/url]

The Euphrates. I just can't get over it. My sixth grade history teacher was always on about the Tigris and the Euphrates and what she called the Persian "Golf". Only she was talking about stuff that happened B.C., and it all sounded so remote.

They crossed the Euphrates. Hot damn. (Can I say that in MPSIMS?)

[Tabithina]

Here's Rilchiam's link:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/25/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html

[Tabithina]

The port of Umm Qasr has been declared "safe and open", so humanitarian relief can begin soon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2884083.stm

[Liberal]

Fox News

Sky News reports that an uprising is underway in the city of Basra. Local Shiites are rebelling against the Fedayeen operatives that were planted there by Saddam to use the populace as shields for fighting coalition troops. The uprising is being supported by British artillery.

[Liberal]

Fox News

Richard Gaisford, an embedded reporter with Sky News, is reporting live from Basra that Fedayeen operatives have been firing on their own people, Iraqi Shiites, with mortar rounds as the locals make an attempt to overwhelm Saddam's secret police. British forces are preparing to enter the city, and are providing artillery support, firing on the mortar positions. This has been confirmed by British officials at Centcom.

[Liberal]

Fox News

The top Baath official in Basra has been killed. Baath is the socialist political party that is the official party of Saddam Hussein. The city is apparenty in a "riot situation". Centcom reports that it is following up "as fast as we can" on the situation there.

CNN

Experts suspect that some 8,000 irregulars are in the Basra area. AP and Reuters confirm that top Baath official is dead.

[Liberal]

Fox News

UK officials report that the Baath leader has been captured, not killed. The Pentagon will be holding a live briefing shortly.

(Sorry, but these reports are understandably coming fast and furious.)

[Tabithina]

Thanks for this thread, Libertarian. I've been refreshing it often for updates. :)

Here's a couple of links regarding the rebellion:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_764523.html

BBC reporter's blog, Ben Brown: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2883045.stm)
British Army sources have confirmed that some sort of uprising appears to be underway in Basra.

[vibrotronica]

The Turkish Foreign Minister has told the EU that Turkey plans to establish a buffer zone 20 km from their border with Iraq in case a "crisis situation" develops. The number of troops being bandied about is 40,000. The stated purpose of this buffer zone is to contain the flow of refugees into Iraq. NATO claims there is "no significant refugee flow toward the border at present." The Turks also say they have no intention of mounting a military operation in Iraq at this time, but they are reserving the right to move beyond the buffer zone if the Iraqi Kurds try to establish an independant state. Talks continue.

The New York Times is reporting that the man who claimed to be the commander of the Iraqi 51st Division was in fact a junior officer lying about his rank in order to get better treatment from his captors.

[Liberal]

Fox News

Centcom confirms Marines have secured a "hospital" near Nasiriyah that was being used by Fedayeen to store an arsenal of weapons, a tank, and hundreds of bio-chem suits. More than 100 of the paramilitary forces were captured as prisoners of war. A Centcom spokesman says that the building had a red crescent painted on top of it. The red crescent is the equivalent of a red cross, used to indicate a medical building.

[vibrotronica]

Guinea's Mamdy Traore, current president of the UN Security Council, has announced an emergency meeting will be held on Wednesday to discuss the war in Iraq.

[World Eater]

CNN


BASRA, Iraq (CNN) -- A huge battle between coalition forces and Iraqi troops is under way at this hour near Najaf and Karbala, in what Pentagon officials Tuesday said could be the biggest firefight of the war so far.

[World Eater]

CNN -


KARBALA, Iraq (CNN) -- A column of up to 1,000 Iraqi military vehicles was reported moving south Wednesday night toward Najaf, the scene of an earlier battle with U.S. forces, U.S. Army officers told CNN.

[ShibbOleth]

BASRA, Iraq (CNN) -- A huge battle between coalition forces and Iraqi troops is under way at this hour near Najaf and Karbala, in what Pentagon officials Tuesday said could be the biggest firefight of the war so far.


Dumb question: when does a firefight become a battle? Or is this just contemporary newspeak?

[World Eater]

Sky news -

[quote]WARPLANES ATTACK CONVOY

British warplanes are attacking a large column of Iraqi troops heading out of Basra as 5,000 Republican Guards are reported to be heading for a possible showdown with US Marines.
[/qoute]

[Blackeyes]

Warplanes attacked a convoy of Iraqi armored vehicles leaving Basra under cover of sandstorms Wednesday, raising hopes that British ground troops could soon enter a city feared on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. Iraq (news - web sites) claimed American missiles killed 14 civilians in Baghdad.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_rdp&cid=514&ncid=514

A huge Iraqi division is heading south on a collision course with US Marines
KARBALA, Iraq (CNN) -- A column of up to 1,000 Iraqi military vehicles was reported moving south Wednesday night toward Najaf, the scene of an earlier battle with U.S. forces, U.S. Army officers told CNN.

The column is believed to be made up of troops from Iraq's elite Republican Guard. The forces were moving from Baghdad at a rate of 18 mph to 36 mph, toward the lead elements of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, CNN's Walter Rodgers reports.


http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/26/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html

You won't believe this:

Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Detroit church and received a key to the city more than two decades ago, soon after he became president of Iraq (news - web sites).

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam_s_key&cid=540&ncid=1473

Soldiers in the U.S. 3rd Infantry moving north toward Baghdad say they believe they have been attacked by Iraqis wearing American uniforms. And they say they’re worried that some of the uniforms were stolen several weeks ago while the U.S. troops were in Kuwait.

http://msnbc.com/news/890988_asp.htm

Casualties rise:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/888496_asp.htm

[quote]UNEXPECTEDLY STIFF resistance from Iraqi forces, possibly including the Saddam Fedayeen militia, and a powerful sandstorm combined to slow the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force on its way north toward Baghdad, where Saddam and his regime are expected to make a fierce stand.
Still, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said Wednesday that U.S. Army and Marine forces made progress on their advance to Baghdad.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/870749_asp.htm

[World Eater]

I hope Saddam doesn't try to redeem that key.

