MSG TO WORLD: Don't Mess with U.S. - B-1B bombs Iraqi radar sites

AP ^ | Fri Mar 14, 6:15 PM ET | ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

[bonesmccoy]

WASHINGTON - In a departure from the patrols by fighter jets over Iraq (news - web sites) in recent months, a U.S. B-1B bomber struck two anti-aircraft radar sites in western Iraq on Friday, military officials said.

The strikes at 1420 GMT targeted a radar system near Iraq's H3 airfield and another airfield near Ruwayshid, only a few miles (kilometers) from the border with Jordan, military officials said. The strikes came after Iraqi forces moved one of the systems into the no-fly zone patrolled by U.S. and British planes over southern Iraq, the officials said.

The B-1B Lancer, a heavy bomber originally designed to carry nuclear warheads but shifted in recent years to carry conventional munitions, is one of three kinds of heavy bombers repositioned in recent months during the buildup for a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq.

As the buildup continued elsewhere, the Pentagon (news - web sites) began moving warships on Friday out of the Mediterranean into the Red Sea, from where they could launch long-range cruise missiles on a path to Iraq that would not go over Turkey, officials said.

Of the approximately one dozen ships to be shifted, a first group of five transited the Suez Canal on Friday, harbor officials at Egypt's Port Said told The Associated Press. They identified the ships as the guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke of the Theodore Roosevelt battle group and the destroyer USS Deyo of the Harry S. Truman battle group.

Three submarines from the battle groups also traveled through the canal — the USS Boise, USS Toledo and USS San Juan, the officials said.

The rest of the ships were to follow soon, Pentagon officials said.

In a related development, Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander who would lead any U.S. invasion of Iraq, left his Qatar command post Friday to meet with officials in the United Arab Emirates. There was no official word on when he would return to Qatar.

Also, the Air Force announced at the Pentagon that it will implement a rarely used authority to prevent a wide range of active duty and reserve officers and enlisted members from leaving the Air Force. The move reflects a growing strain on the Air Force as it prepares for war.

Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens said the order, which takes effect May 2, could affect as many as 21,000 people, ranging in rank from airman to colonel. The Army and Marine Corps have similar orders in effect, but the Navy does not.

The Truman and Roosevelt aircraft carriers are remaining in the eastern Mediterranean, at least for now, officials said. They have been operating there for weeks in anticipation of war against Iraq. Each carrier has about 80 aircraft aboard, including F/A-18 attack planes.

The shift of Tomahawk-shooting ships could be the first step in a larger redeployment of ground and naval firepower away from Turkey, which so far has refused to grant overflight rights for U.S. naval aircraft and cruise missiles like the low-flying Tomahawk.

The Pentagon had hoped to base a 60,000-strong U.S. Army force as well as additional Air Force warplanes in Turkey for use in an Iraq war, but Turkey has not approved those, either. About 50 American and British planes at Incirlik air base in south-central Turkey enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq, but it is not clear that the Turkish government would allow them to fly offensive missions against Iraq.

From the Red Sea, the Navy cruisers, destroyers and submarines would be able to launch their Tomahawks for flights over Saudi Arabia to targets inside Iraq.

Tomahawks are satellite-guided missiles normally used in the opening stages of war to strike high-value, fixed targets such as government buildings in areas where the risk of civilian casualties is relatively high.

The Tomahawks are 18 feet (5.4 meters) long and are designed to evade radar by skimming the land or sea surface. They carry 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) warheads. Following the Gulf War (news - web sites), they became one of the weapons of choice to respond to Iraqi breaches of U.N. sanctions.

The issue of overflight rights for U.S. missiles and planes has been overshadowed by the Bush administration's struggle to win Turkey's approval to base 60,000 or more U.S. troops there to open a northern front against Iraq.

The Turkish parliament rejected the U.S. request for basing rights earlier this month, and Pentagon officials said Thursday it appeared increasingly unlikely that the Army would position its 4th Infantry Division in Turkey, as originally planned.

About three dozen cargo ships with the 4th Infantry Division's weaponry, equipment and supplies have been waiting off the Turkish coast for weeks, and the troops are still at their base in Fort Hood, Texas.

