THE SITUATION ROOM (Operation Iraq Freedom) 1 YR AGO

Topping for the mornin' folks.

Remember when they killed Chemical Ali?

And then a couple of weeks later, just for good measure, they killed him AGAIN!

"Remember this?"

Yes, I do. I also remember that we are in a continuing war against those who seek to destroy Western civilization. The battle of Iraq is just that; one battle in a war which will go on for many years. Whom we choose to be our national leaders, will determine if we win or lose that war.

did we ever REALLY kill him? seems his name kept popping up. I was never one that followed the deck of cards too thoroughly..

The flag in your post #101--is that a Green Bay Packers flag or a Georgia Bulldogs flag? Given where I'm from, I'm *sure* it's a Packers flag.

Hi Kids. It's a Quagmire! Quagmire! Quagmire! (/nostalgia)

Thanks for the ping and the thread. I don't know what I would have done without these daily threads and the comfort, wisdom and humor of those who participated.

Amen! I will never forget watching Greg Kelly driving across the desert at the beginning of the war. I couldn't believe we were watching a war LIVE!!

SoldiersGirl, Retrokitten, NamVet and others kept me in stitches during some of the most difficult times. Gosh, it seems like yesterday.

Thank you for the ping! It's hard to believe it was a year ago... we spent many a long night here in the "Situation Room" and it was great having all of you to share it with!

I don't know if this has already been posted, but I found this the other night and thought I'd share it with you all...

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/bagCam.html

Thanks for whomever mentioned "Pretty Chicken" -- I was trying to think of our nickname for him the other night and my mind was a blank (it's hell getting old)!!!

Oh, and lest we forget -- Hollywood = "Wankerwood!"

Thanks again for the ping and let's continue to keep our soldiers in our thoughts and prayers!! God Bless!

Thank you for this thread, Timeout!

Those were amazing days. I am so grateful we had fellow Freepers to share the tough times, and the good...throughout.

null and void, thanks for giving us a place to gather daily.

TexKat, just amazing, faithful work you did posting the news links and pics, daily....keeping the threads going. Thank you!

The "wanker dictionary", lol! Carried us through days of continued - especially egregious - press quagmire-peddling the days after the troops liberated Baghdad.

OIF- March 19, 2003 - FIRST NIGHT

Dennis Prager said tonight that a taxi driver in Baghdad, when asked by a reporter what the Iraqi citizens were doing responded, "Waiting for America."...and quietly applauded.

At 21:54, from the White House: "The war against Iraq has begun."

AP: "The United States has launched missile strikes against Iraqi leaders."

It was a surgical strike, a targeted opportunity.

Tomahawk missiles from destroyers in the Red Sea.

F-117 Stealth fighters used.

OIF - April 7th, 5821 posts:

I watched, it was totally surreal. They had a split screen of the statue being blown up, and Baghdad Bob saying there were no forces in baghdad..at all.

They blew up the one of him sitting on a horse. I wanted to see them get the one on BagCam. BTW, did anyone else notice that the one the Brits took down yesterday had a 155 mm cannon hole in its crotch. You can see daylight all the way through. Ya gotta love the British sense of humor

2506 posted on 04/07/2003 8:23 AM EDT by GreyWolf

It is unbelievably amazing that our troops have taken the airport, the palaces (2 at least), the parade grounds, most of the governmental "downtown" area, and yet...on the webcam traffic is moving, buildings (non-governmental) are standing, and life for the average Iraqi is going on (with maybe headaches from the bombing).

One of the soldiers said that they hadn't had a bath in 20 or so days, so they were going inside to use Saddam's showers.

At the same time, Baghdad Bob was holding a press conference on the roof of the Palestine Hotel (because we were bombing the crap out of the Information Ministry), telling us all that the American troops were commiting suicide at the "walls of Baghdad."

On Fox, Greg Kelly was interviewing a soldier from Georgia in front of Saddam's palace.

Greg said, "The Information minister doesn't believe you're here, what do you say?"

The soldier said, "Well, he's right across the street from here, we'll go talk to him."

It was swell.