[World Eater]

Whoops forgot, from CNN -


about 1,000 U.S. paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq Wednesday and seized an airfield, according to CNN Correspondent Steve Nettleton, who is embedded with the unit.

[ShibbOleth]

There was a picture tonight of US soldiers in front of a mural in an Iraqi government building. The mural was of the World Trade Center being smashed by an airliner.

W. Randolph Hearst couldn't have cooked up a better photo for the front pages tomorrow.

[Lorenzo]

Originally posted by ShibbOleth
There was a picture tonight of US soldiers in front of a mural in an Iraqi government building. The mural was of the World Trade Center being smashed by an airliner.

W. Randolph Hearst couldn't have cooked up a better photo for the front pages tomorrow.

Textbook

[Coriolanus]

The mural:

http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2003-03/7156056.jpg

(Just for perspective - those are real US Marines in front of it)

I've not seen it on any March 27 front pages - though as I type this CNN is showing it again.

The New York Times headline is:

1,000 Paratroopers Open Northern Front

[Coriolanus]

That photo is The New York Posts cover

http://www.nypost.com/images/front032703.gif

(also: my apologies to all for a couple dumbass posts)

[E-Sabbath]

Odd thing about that photo is that whoever painted it really has no sense of what a... uh, really large building is. It's a picture of a mildly small apartment building.

Chem warheads possibly found.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/030326c.asp

[carnivorousplant]

Another take on the mural from CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/26/sprj.irq.mural/index.html

[ShibbOleth]

Originally posted by E-Sabbath

Chem warheads possibly found.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/030326c.asp

I don't find this corroborated anywhere outside of CBN right now. Has anyone seen a second source?

[Coriolanus]

Oh man - now all of them look so fake.

Like Beastie Boys:

http://www.mattsmusicpage.com/beastieboys/47.jpg

Yeah, that picture is a hoax methinks.

[E-Sabbath]

Nope. Like the "wounded in market" story, I expect it to hit major markets about eight-twelve hours after the embedded reporter, and we'll see. Frankly, there _is_ no other reporter on the scene. So we have to wait for it to go up and downchannel.

[ivylass]

Reports of Iraqi children firing at our troops.

http://newsobserver.com/nc24hour/ncnews/story/2379455p-2217701c.html

[Umbriel]

Originally posted by ShibbOleth
Dumb question: when does a firefight become a battle? Or is this just contemporary newspeak?

I wouldn't exactly call it "newspeak", as I don't think there's any Orwellian misdirection involved. Reporters probably like "firefight" because it's evocative. It's really just the post-Vietnam equivalent of "skirmish". It would be properly applied to a brief, though possibly intense, engagement, where the commitment of forces is lopsided, or light on both sides. If either side commits reinforcements to an engagement, it probably shouldn't be called a firefight. Obviously, though, there are a lot of potential shades of gray.

I've similarly heard the term "collateral damage" referred to as newspeak -- a euphemism for "civilian deaths". While it can be used that way, the term is much broader -- referring to anything that you damage other than what you were aiming at. It can even be desirable (for example, destroying a bridge that happens to have enemy troops on it).

[carnivorousplant]

A Civil War aficionado described a skirmish as "they shot at each other and ran away".

[Tuckerfan]

CNN's reporting that there was just a huge explosion in Baghdad. No information as to what the target was, nor what caused the explosion.

[Blackeyes]

Massive Explosions Rock Central Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)'s defense minister declared Thursday the real battle for Baghdad will be on its streets, a bold speech followed by thunderous bombardments that rattled the capital and filled the night sky with flames and smoke.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030327/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_baghdad&cid=514&ncid=514

Israel on High Alert Against Iraq Strike

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030327/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians&cid=540&ncid=1473

U.S. to Add 100,000 Troops to Iraq Force-Officials

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030327/ts_nm/iraq_usa_force_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

CAMP DAVID, Md. (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) pledged on Thursday to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) "no matter how long it takes," and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ruled out a cease-fire.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030327/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc&cid=615&ncid=1478

Congress Grills Rumsfeld on War Spending

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030327/pl_nm/iraq_usa_cost_dc&cid=615&ncid=1478

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said on Thursday he had no evidence from U.S.-led forces waging war on Iraq (news - web sites) that Baghdad had used any banned weapons of mass destruction.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/iraq_un_blix_dc&cid=564&ncid=1478

NEAR KARBALA, Iraq - More U.S. paratroopers parachuted into northern Iraq (news - web sites) Thursday, and British and U.S. warplanes flew more than 600 bombing missions, blasting Iraqi light armor ahead of U.S.-led troops advancing toward Baghdad.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/war_battlefield&cid=540&ncid=1478

Iraq Using Urban Strategy for Defense

LONDON - Burdened with outdated tanks, little air support and dwindling supplies in some areas, the Iraqi military will concentrate on urban fighting to keep U.S.-led coalition forces at bay — particularly in the crucial fight for Baghdad, defense analysts said Thursday.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030327/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_iraq_capability&cid=540&ncid=1473

Iraqi Sees U.S. Encircling Baghdad in 5-10 Days

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq (news - web sites)'s defense minister said Thursday he expected U.S.-led forces would encircle Baghdad within five to 10 days, but predicted that they would lose street-to-street fighting that could last for months

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030327/wl_nm/iraq_minister_dc&cid=574&ncid=1473

U.S. Force Plans Taking Kirkuk Oil Fields

NEAR IRBIL, Iraq - After falling out of the sky and sleeping in the mud, American paratroopers grabbed a strategic air base on Thursday and began plotting how to cross 80 miles and thousands of Iraqi troops to seize invaluable oil fields in northern Iraq (news - web sites).

