# Is this news from the Iraqi front real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 5, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682 "2003-04-05T15:24:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682/1 "2003-04-05T15:24:31Z")
[This link](http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2578.htm) seems to claim that its information comes from electronic (radio?) surveillance. What do you folks think of this? Is this all bogus or is it real or somewhere in between? > [@](#): > > . > Uncensored Info on Iraq War from the Russian GRU > > Russian military intel update: War in Iraq, April 4 > > April 4, 2003, 1507hrs MSK (GMT +4 DST), Moscow - By the morning of April 4 the situation on the US-Iraqi front showed a tendency toward stabilization. As the forward coalition units reach Baghdad they fulfill their primary orders outlined by the coalition command. During the four days of the advance elements of the US 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division have bypassed from the east the Iraqi defenses at Karabela and, without encountering any resistance, advanced around 140 kilometers along the Karabela-Baghdad highway and reached the Iraqi capital. However, the goals of this attack will be fully achieved only when the US Marine brigades, now advancing along the left bank of the Tigris, reach the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682/2 "2003-04-05T15:55:29Z")
**Phil** , (May I call you **Phil**? **Easy** seems wrong somehow.) it really doesn’t matter. NPR reported yesterday that the Russian press is cutting the US some slack in order to improve relations between the two nations. Even if the Russian reporters are doing their best to appear “objective” in their reporting, there’s still going to be errors in their accounts. Sooner or later, the US will overwhelm the Iraqi military. The only news that _really_ matters is when the coalition forces announce the formation of a provisional government. At that point, Saddam is no longer considered a creditable power in Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682/3 "2003-04-05T16:16:30Z")
**fan** ,(May I call you **fan? Tucker** seems wrong somehow.) I agree that the outcome of the war is pretty clear, I’m asking about where on the credibility line does this information sit. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682/4 "2003-04-05T16:43:17Z")
Well I would love it if a Russian speaking doper could get a peek at the original transcript. The article seems a little, shall we say, eloquent to be a strict translation imho. Also the homepage’s banner says “News you won’t find on CNN or Fox Mooooo’s” which to me detracts from their take seriously rating. The other articles linked on the homepage seem a little over the top. Hmm, first time I’ve seen a “.info” suffix. The internet sure is getting big. I think it’s really going to catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682/5 "2003-04-05T17:01:20Z")
Well, I’m a Russian-speaking Doper. I’ve peeked at the source the English purports to be from ([www.iraqwar.ru](http://www.iraqwar.ru)), and can’t find the original article (although there are lots of other blow-by-blow articles; thanks for pointing me to the source), so I can’t comment on the accuracy of this specific translation. Somehow I doubt, though, that Russian military intelligence would be keen on the idea of posting actual radio surveillance transcripts on the Internet (at least anything that isn’t publicly available through other sources). First, why would they want to release this information, if true? Second, wouldn’t revealing the content of detailed transcripts possibly compromise their access to the source of the information? I have deliberately not been following the blow-by-blows in the English-language press, because it stresses me out too much (my cousin in embedded with the 3rd Infantry), so I can’t comment on the extent, if any, to which the Russian version may differ from other versions of events. Maybe a Doper with military or intelligence background can comment on that aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-news-from-the-iraqi-front-real/166682/6 "2003-04-05T17:25:11Z")
There is some skepticism about this site in the Blogverse, largely because it seems unlikely that the US would be using unscrambled channels to communicate sensitive info.