3333 posted on 04/07/2003 12:53 PM EDT by Howlin

The tilting point was the liberation of Basra." Mark Ginsberg

They are just plain awesome...I was watching FoxNews last night...They were showing a reporter standing on Saddam's front lawn talking with our troops! We had a few guys in tanks about 50 meters away waving and smiling at the cameras...At the same time they were showing that moron minister of information spokesman saying that we were not in Baghdad...that we were committing suicide at their borders...Fox minimized him and showed our guys laughing and waving at the cameras Saddam's real estate. It really had me cracking up. I flipped over to CNN and MSNBC only to see a full screen view of that moron...They were taking excerpts of his speech and displaying them as headlines...like he was preaching to the choir. Fox on the other hand, showed a side by side view of our guys kicking ass...blowing up his statue and removing the flag frm the top of his palace.

Yet another reason to stick with them...just awesome

2588 posted on 04/07/2003 8:57 AM EDT by Capitalism2003

Mornin', Pappy. Arrrghh. Only 3 hrs sleep, but it was worth it. After an incredible night, I woke up and the first thing I saw on TV was two of our soldiers sitting in a rose garden!

What an incredible night. Greg's reports, our GIs' sense of confidence and humor, the Rackies running along the river in their underwear...and jumping IN the river, in some cases! Amazing.

Are we still in Baghdad? I see our statue is still standing. Did we get B-Bob?

When I went to bed Ollie's unit hadn't crossed the river. Have they made it?

ANd, last we knew, Richard "Mr. Chicken" Engle from ABC was hiding under his bed and relying on N.Y. to feed him the story. Has he emerged again? Biggest laugh I've had on all these threads..he was sooooo scared and had no idea we were watching him! LOL!

As the song said, "Oh what a night!".

2596 posted on 04/07/2003 8:59 AM EDT by Timeout

WOW! Busy news night! 2000+ posts all before 9 AM cst! I saw on the Fox News crawl that the tank that took out the Saddam statue was called, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue". That is so cool!!

2634 posted on 04/07/2003 9:13 AM EDT by retrokitten

We were listening to booms on the webcam around 11PM, wondering if we had some troops in Bdad. This went on for well over an hour. Loud BOOMS, small arms fire, just lots of smoke, haze and confusion. Meanwhile, there was NO traffice on the circle. No reporters on the roof. It was a ghost city. Only the birds were about.

Suddenly, in a sort of quiet way, FOX said they were cutting to Greg Kelly. The connection was bad, but we made out just enough to hear Greg say they were IN BAGHDAD and approaching Saddam's palace by the river! Whooooaaaaa! We instantly realized the Situation Room knew about this new raid before FOX did! And that means we knew about it before ANYONE did! This place ROCKS!

Ahmded came to the roof and started swinging the cam around wildly...we'd never had him do this before. He pointed it skyward and we thought he was going to remove it. Once he steadied it, we were watching one of our A-10's steaking through the skies of Baghdad....and it wasn't making a friendly call. He was strafing enemy positions in advance of the troops' advance. Huge booms and percussions could be heard all around.

Finally, Greg Kelly was able to get through and, lo and behold, he was standing on the lawn of Saddam's main palace! You've heard of most of the action after that. Fox had the exclusive...again! Greg's reports were jaw-dropping and rivetting. Baghdad Bob and Richard Engle made the usual fools of themselves. There were frenzied "parades" at our traffic circle...even the garbage trucks joined in.

All in all, a good time for those of us safely away from the action. It was awesome and audacios. And, remarkably, the Sit Room was in on the action before the world audience even knew it was happening.

A hearty "Well Done!" to General Franks and the men in his service!

2647 posted on 04/07/2003 9:17 AM EDT by Timeout (...an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this

As P. J. O'Rourke said: "Liberals like to say that America isn't the world's policeman, but when Iraq invaded Kuwait, no one called Sweden."

-Eric

3421 posted on 04/07/2003 1:34 PM EDT by E Rocc

This is what they meant by Baghdad "falling from within."

2779 posted on 04/07/2003 10:12 AM EDT by dfwgator

An excerpt:

"HUNDREDS of Iraqi men have greeted US marines in their push toward the Iraqi capital yelling "kill Saddam", as they sliced their thumbs across their throats in a universally recognised gesture."