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030327/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_northern_front&cid=540&ncid=1473

Top U.S. official: Iraq has executed some POWs

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraq has executed some prisoners of war in what the Pentagon's No. 2 general described Wednesday as one of many "disgusting" war crimes committed by forces loyal to Saddam Hussein.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/27/sprj.irq.pows.executed/index.html

U.S.: Iraqis, not coalition, may have hit market

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/27/sprj.irq.marketplace.bombing/index.html

N.Y. antiwar protesters stage 'die-in'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Protesters blocked two lanes of traffic and a busy intersection Thursday morning in Midtown Manhattan as part of a planned "die-in."

Police have arrested 215 people.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/27/sprj.irq.antiwar/index.html

[Crusoe]

An additional 120,000 troops have been called up in the US. The 1st Armoured Division (based in Germany), the 1st Cavalry Division, the 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment and the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment have all been mobilised. The 4th Infantry Division is already en route to the area.

This is a massive deployment. By my reckoning, it will more than double the land firepower currently engaged.

The UK is also likely to send 6,000 more troops, probably based on a battalion or two and supporting arms.

[Max Carnage]

Watching CNN right now, three "middle eastern" men have been arrested in NYC. They were watched crossing the Williamsburg Bridge each with a package. They climbed the superstructure and when they re-emerged, they did not have the packages. Authorities have shut down the bridge in order to find the packages and are currently checking other bridges in NYC as well.

[vibrotronica]

From the AP wire:

Two men from Massachusetts and a third from Rhode Island were being questioned at a nearby stationhouse Friday morning. The incident had no connection to terrorism, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday.

"What it really was was three guys who apparently got into someplace they shouldn't. They were just sitting around drinking, so there was no threat," Bloomberg said. "These three guys are in trouble and they certainly inconvenienced a lot of people."

[World Eater]

Originally posted by Max Carnage
Watching CNN right now, three "middle eastern" men have been arrested in NYC. They were watched crossing the Williamsburg Bridge each with a package. They climbed the superstructure and when they re-emerged, they did not have the packages. Authorities have shut down the bridge in order to find the packages and are currently checking other bridges in NYC as well.

That's what that was, thanks. I hadn't heard a peep about that.

[Max Carnage]

Good to hear. Did they ever explain what the packages were? Or were they sacks of empties?

[World Eater]

From what I hear it sounds like they were a bunch of intoxicated schmucks.

From CNN -


U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warns Syria that the U.S. considers military shipments to Iraq a 'hostile act.'

[Tuckerfan]

Rumsfeld is calling on Syria and Iran to stop shipping nightvision goggles to Iraq and that if they refuse to do so, their forces who are bringing these supplies into Iraq will be considered military targets.

[vibrotronica]

BBC reports a Turkish airliner has been hijacked and diverted to Athens. Who did it and why are currently a mystery.

[Tuckerfan]

Kuwait is reporting an explosion at a shopping mall. Early reports seem to indicate that it was a missile attack. This from NPR.

[Blackeyes]

IN THE IRAQI DESERT - A bomber posing as a taxi driver summoned American troops for help, then blew up his vehicle Saturday, killing himself and four soldiers and opening a new chapter of carnage in the war for Iraq (news - web sites).

An Iraqi official said such attacks would be "routine military policy" in Iraq — and, he suggested chillingly, in America.

"We will use any means to kill our enemy in our land and we will follow the enemy into its land," Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said at a Baghdad news conference. "This is just the beginning. You'll hear more pleasant news later."
Emphasis mine

It killed four soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division north of Najaf

Iraq, like many other nations, cannot match American weaponry. "They have bombs that can kill 500 people, but I am sure that the day will come when a single martyrdom operation will kill 5,000 enemies."

CENTCOM says it shows they're starting to get desperate.

It's also not the first time terrorist bombings have struck American soldiers in the Mid-East; Lebanon in 1983 (241 Americans), Saudi Arabia in 1996 (19 Americans).


It's alsmost as if they don't want us there

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_suicide_attack&cid=514&ncid=514

[Blackeyes]

Eight journalists who had gone missing in Iraq were found alive and unharmed. Seven otheres are still missing.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030329/ts_nm/iraq_journalists_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

Some Tomahawk missiles aimed for Iraq fell in Saudi Arabia, says military. The military has since suspended routes for certain launches in response. "About five" missiles landed in the desert without exploding.

Saudi news says the Kingdom submitted an official complaint to the US about it, and it still will stay out of the war.

This will have "no effect" on the war, says military.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030329/wl_nm/iraq_missiles_saudi_dc&cid=574&ncid=1473

[Blackeyes]

200 killed in coalition attack on Baath party meeting: US generals

AS-SALIYAH, Qatar (AFP) - Some 200 members of Iraq (news - web sites)'s ruling Baath party were killed in a coalition attack at a gathering in the Basra region, US generals said.

They think all who went there were killed.

"We believe ... about 200 leaders of these -- of these irregular squads, and key leaders -- we believe were destroyed last night," Major General Victor Renuart said.

"Each time we make one of these attacks, we continue to degrade the regime, we continue to degrade their capability. And in a very systematic approach, we are moving nicely down the road."

The "Baath party apparatus in Basra" is now the key British target in Basra.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030329/ts_afp/iraq_war_basra_baath&cid=1503&ncid=1473

The Pope says he hopes the war will not spark "a religious catastrophe."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030329/wl_nm/iraq_pope_dc&cid=574&ncid=1473

[Glurge(?)]CENTRAL IRAQ (AFP) - Iraqi civilians fleeing heavy fighting have stunned and delighted hungry US marines in central Iraq (news - web sites) by giving them food, as guerrilla attacks continue to disrupt coalition supply lines to the rear.

Two busloads of Iraqis heading towards Rafit made contact with Arabic-speaking marines and gave them food.

