Baghdad guards bid to trick Allies

The Evening Standard ^ | March 24, 2003 | Bob Graham

[MadIvan]

Republican Guard divisions dug in around Baghdad have buried their heavy armour beneath the desert sand to hide it from allied bombers - planning to dig it out at the last moment to confront US and British forces racing towards the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqis are believed to have at least four Guards divisions deployed on the southern approaches, with the ground battle to capture Baghdad expected to begin in less than 24 hours.

They have already attempted to obscure the targets of bomber crews by igniting dozens of oil tankers parked around the city. Now, in a further confusing tactic the Iraqis are reported to have buried their artillery in hastily dug pits in the sand to protect it from advance aerial bombardment.

They then aim to retrieve it with earthmovers ahead of what coalition commanders believe will be a bloody battle - which they fear may have to be fought street by street - to seize control of the heart of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Republican Guard positions were among the main targets as Baghdad was battered throughout the night by some of the biggest explosions in the most violent aerial attack on the city since more than 300 cruise missiles hit it during Friday's "shock and awe" assault.

On the fifth day of bombing runs against the city, dozens of blasts shook the centre and outskirts of the Iraqi capital at about 3.10am (00.10 GMT), with no prior warning from air-raid sirens - and no sign of anti-aircraft fire.

"The attack came from nowhere - there was no warning," eyewitnesses said, while adding that warplanes could clearly be heard above the city.

The explosions hit targets in the centre and south-east of Baghdad, sending plumes of smoke into the night sky. One strike - reportedly on or close to Iraqi airforce headquarters - resulted in "a rising ball of fire followed by a huge ball of dust". The dust is believed to have been pulverised concrete from destroyed buildings. Further waves of ever more intense bombing are expected imminently. The aim is to seriously cripple the city's defences now that US forces are within 50 miles of their objective. The American 3rd Infantry has seized bridges across the Euphrates near the town of Najaf.

Meanwhile the Iraqis last night continued to hunt for British or American pilots who they claim ejected over the city after their aircraft were shot down. Soldiers and security officials, armed with f lashlights, fired automatic weapons into the shallows of the River Tigris during the search for the pilots.

As police cars raced up and down a road beside the river, security officials were setting fire to bullrushes and foliage along the banks of the Tigris opposite one of Saddam's main presidential palaces. Earlier security officials had frantically searched the river with speedboats as yelling soldiers fired volleys of shots into the water. Saddam's regime has posted a $20,000 reward for the live capture of any coalition airman or soldier - and $10,000 for each dead body.

US and British military officials have said they have no information on any pilots baling out over Baghdad.

[MadIvan]

Memo to Iraqis: if you want to surprise the Allies with a stunt like this, it's probably best you don't leak it to the press.

Our enemy is stupid as well as foolish.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[crazykatz]

bump

[KeyWest]

Take out the earthmovers.

[Unknowing]

I feel sorry for these fools who want to die for Saddam. They could have used what reckless courage they have to fight against the tyrant.

[goldstategop]

You dont know what it is like to live in a totalitarian state and have your every thought and every movement watched by Big Brother.

[OXENinFLA]

Note to Iraqis: Have fun digging these out w/ bullets and missiles raining down on you.

[Beck_isright]

Actually the Serbian advisers Sadamn have brought in have been quite effective regarding hiding assets from US air power and intelligence according to some of the military analysts. I sincerely hope we bring at least two more divisions closer to Baghdad before engaging the Republican Guards. If we are dealing with NBC artillery incoming, it will slow the advance to a crawl and cause a tough decision; do we or don't we obliterate the entire Republican Guard. The actions today where our Apaches took a beating from AAA indicate that we should continue to secure our supply lines and obliterate the guard from the air immediately. Including their support infrastructure in Baghdad.

V

[John Valentine]

Great! They are big, obvious, and unarmored.

[John Valentine]

I think there comes a time when we start using large numbers of cheap bombs. This would be especially effective on Republican Guard troop concentrations.

Rolling Thunder!

[Beck_isright]

My thought exactly. If we demonstrate to one division that we have 24 hour bombing capacity and can obliterate their entire fighting capacity, the other divisions might reconsider. I doubt it, but they might. I think there is this squimishness from the arm chair generals to obliterate entire Iraqi divisions. Why? That's the purpose of war, to kill and degrade. If you can intimidate the rest of their soldiers by killing 12,000 of them in a 4 day bombing campaign, it will save their lives and ours. But we'd best not let them make any more preperations. It's obvious from the heavy fire the Apaches took tonight, that the Republican Guard units are ready for us (as they can be).

[EternalVigilance]

Saddam's regime has posted a $20,000 reward for the live capture of any coalition airman or soldier - and $10,000 for each dead body.

This newspaper is smart, unlike some of the dufuses I've seen tonight. They don't say "Saddam' is offering the rewards, but his regime.

These editors obviously understand that the likelihood is extremely high that Hussien is dead as a doornail.

If I read one more article that assumes he is alive, I will scream!

[Unknowing]

You're right, of course, and I'm (fairly) confident that I never will live under such a domination.

Maybe these Iraqi's did not have much choice in their fate, and they are, affirmatively, part of what must be purged in Iraq. But they maybe could have been scientists or simply good guys, but for Saddam.

Let's see, maybe the RG will capitulate, or American armor will outflank them. Yet I don't expect anything less than their decimation, i.e., reduction to perhaps 10% strength.

[Beck_isright]

" If I read one more article that assumes he is alive, I will scream!"

I agree with you on that one! I tend to think those corrupt few generals are all that's left and they know their days are numbered. I just wonder why in God's name we just don't take out their communications capacity with the outside world. It's time to eliminate Iraqi radio and television. And put the squeeze on the world media there, because they will report the same propaganda over and over and over again.

[EternalVigilance]

In my opinion, the White House and Rumsfeld should declare TODAY that they believe Hussein to be dead!!

Two things could happen:

One, the world could wake up to the fact that it is true; since the Iraqis can't produce a single thing that proves he is living. Last night's tape was a sad joke. Nobody who thinks about the contents of that charade can possibly believe he is functioning.

Two, in the highy unlikely event he IS living, this could force him out into the open.

[EternalVigilance]

It's time to eliminate Iraqi radio and television.

I predict that sometime in the next 24 to 48 hours, we will do exactly that.

[8mmMauser]

Since I watched the thing unfold at the beginning, I figured he was dead, or worse!

So I keep checking in to ask is he still dead yet? I have been hoping someone would ping me if he is less dead or only partly dead. ;)

[EternalVigilance]

He's still dead, Jim.

[may18]

They should carpet bomb the republican positions imho

I am sick of seeing uk and us soldiers die because of

soldiers dressed in civilian clothing pretending to surrender then opening fire.

And because we cant use our most effective force, because the reporters will latch onto any civilian casualties.

Its time to think less about civilian casualties

And more about our men,after the first few @resistors@ are bombed into the last century, other units might think twice about fighting on

[solzhenitsyn]

Republican Guard divisions dug in around Baghdad have buried their heavy armour beneath the desert sand to hide it from allied bombers - planning to dig it out at the last moment to confront US and British forces racing towards the Iraqi capital.

Sure hope it's true. Reminds of when the Iraqis sent a large number of airplanes to Iran during the Gulf War, so they wouldn't be destroyed by the Allies. Those planes are still rusting in Iran. Like warplanes, armor has no value unless it's used.