2948 posted on 04/07/2003 11:01 AM EDT by TonyInOhio

FN: David Lee Miller: Brian Burridge - Brit commander: Last 24 hours: "Nothing less than historic".."The Baathist regime in Basrah is finished." Bunch of (bad guys still around) paramilitary, Fedayeen (= "the lowlifes of Iraqi society".)...progress is being made to eradicate these guys...w/ help from the locals.

FN: Steve Centanni: "What's happened to Chemical Ali? It appears that he's dead." "This is a major blow to Saddam Hussein's regime."

FN: Uprising by the Iraqi people in Baghdad....Iranian media reporting...3 areas in Baghdad where civilians are rising up against Iraqi soldiers...35 Iraqi military have been killed..Kuwaiti news: popular uprising inside Capital..popular uprising against Hussein regime in several suburban areas..

"Major bloody confrontations are currently occuring.."

Brit CENTCOM briefing:

Brian Burridge, Brit Forces Commander:

"The US advance on Baghdad is something that military historians.. will pour over for years to come..they will examine the audacity, the sheer brilliance..."

UK have had 30 personnel KIA since beginning of these efforts. "They did not die in vain."

Our troops are doing what British troops do best, giving people confidence.

We characterize Basrah as the outskirts of Baghdad. But there is a different dynamic. Baghdad is the home of the regime. Not only are US forces dealing w/ (bad guys) but the regime., itself, is also there. We've got to deal directly with undermining the regime's credibility...tactics are the same...making raids..securing lines...

Olli: 'If Saddam hasn't called his travel agent he's late."

FN: Ben Johnson, FOX satellite engineer: The attack came between 1 and 2 am. EST, sounded like very low flying jet...turned out that it has been a missile attack...first thought of the troops...taking peple out of the burning building...regroup ...get ops back on line...the tactical ops center is nerve center of brigade ops...coordinating efforts of brigade's assets...don't know whether it was ff or Iraqi missile..."best we can tell it was an enemy missile attack on our location"...2 journalists killed, one from Spain, one from Germany..tactical operation center is a collection of armored vehicles that can operate essentially anywhere...the situation inside the building now is charred ruins...soldiers are in there recovering...sensitive documents, equipment....they are in contact with the people they need to be in contact w/ to conduct battle in Baghdad.... 2 soldiers and 2 journalists killed...15 injured...update, 4 soldiers dead, 6 missing...

FN "Saddam Hussein has no chance at this point. Baghdad is completely surrounded."

No more Iraqi observer (minder).

4 people dead and 15 wounded in attack S. of Baghdad. Dead are 2 American soldiers and 2 journalists.

What's going on in this urban environment is very different...the overcast skies aren't helpful...laser can't see through skies...smaller bombs ...coalition is going to have to be a bit more selective.

Major Garrett: "Baghdad for all intents and purposes is sealed off...leaders not allowed to leave...coalition forces control all roads leading out of Baghdad."

FN: Rick Leventhal w/ 1st Marines 3rd LAR: Roughly 10 miles from city...to secure perimeter of Baghdad from possible attack from the rear...numerous incidents...locals in the farmland...LAR busy blowing up whatever remnants they find...tanks, artillery pieces..hidden in trees..airfield now set up - the Marines are guarding to bring in supplies....saw steady stream of locals driving the other way in Bobcats...loaded down w/ generators...clearly there's been some looting going on...new construction vehicles...40 or 50 generators...15-20 Bobcats...it's very cloudy, had rain earlier - first rain we've seen since the sandstorm...heard a lot of artillery fire from our location...(can hear up to 18 miles)..Delta company was hit yesterday by some guys in a vehicle...just jumped out and started shooting...commander was hit 4 times but was able to shoot and kill attackers...will be. o.k, we have not seen organized (attacks) ..have seen a lot of abandoned bunkers...full of weapons.."do not trust anyone" that's the mantra for our guys...don't let your guard down. That's basically the code of conduct...we get a lot of waves a lot of smiles...that's great...BUT.. (David Asman breaks in...armed Iraqis abducted 2 German reporters)....it gets very dangerous once you stray from (military) protection...we have no interest in doing that..(David: "who is responsible for ongoing explosions in Baghdad?"...may well be Iraqi missile strikes...huge explosion, continues to burn, one report is that it's from the El Rashid hotel...showing live shots from Abu Dhabi TV (sp).) (Rick:)...these guys are in danger in every step they take within Baghdad...we know there are forces out here that are trying to kill (our guys)...they must remain vigilant, very, very cautious...we've seen evidence since day one that they are harrassing civilians and making them fight....told "you pick up a... gun or we will kill your family."...we have had some very positive experiences.....locals ..curious...we have interpreter..we have had some positive experiences with the locals...(David Asman: "According to Iraqi Info sources...Iraqi forces have targeted US snipers at the El Rashid hotel.." "that may be some trouble for journalists who are still hanging out in Baghdad")....(RC) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/886807/posts?page=3244#3244