Corpsman Tony Garcia said the food donation was an act of appreciation for the American effort to topple the brutal regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).

"They gave us eggs and potatoes to feed our marines and corpsmen. I feel the local population are grateful and they want to see an end to Saddam Hussein," he said.

"It was a lovely, beautiful gesture."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030329/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_war_civilians&cid=1514&ncid=1473

UMM QASR, Iraq - Striking before dawn, British tanks and infantry staged a lightning raid into besieged Basra on Saturday, destroying five Iraqi tanks and blowing up two statues of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) before withdrawing without casualties.

The strike was the first thrust into the city confirmed by British officers, and it and other limited attacks around Basra could be a preview of how coalition commanders might deal with a siege of Baghdad.

There's some more in there about upholding tradition in the British army. Not news updates stuff, but neat to know.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_british_punch&cid=540&ncid=1473

[Blackeyes]

Bush tells America to withstand more casualties.

Despite longer-than-expected fighting in parts of Iraq Bush is "optimistic about the war's outlook."

How soon before it becomes "victory is just around the corner?" Or was it always that from the beginning?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20030329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_us_iraq_42

[Blackeyes]

Two US special forces soldiers killed, one wounded when their patrol was ambushed in Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/central/03/29/afghanistan.soldiers/index.html

BTW, at the beginning of the Iraq war there was a simultaneous army operation in Iraq to attack remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qeda. That was called Operation Valiant Strike and got only scroller feed in the news.

There is another offensive in Afghanistan called Operation Desert Lion. Read about it here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030328/ap_wo_en_ge/as_gen_afghan_military_1) on Yahoo! News.

[medstar]

Libertarian, I'd like to echo the other posters and thank you for starting this thread and providing updates. I've been watching CNN and local news channels and like you said, the updates are coming fast and furious. The most heartwarming item was the story of the citizens sharing food with the coalition forces. I was getting a little misty eyed at the generosity of these downtrodden people.

[carnivorousplant]

I was wondering if those potatoes and eggs had anthrax on them...

[carnivorousplant]

In an Iraqi press conference a few minutes ago, an English speaking correspondent suggested that the bodies found by the US Marines included that of a woman and were indeed the POWs shown on television last week. The Iraqis denied that they were the POWs.
Has anyone heard anything about this allegation?

[Blackeyes]

A general from Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s army has been captured in southern Iraq (news - web sites) and is being pressed to provide strategic information, British officers said Sunday. An Iraqi official said 4,000 Arab volunteers have arrived, eager to carry out more suicide attacks against U.S. and British forces.

He's the highest ranking POW captured thus far.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030330/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_rdp

[Blackeyes]

In Kuwait a man in civilian clothes drove a pickup truck into a group of soldiers waiting outside a supply store.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/892361.asp?0cv=CB10
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20030330/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_kuwait_attack

A militant blew himself up in an Israeli mall, injuring 30. Islamic Jihad sez it's in support of Iraq.

The explosives were studded with nails near a popular restaurant.

BUT, the bomber was prevented from going inside the restaurant, so he blew himself up outside, thus saving lives.

A group of soldiers stood near the entrance at the time, making it impossible for him to enter, and he blew himself up outside, police said. They disputed an initial report that a security guard had kept away the bomber.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=5&u=/ap/20030330/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_explosion

31 Marines hurt in 'friendly fire' incident caused by a communications breakdown.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/891593.asp

An Iraqi convoy attempting to use night and duststorm to attack the 3rd Infantry division were decimated by American warplanes, including B-52s 80 miles south of Baghdad.

Also, the 3rd Infantry has seized two key bridges on the Euphrates recently and the Iraqis might have been attempting to recapture them or prevent crossing.

U.S. commanders said they were not certain whether the attackers are irregular forces or members of the Special Republican Guard. But they were wearing uniforms that U.S. commanders say resemble the uniforms worn by the 3rd Infantry.
American troops found a cache of similar uniforms near here in recent days, plus ammunition, including rocket-propelled grenades.

Concerned about the uniforms, U.S. commanders are now changing the rules of engagement, which tell American troops when they are authorized to fire at a possible attacker.
From now on, they are free to fire at anyone wearing a U.S. uniform who engages in threatening behavior, unless that person is wearing the mottled tan chemical warfare pants currently worn by all 3rd Infantry forces. The U.S.-style Iraqi uniforms apparently do not include the chem-warfare pants.

[editorial remark]"Free to fire" on any U.S. uniform? Won't this mean possibly more 'friendly fires'? At least it should decrease the 'hostile fire' incidents.[/quote]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/891508.asp

[Blackeyes]

"Northern Iraqi Defenses stiffen."

The resistance faced by US troops in the south is giving good moral to Iraqi soldiers in the north.

IN SEVERAL INTERVIEWS, Kurdish security officials said that, while they are not losing confidence in America’s ability to defeat the Iraqi military, they are worried that the heavy concentration of U.S. ground and air power on Baghdad and targets in the south is sapping the spirit of pro-American Iraqis in the north who believed they would see U.S. troops sooner.

The Iraqi opposition officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said intelligence gathered from Saddam’s side suggested that the Iraqi leader’s northern troops will put up a strong fight in the absence of an early, robust U.S. military assault.
Last week, according to one Kurdish official, Iraqi troops in Kirkuk, an oil-rich northern city vital to the country’s post-war reconstruction, filled two lines of trenches surrounding the city with oil. They are expected to set the oil on fire when U.S. troops approach, the official said.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/889968.asp

"Kurdish civilians armed and ready." Thousands of armed Kurdish soldiers are waiting in northern Iraq for the US offensive to begin. The article says this could "present a host of problems" for the US army. BUT, The Kurds have also promised Washington that their own anti-Saddam forces, estimated to number 50,000, will not inflame the situation by deploying into Kirkuk without an invitation from the Americans.

