Yes…the same soundstage where the moon landing was faked.
One wonders just how complete the control of the media is in Iraq. Can the people that are living there actually believe what he says?
One begins to wonder if this is like Hitler giving orders to units that didn’t exist anymore towads the end of WWII.
From CNN
General Tommy Franks, commander of coalition forces, will hold a news conference at 9:00 AM. 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”.
Just watched Franks’ press conference. No real news beyond a restatement of goals, an overview of progress to date and some video footage of airstrikes.
From ABC
Thick black plumes of smoke billowed into the skies around Baghdad from what appeared to be deliberately set fires. The fires appeared to have been set off in an effort to hamper daylight air strikes by U.S.-led forces, although it was not clear if it was an effective defensive strategy. The he fires may be coming from large trenches filled with oil.
The U.S. military today gave up on Turkey allowing coalition ground forces to launch a ground offensive into northern Iraq from its territory.
About 30 U.S. ships were being redirected from their positions in the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, where several divisions on board will join U.S. and British troops in southern Iraq pushing towards the north,
pugluvr, thanks for sharing that quote. I just wish that there was some way to squeeze it into a sig.
Thanks so much for this thread!
Troubling incident that I hope doesn’t become a trend, because it would suck if we had to worry about seemingly unarmed civilians coming near our guys:Suicide bombing kills four near Halabja
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).
In other news, a journalist has been killed and nine injured by a car bomb in northern Iraq. Iraqi Kurds have blamed Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist group linked to al Qaeda.
Finally, a British television news crew has disappeared after coming under fire near Iman Anas (near Basra). Their employer, ITN, has reported that one of the crew was injured and picked up, but no sign of the remaining three crew members has been found.
Can I ask y’all a favor? If you see reports of anything at all affecting the 3rd Infantry, PLEASE post them here.
My cousin is a journalist currently embedded with them, and I haven’t been able to keep up with the news, partly because watching/listening to many of the reports is making me physically ill. Literally; I’ve been waking up every hour or two all night with heart palpitations and/or asthma attacks. At least the SDMB is a nice, quiet medium for news; I cann really live without all the sound and photos.
For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen or heard anything about journalists being injured or going missing other than the ITN crew.
Sky is now reporting that the US Marines have declared victory after a tank battle to the west of Basra. Earliest reports indicate that three Marines were injured by an RPG fired by a Republican Guard soldier who’d attempted to camouflage himself by removing all military insignia.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Hope some of that helps.
—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. 
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.)
He’s with the 1st Brigade Combat Team. Anyone know where they are? (Besidies them, of course.)
Eva here’s some info:
It sounds like slow going.
It’s now being reported–same source–that the soldiers were injured rather than killed, which is something slightly better to report.
MSNBC is reporting that the 101st Airborne Division camp in Kuwait has been attacked, with some U.S. personel wounded
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!!!