During the 1991 Gulf War the Navy positioned carriers and Tomahawk-launching ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. It now has three carriers in the Gulf — the USS Kitty Hawk, the USS Constellation and the USS Abraham Lincoln. Those carrier battle groups include about 20 Tomahawk-firing ships and submarines. _________________

[bonesmccoy]

Tanks and soldiers of the 7th Armored brigade gather for a briefing by US Lieutenant General Jeff Conway Commanding General 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the Kuwait desert, March 14, 2003. Leaders of the United States, Britain and Spain will hold an emergency summit on Sunday in a last-gasp diplomatic effort to overcome opposition in the U.N. Security Council to a resolution paving the way for war on Iraq

Lt. Cmdr. James 'Bud', last name not given, from Reno, Nevada, enters his F/A-18 Hornet aircraft aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, Friday, March 14, 2003. The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its battle group are currently on deployment in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

British troops gather for a briefing by US Lieutenant General Jeff Conway Commanding General 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the Kuwait desert, March 14, 2003. Leaders of the United States, Britain and Spain will hold an emergency summit on Sunday in a last-gasp diplomatic effort to overcome opposition in the U.N. Security Council to a resolution paving the way for war on Iraq

Hey, Saddam... Revolutionize this!

Message to Iraqi People: YOU WILL BE FREE!

[bonesmccoy]

darn... I almost forgot the USAF!

B1-Bob

Image of B-1 from Fed. of American Scientists website.

[Miss Marple]

Hey, thanks for the pictures! Impressive to see all those men and equipment gathered for a briefing, isn't it?

[TexKat]

Pride of the U S OF A; Beautiful!!!

[Lokibob]

"The B-1B Lancer, a heavy bomber originally designed to carry nuclear warheads but shifted in recent years to carry conventional munitions, is one of three kinds of heavy bombers repositioned in recent months during the buildup for a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq."

The B-1 was under considerable fire from congress after the GULF WAR I for not participating.  It was only certified for nuke delivery.  Within 6 months of the end of the war, certification started.

The Lancer is the slickest plane in the AF inventory.  I looks like it is flying 300 MPH while on the ground. 

[bonesmccoy]

now now... you're not turned on by the sight of 25,000 men in uniform and all dusty and everything...

are you???

LOL

[bonesmccoy]

I agree.
That bomber is the coolest!
Can deliver ordinance at the site of your choosing and get there faster than the speed of sound.

Glad that Carter didn't kill it.

[Miss Marple]

Me? I would say I was .......inspired. :-)

[SamAdams76]

Message to Iraqi People: YOU WILL BE FREE!

I second that!

Greta von Susteran on FoxNews tonight had a Turkish reporter on her show who was just in Iraq. She (the reporter) said that the Iraqi people are overwhelmingly in support of our mission to remove the BREW DALL dictator. They keep asking "When will the Americans be coming?"

Get this. The majority of the Iraqi people see us as their LIBERATORS. Take that you liberal-marxist anti-war demonstrators! You people are going to be forever known as the ones who wanted to keep the Iraqi people enslaved in a living hell. You will be seen as no better than the people who wanted to keep Hitler in power even though millions of people within the Nazi regime were being systematically brutalized and even exterminated.

[bonesmccoy]

man... where do I enlist???

[edwin hubble]

B-1B
Probably the most beautiful aircraft ever to fly for U.S. forces.

[Libertina]

The sight of freedom!

[bonesmccoy]

that's beauty to us.

That's got to be 100% beast to those "receiving" the Lancer as an unwelcome visitor.

[Tamzee]

The B-1B... she's breathtaking.

[NormsRevenge]

B-1B BumP

[webber]

That picture of the B1-B looks almost as good as the Iraqi "Drone" that the inspectors found in Iraq. ROTFLOL!!
{:-)>

[F16Fighter]

Is it asking too much to have one of these babies practice a courtesy run over Paris?

[kAcknor]

The B-1 was under considerable fire from congress after the GULF WAR I for not participating.  It was only certified for nuke delivery.   

kAcknor Sez:

Another reason the B-1b didn't fly in GW1 was a "minor" engine problem. One of the main bearing rings would wear, and vibration would build up. Had a ship actually LOSE a motor in flight. The darn thing fell off, crew pulled the T-handles but didn't know it was gone until landing!!  

Grounded the fleet for a month while they figured out what caused it.

"tIqIpqu' 'ej nom tIqIp" (Hit them hard and hit them fast.)

Have you checked the *bang_list today?

[My Favorite Headache]

Sunday night...early Monday morning...Operation: Liberation begins.

[bonesmccoy]

We need to take a poll of the exact hour GMT that this thing starts.

If the Prez is going to the Azores on Sunday, the war won't start on Sunday.

We're a week away.