But still, they're getting kinda restless

http://www.msnbc.com/news/889535.asp

[Blackeyes]

TEHRAN, Iran, Feb. 28 — Thirteen months after President Bush called Iran part of an “axis of evil,” and on the eve of a possible U.S.-led war against Tehran’s similarly vilified neighbor, Iraq, the Iranian government has quietly weighed its reputation as an international pariah against America’s superpower might. The Islamic theocracy’s conclusion, analysts and sources say, is that U.S. plans to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Apparently, Iran has kept its anti-American statements "in check."

Iranians are no friends of Saddam Hussein, whose 1980 invasion of Iran sparked a bloody war that ended 10 years later with a million troops and civilians dead on both sides.

After being lumped together with Iraq — and North Korea — in Bush’s “axis of evil” speech last year, the political dexterity of Iran’s leaders has been seriously challenged, said Bavand. He said Iran’s cooperation with the United States could be the Islamic theocracy’s ticket off Bush’s black list.
“Certain circles in Iran believed that a controlled Saddam is better than any other alternative. But common sense shows that the removal of Saddam would serve Iranian national interests,” said Bavand.
“The choice is conflict or cooperation,” said Morad Vaisi, a Tehran-based expert in Iran-Iraq relations.

Sorry it's from a month ago, but I have not heard any anti-Iranian stories in the headlines since the war started and I assume it hasn't changed much you should be aware anyways.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/876550.asp

[carnivorousplant]

Iraqi TV video of people singing and dancing with AK-47s includes a clip of an American POW.

[Blackeyes]

There's fierce street fighting 50 miles south of Baghdad.

US forces have recently shot dead seven Iraqi women and children. At a vehicle checkpoint in S. Iraq when the driver did not stop as ordered. This was the same unit that lost four men in a suicide car bombing of someone dressed as a civilian. The driver even ignored the warning shots, and when soldiers fired on the automobile's engine it still continued.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030401/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_civilians_killed_7

[Blackeyes]

BIYARE, Iraq - A U.S.-led assault on a compound controlled by an extremist Islamic group turned up a list of names of suspected militants living in the United States and what may be the strongest evidence yet linking the group to al-Qaida, coalition commanders said Monday.

The cache of documents at the Ansar al-Islam compound, including computer discs and foreign passports belonging to Arab fighters from around the Middle East, could bolster the Bush administration's claims that the two groups are connected, although there was no indication any of the evidence tied Ansar to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) as Washington has maintained.

There were indications, however, that the group has been getting help from inside neighboring Iran.

Kurdish and Turkish intelligence officials, some speaking on condition of anonymity, said many of Ansar's 700 members have slipped out of Iraq (news - web sites) and into Iran — putting them out of reach of coalition forces.

Some of the leaders of the group fled into Iran before a missile attack to kill them even took place.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20030401/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_iraqi_militants

[Blackeyes]

US Government says no sign Saddam is still alive. They are unable to confirm he survived the March 19 strike on the bunker he was believed to be staying in.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=10&u=/ap/20030401/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_saddam_2

[Blackeyes]

What, so I took over Libertarian's job?

[Arden Ranger]

And I, for one, appreciate it. :)

[Blackeyes]

Two Iraqi Republican Guard units are at half their original strength after US bombings, says gummint.


"We continue to work on them," said Air Force Gen. Richard Myers. He said Iraqi commanders have moved some troops around as reinforcements for the divisions that are the main force defending Baghdad.

"But some of them have been degraded to pretty low percentages of combat capability — below 50 percent in at least two cases," said Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Appearing with Myers at a Pentagon (news - web sites) briefing, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld denied that the United States is negotiating an end to war with Iraq (news - web sites). "The only thing the coalition will discuss with this regime is their unconditional surrender," he said.

He also said there will be "bigger pushes that will be under way as soon as we're ready."

[Blackeyes]

Forgot the link: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030401/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_us_military_398

[Blackeyes]

BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in a written statement on Tuesday urged Iraqis to wage a holy war against invaders, as the United States made clear that only an unconditional Iraqi surrender would end the war.

He says 6,000 Arab volunteers have come to Iraq to fight America and more than half of them are suicide bombers.

Saddam did not appear in this address and instead his written statement was read by his Minister of Information, adding skepticism that he is even alive still.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030401/ts_nm/iraq_dc&cid=564&ncid=1473

[Blackeyes]

Four ships carrying weapons of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division docked Tuesday at Kuwait City's Shuaibah port, and maintenance crews began unloading Apache helicopters, Abrams battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, and Humvee armored vehicles. The equipment and troops are to be ready to join other coalition forces within weeks if needed.

Three missing U.S. journalists arrived safely in Jordan Tuesday. New York Newsday journalists Matthew McAllester and Moises Saman called their newsroom to say they were in Jordan and were fine, according to a Newsday spokesperson. They last contacted the paper March 24. With the Newsday journalists was U.S. freelance photojournalist Molly Bingham, her family said, who also had been missing in Iraq. There was no immediate word about why the three had been out of contact.

Coalition forces have not found any evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said at Tuesday's Central Command briefing in Qatar.

In Kurd-dominated northern Iraq, Iraqi opposition forces took a town that was a suspected stronghold of the Islamic militia Ansar al-Islam. The group is a link between Iraq and al Qaeda, U.S. officials said. Kurdish fighters worked with U.S. Special Forces to destroy the operation, officials said, and they found equipment and documentation indicating the presence of chemical or biological weapons.

A large explosion produced plumes of smoke Tuesday evening (8:55 a.m. EST) in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. British forces said they have secured the western part of Iraq's second largest city, where Iraqi paramilitary forces have been battling coalition troops for the past week.