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I quickly passed by CNN yesterday and heard Judy Woodruff say: As if the Iraqi people have not been through enough we are now adding insult to injury...... I could not get away fast enough. I will not go there again.

2964 posted on 04/07/2003 11:06 AM EDT by hobson

'Mornin'! We'll do fine I think. Our Father is with us in this for sure. I've been reading comments from the "arab street" and they are a real HOOT! Those idiots have no idea how much El Jazz and the rest of their so-called 'media' lies to them. WMD confirmed found also. CUT THE WORLD OF IDIOTS OFF AT THE KNEES! Gotta love it.

Nam Vet

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* Baghdad Liberation Day ~ April 9, 2003 ~ OIF Situation Room, 6641 posts

Operation Infinite Freedom - Sit Room - 2 MAY 03/Day 44 - PARADE for the troops!

DivaBetsyRoss is planning and hosting a second, more ambitious, internet parade for our troops, and to welcome home our VietnamVeterans - scheduled for May 1st (the day President Bush declared the end of major combat ops in Iraq, lol).

Please Freepmail Diva for details.

All who love the troops are welcome, of course!

God bless our troops, and God bless, Freepers, everyone!

I was just going thru the old "belly girl" thread from last year when you (and others gave your "undying love" to BG...well, something like that!)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/872283/posts?q=1&&page=101

Hi Pretty Lady! and as you did last year, you again come through with great information Thank you & I hope all is well with you & yours...

Great summary, RC. It's neat to see the SitRoom gang together again.

Here's a fave from the period:

FReegards,

Tony

Thanks for the ping! I hope anyone who is interested in helping with our Cyber parade for the troops, will contact me. We could use a lot of help and we need people with all types of skills.

God bless our troops and their families.

I was here, with Foxnews instead of the Bagcam, reading every post of those 5000+ threads.

The real Shock and Awe was the magnificent planning and execution of that march to Baghdad by our troops, and by our Pentagon and Administration leaders.

It was so well done, that they made it look easy. Thus the America haters now dismiss it as nothing, instead of marveling at the surgical precision used in liberating a people from their oppressive, criminal leaders.

Sorry, kiddo. It's Georgia!

'morning all.

What a set of memories!

Let's not forget the guy that started it all from his Swiss Villa: An.American.Expatriate

We need a live thread for the Rally in Florida - on now on C-SPAN - It has Rock Show Qualities !!!

Hello to all.

I remember hearing the first bombs of the war fall live via web cam- it was so sudden I just about fell out of my chair, I was hooked to the live threads.

I will never forget the rage & grief I felt the morning I awoke to find photos of our dead POW's were all over the internet.

The morning prayers were so creepy sounding and it seems the bombs always fell in answer. (& the the dogs barked & barked)

I remember always staying up late to see Bagdhad Bob's press conferences- funnier than any Saturday Night Live skit to ever air.

I remember the deluge of photos of our troops in action. I have never been more proud to be an American.

Rummy was perfect.

I remember all of the Freepers that shared the ups and downs of those days, we kept each other informed of which web cams were working (grin) and kept each other laughing during a very serious time for our country.

Hello Belly Girl!

Hello all!

It is like yesterday - I'm still not totally recovered.

I am still enormously proud at how timely and good the FReeper analysis was, in aggregate.

Thank-you all for the memories, and the heartaches, too, Timeout.

Mo1: thank you for the list in #73!

By the way, the Phallic Girl's name is SoldiersGirl. She last posted in August. Her hubby is home safely, I understand from her posts.