U.S. forces shot and wounded a Kuwaiti army soldier driving too close to a U.S. military camp, a Kuwaiti Defense Ministry spokesman said. The soldier, who told interrogators he was taking a shortcut through the desert, was treated for a shoulder wound and released by a U.S. medical unit at Camp Sanders.

Intense coalition air raids subsided Tuesday in northern Iraq for the first time since hostilities began. With this abatement, five Shia recruits from southern Iraq surrendered to coalition forces along the northern front. One of the soldiers told CNN that Iraqi forces had "execution squads" to kill Iraqi deserters.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Tuesday praised journalists working in Iraq, while warning against "snap judgments based on television pictures." Speaking at Great Britain's Newspaper Society's annual conference in London, Straw outlined a plan to rebuild Iraq, saying the United Nations would play a major role in the nation's political and economic future.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/01/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html Under "Other Developments"

[Tuckerfan]

POW Jessica Lynch freed from an Iraqi hospital. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20030401-1705-war-us-pow.html

[E-Sabbath]

We are over the Tigris, and apparently going to lay siege a bit.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0304030336apr03,0,6090905.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[Blackeyes]

Power is out in Baghdad.

US soldiers are in greater Baghdad.

US soldiers have begun attacking Saddam international airport.

A U.S. military spokesman said there are "credible signs" that Iraqi forces are on the verge of collapse.

[carnivorousplant]

Please don't let them have gas.

[tiny ham]

if the Iraqi forces are on the verge of collapse wouldn't they have just let loose with any sort of chemical or biological thing they had by now?

[carnivorousplant]

I would think this would be the time.
I hope I'm wrong.
:)

[medstar]

Have any more high ranking military or Baathist members been captured?

[Blackeyes]

Former CIA Director James Woolsey said Wednesday the United States is engaged in World War IV, and that it could continue for years.

The third world war was the Cold War and the fourth world war is against three enemies: the religious rulers of Iran, the "fascists" of Iraq and Syria, and Islamic extremists like al Qaeda. Hopefully it will not last as long as the Cold War did.

---

All of Saddam's TV appearances since the start of the war were done before March 19th, sez CIA.

----

US soldiers control part of Saddam International Airport.

[Blackeyes]

Not that I've heard, medstar, but according to sources, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is naming names.

[Blackeyes]

BASRA, Iraq (CNN) -- A giant food distribution complex seized Wednesday by U.S. and British forces in this city grappling with hunger contained massive amounts of food.

A walk through only about 20 percent of the warehouses in the complex revealed that tens of thousands of tons of supplies -- including huge quantities of baby milk -- were being stored in Iraq's second-largest city, which has been wracked by a food shortage.

There are vast amounts of food staples, tea, sugar, tires, car batteries and sewing machines in the warehouses.

Also found were large quantities of cash, weapons and documents relating to the food-distribution system. Coalition officials hope the documents will help them smooth out the distribution process.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/03/sprj.irq.basra.food.complex/index.html

[Feynn]

I was impressed today when I read that American troops were fired upon by Iraqis who were using Shiite mosques as cover. They refused to return fire as to avoid damaging the buildings.

The American position is that these sacred sites will not be targeted unless the soldiers are forced to fire in self defense.

What I found disturbing was the footage of the captured Iraqi jail, where there were cells fitted with hooks and electrical cables used to torture prisoners. They also found dozens of identity cards belonging Iraqi men; being that it is illegal to travel without papers in Iraq they surmised that these men were victims of the regime and were most likely dead.

[medstar]

I'm not sure which network had this piece of disturbing news, but remember March 19, when the bombing started? It turns out the CIA received intelligence from three Iraqi informants that Saddam Hussein would be in that area. I heard those three informants were discovered and executed; two by being shot, one had his tongue cut out and bled to death.

[Blackeyes]

First US planes land in Baghdad Airport at about 8 pm local time on the western, military side of the airport.

It was not immediately clear whether the plane was carrying a load or was testing the landing strip which had been slightly damaged by U.S. bombing during Friday's assault on what was formerly known as Saddam International Airport.

U.S. forces seized the airport, some 12 miles southwest of the city center, on Friday. They then said they had renamed it Baghdad International Airport.

On Sunday, U.S. forces said they controlled practically all road access to the capital, too.

The military side recieved some damage during Friday's capture, but the plane landed safely anyways. Engineers are already working to rebuild the place.

Col. John Peabody, commander of the Engineer Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, said earlier that the U.S. had positioned 7,000 troops at the airport and was moving quickly to establish a small military village there.

Analysts have said the airport is a key strategic catch for U.S.-led forces in their 18-day-old campaign to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).

It's likely to relieve stress on the supply chain from Kuwait. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&e=13&u=/nm/20030406/ts_nm/iraq_airport_landing_dc

[Blackeyes]

A dozen British tanks have moved into Basra again, the largest incursion into Basra for them yet.


CNN just claimed Basra was captured.... again.

[Blackeyes]

Iraqi leader sees a two-year stay for US military. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030406/wl_nm/iraq_usa_chalabi_dc&cid=574&ncid=1480

WASHINGTON - It probably will take at least six months to set up a new Iraqi government once coalition forces take full control of the country, a Bush administration official said Sunday.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030406/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_postwar_iraq&cid=540&ncid=1473

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US military may have to run Iraq (news - web sites) for more than six months after the war has finished before it hands over to an Iraqi authority, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030406/pl_afp/iraq_war_us_military&cid=1521&ncid=1473

[Blackeyes]

A list of key developments made lately:

U.S. warplanes struck a convoy of allied Kurdish fighters and U.S. Special Forces during a northern battle in one of the deadliest friendly fire attacks of the Iraqi war. At least 18 people were killed and more than 45 wounded, including senior Kurdish commanders, Kurdish officials said.

_ Marines pulled intelligence from a shattered Republican Guard headquarters after a night of fiery bombardments, and they searched a suspected terrorist training camp, finding the shell of a passenger jet believed to be used for hijacking practice.

_ In Moscow, the Kremlin said a convoy of Russian Embassy diplomats came under fire, and some were wounded, as they were evacuating from Baghdad and starting to drive toward Syria.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 Iraqi fighters were killed as the 3rd Infantry Division moved through southwestern Baghdad on Saturday, U.S. Central Command spokesman Jim Wilkinson said Sunday.

_ On the Tigris River south of Baghdad, U.S. Marines raided Salman Pak, a town that contained a suspected weapons of mass destruction site, U.S. military officials said. Marines also destroyed the headquarters for the Republican Guard Second Corps and a suspected terrorist training camp and seized a presidential palace.

Deafening explosions rocked central Baghdad early Sunday as Iraqi troops, members of President Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen militia and teenage soldiers patrolled streets to protect the capital from U.S.-led forces.

_ U.S. Marines attempted to take a bridge over a canal leading into Baghdad. Iraqi fighters had rigged the bridge with explosives and dug out the embankment under the bridge to weaken it. Marines said they now control the bridge but cannot cross it.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf on Sunday asked Iraqis to remain calm and not be taken by rumors. He also warned citizens against firing their guns for no requested reason.

_ British troops staged their largest military incursion into the southern city of Basra, rumbling into Iraq's second-largest city with a column of 40 armored personnel carriers Sunday.

_ American POW Jessica Lynch was reunited with her family Sunday at a U.S. military hospital in Germany.

_ Coalition aircraft conducted strikes on the Basra residence of Ali Hassan al-Majid, a member of Saddam's inner circle who once ordered a chemical weapons attack on Kurds, Central Command said. On Sunday, coalition forces sifting through the rubble positively identified the body of his bodyguard. It was still not known whether al-Majid also had been killed.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/war_developments&cid=540&ncid=1478

[Tuckerfan]

The Brits are now saying that they "probably" killed Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majeed in the attack on his dwelling.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/06/sprj.irq.chemical.ali/index.html

All together now!
Chemical Ali's Dead!
No, no, no, no, he's on the outside looking in

[Beagle]

Allies enter Baghdad (http://www.msnbc.com/news/870749.asp?0cv=CA00)--including presidential palaces--supposedly to stay.

[Tuckerfan]

CNN is now reporting that British forces have identified the body of "Chemical Ali" in the ruins of his house.

[Tabithina]

Originally posted by Tuckerfan
CNN is now reporting that British forces have identified the body of "Chemical Ali" in the ruins of his house.

A link (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/07/sprj.irq.chemical.ali/index.html) is now up on their website.

DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Reliable sources said Sunday that the body of Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the man known as "Chemical Ali," has been found in Basra, said a spokesman for the British military at U.S. Central Command headquarters here.

[ShibbOleth]

Two US soldiers and two journalists are killed and 15 people wounded in an Iraqi rocket attack on a US communications centre just south of Baghdad, US military officials say.

[Blackeyes]

Possible Iraqi chemical weapons site found.

Testing at laboratories in the United States has to be completed before the presence of chemical weapons could be confirmed, the officials said.

Soldiers from the Army's 101st Airborne Division found the suspicious material in a compound near the Iraqi city of Hindiyah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged reports about the site Monday but said first reports are often incorrect.

"We have to take our time and look at it," Rumsfeld said, adding that getting samples back to the United States and completing testing can take days. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030407/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_chemical_weapons_8

Iraqis are fighting back in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Initially caught off guard, Iraqi forces defending the capital Baghdad hit back with artillery, mortar and sniper fire on Monday after U.S. troops thrust into the heart of the city.


As dozens of U.S. tanks rumbled into the city of five million people and entered two presidential compounds on the west bank of the Tigris, the urban warfare that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) promised the invading forces finally began.

But as night fell, U.S. troops with tanks still occupied at least one of the blitzed palaces in the city center and gave no signs of planning to leave.

"We can see four tanks. They're still there. The soldiers look very relaxed and are walking around inside the compound," Reuters correspondent Samia Nakhoul said.

By midnight, the city had fallen quiet.

Earlier, the white dust of mortar mingled with a sandstorm to cloak the city, obstructing visibility as the thud of artillery and mortar bombs reverberated across the capital, especially toward the west and south.

Republican Guards took positions behind the information and foreign ministry buildings in the city center, firing rocket-propelled grenades in the direction of U.S. troops a few hundred yards away.

Artillery shells, apparently Iraqi, crashed into the huge presidential compound on the west bank of the Tigris river, where American tanks took up positions early on Monday.

A Reuters photographer saw other shells, apparently American, landing in the gardens of the luxury Al-Rashid Hotel near the information ministry.

Almost the only people walking the streets were Iraqi soldiers in full combat gear or fighters in civilian clothes.

Speeding ambulances evacuated casualties.

Residents hid indoors to escape the crackling automatic fire and exploding shells. State television showed old footage of Saddam and played patriotic songs. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&e=1&u=/nm/20030407/wl_nm/iraq_baghdad_scene_dc_5

Arabs are outraged at the US invasion of Baghdad.

US and Iraqis are fighting in Nasiriyah.

Red Cross says Iraqi hospitals are overwhelmed.

[ShibbOleth]

Pictures broadcast this morning from Baghdad:

Iraqis gathering at a circle in the city center are about to put a noose around the neck of a large Saddam statue and topple it, a la Lenin statues during the Soviet collapse.

A sign that initially said "Humanshields" now altered and held by Iraqis to say "Go Home Humanshields You U.S. Wankers" as they seem elated to see coalition forces in Baghdad.

US Military casually standing around in Baghdad center, with Iraqi civilians milling about them.

[rocking chair]

a tank has rolled up to help them topple the statue. it appears to be the beginning of the end.

[ShibbOleth]

They just said it's an M88(?) Tank Retriever, so technically not a tank. It sure looks like someone is going to get hurt/killed when that thing comes down. And the rope they have looks just a little short.

Also, further reports warn of fierce fighting from pockets of resistance yet to come, so it's not over quite yet but things do look promising.

[Barbarian]

Some bonehead soldier flipped a US flag over the statue's head, then two minutes later got ordered to take it down. He's now trying to fly an Iraqi flag from the statue.

[Barbarian]

And the statue is down, being trampled by a dozens of men.
I don't see any women anywhere on TV.

[Feynn]

The pictures that have been broadcasting over the past half hour are striking.

After toppling the statue many people began jumping and dancing upon the fallen effigy of Hussein, others began striking the statue with what appeared to be a length of chain and after beheading the statue a group began dragging the head through the central square.

They look like very happy people. Their future in uncertain but a future without the regime of Sadam Hussein appears to be preferable to anything that might come in the future.

They're still fighting in other parts of the city and I would believe that those offering the resisitance are members of the Republican Guard. They must know that after they fire their last bullet or launch their last grenade, their time on this earth may be very brief. They are the enemies of the Iraqi people and I do not believe they will be granted much in the way of mercy.

[Earl Snake-Hips Tucker]

Pentagon has confirmed what British Intelligence has been saying: Saddam escaped before the bunker busters hit.

[Blackeyes]

But according to Yahoo! News....

U.S.: Saddam Likely in Bombed Building

WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence had solid information from multiple sources that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) went inside a building and didn't leave before it was struck by an American bomber Monday, U.S. officials said.

One intelligence source was believed to be an eyewitness who watched him go inside. No one would discuss the identity or characterize the credibility of the witness.

Intelligence officials, who spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity, stopped well short of declaring Saddam dead. They described the information as encouraging, but not conclusive.

"We may have got him. We just don't know. It's clear that nobody's in charge, that nobody's getting any direction," said one official. "He's gone way underground, literally or figuratively."

Military officials in the region said Saddam doesn't appear to be in control.

[Blackeyes]

Whoops, forgot link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_saddam_10

In other news, crowds have begun celebrating in the streets of Baghdad. US soldiers went into the heart of Baghdad and helped jubilant people celebrate by toppling a huge statue of Hussein.


Amid chaotic scenes of rejoicing, looting and scattered gunfire, Iraqis danced and trampled on the fallen 20-foot high metal statue in contempt for the man who had held them in fear for 24 years in which the country sustained massive human losses and economic damage from three wars.

But U.S. control over the city was still not complete. As night fell, the streets emptied and tank and artillery fire sounded on the western bank of the Tigris river.

The scenes came three weeks after President Bush (news - web sites) began the war to topple Saddam and seize control of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Saddam's government denied having any such weapons and so far there is no definitive word that any have been found, although U.S. experts are testing some suspicious substances discovered earlier this week.

The war has so far cost 96 U.S. dead, 30 British dead and unknown thousands of Iraqi military and civilian casualties. It has left behind a heavily damaged country which faces growing humanitarian needs.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030409/ts_nm/iraq_dc_1462

[Blackeyes]

Schweet Mary Catherine Gallagher on a Cross, look at this:

UNITED NATIONS - Iraq (news - web sites)'s U.N. ambassador said Wednesday "the game is over" — and that means the war is over.


Mohammed Al-Douri expressed hope that the Iraqi people will now be able to live in peace.

His comments were the first admission by an Iraqi official that U.S.-led forces had overwhelmed Iraqi forces after a three-week campaign.

"My work now is peace," he told reporters outside his New York residence. "The game is over, and I hope the peace will prevail. I hope the Iraqi people will have a happy life."

Al-Douri was asked what he meant when he said "the game is over."

"The war," he responded.

When asked about Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), Al-Douri said he had no "relationship with Saddam."

"I have no communication with Iraq," the ambassador said.

Questioned about Al-Douri's comments, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said: "Well, I would say it wasn't a game, first."

Speaking in Washington, Rumsfeld said the war was "over" when Saddam refused to accept his last chance to cooperate with the U.N. disarmament resolutions. "It was only a matter of time after that."

Rumsfeld added that there was still lots of "difficult, dangerous" work ahead in Iraq.

Earlier, Al-Douri told Associated Press Television News: "This is a war, and there will be a winner and someone who is a loser."

When asked what he thought about scenes being broadcast from Baghdad, he said, "Well I don't know really, I watch the television like you."

He said that because of the war he has been unable to contact any government officials "for a long time." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_iraqi_ambassador

[Blackeyes]

Kurd separatism may complicate Iraq rebuilding. Many Kurds see themselves as less Iraqis than Kurds and that may be could be a thorny issue as Iraqis try to fasten a post-Saddam government. And with signs of Saddam's power eroding in historically ethnic-Kurdish territory, debate over the region's future is expected to intensify.

At present, the Kurds are assuring U.S. officials they are not interested in independence and will be content with a measure of autonomy in the new Iraq.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=6&u=/ap/20030409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_us_kurds_4

[Blackeyes]

Enthusiastic Iraqi exiles stormed the Iraq embassy in London in celebration of his power collapse and smashed portraits of Saddam, police and the exiles' supporters said.

The embassy has been empty since Britain ordered Iraq's diplomats out of the country at the US's request.

"There are about 60 of us and our intention is to publicize our relief and jubilation at the downfall of Saddam's regime."

Police said they had arrested 24 people for criminal damage. They also closed the street and cordoned off the building.

He said similar scenes would probably be played out at other Iraqi embassies around the world.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&e=10&u=/nm/20030409/wl_nm/iraq_britain_embassy_dc

Jordan's Queen Noor sees a much greater US-Arab divide in the future because of America's policies in the region causing much anger and the Iraq war has and will make the divide deeper. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=14&u=/ap/20030409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_queen_noor_5