THE SITUATION ROOM (Operation Iraq Freedom) 1 YR AGO

9/19/04 | Timeout

[Timeout]

ONLY one night? Many of those threads were over 4,000 posts...no way to read it all, especially when the action was happening in real time. After the first week, I probably never read more than 1/3 of each thread.

I wish we'd gathered them all together like a book. It would be fun to go back and read on a cold rainy night.

[MEG33]

I have never been so impressed with journalists before.The embeds were terrific.

[cyncooper]

Thank you for making this thread and the ping.

I saw NBC's retrospective today and they showed David Bloom. A couple times today they showed his cameraman's, Craig White's, dramatic shootout underneath that bridge. White had gone on after Bloom passed.

They also showed footage of Iraqis saying "Thank you Mr. Bush!".

Also when we FIRST rolled into Iraq and liberated that first town and that guy hitting Saddam's picture with his shoe...

[Dolphy]

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.

It is hard to believe that a year has gone by. My heart and prayers are with all of those families whose lives have been changed forever by losses in Iraq. My earnest hope is that the people of Iraq will forever honor their memories by living free.

[StarFan]

Doesn't seem like a year but one only need to look at GWB's hair to know a strenuous year has passed.

Baghdad Bob was great;a natural born comedian and he didn't even know it.. :-)

He was unrecognizable after the war without benefit of hair dye, lol. I think I heard he's on Iraqi TV doing commentary. He'd be a perfect replacement for Dan/Tom/Peter.

[Cold Heat]

Bump for the memories!

Note to Euroweenies. If you choose to be butt heads, that is fine, but stay the hell out of our way!

Thanks...................

[cyncooper]

And this:

[MEG33]

They had to really practice to get those chem suits on in time.I just heard Rumsfield talk about the chem suits found in Iraq,which of course enforced their belief that our soldiers would get gassed and that Saddam had stores of chems.

What would I rather have?An attack on our soldiers proving the WMD existed or to find none and have our soldiers not gassed.Not a difficult choice!

[MEG33]

Thank you, Peach.

[CurlyBill]

Situation Room Reunion Ping...

[nopardons]

You got THAT right! :-)

[Timeout]

And the night Greg Kelly popped up in the middle of a Baghdad palace....Surprise!

We had been watching the BagCams all night and had observed that the 'splosions on the horizon appeared to be moving, procession-like, across the city. We were going nuts trying to figure out what was going on. Then Greg pops up and tells us he was with the 3rd ID making a "probe" into the city. Boy, was that exciting!

[Mo1]

I still have the list on my computer



Belly Girl - No explaination needed
Notlight - The stoplight in the old camera that would cycle but no one ever stopped for it
Keg Party Guys - Media types who lived near the old webcam site
Farik Sinatra - mullah who sings the prayers. Also know as the Cat Strangler.
Strangling cats - prayers sung over a loudspeaker
HagCam - Lindsay Hilsum reporting over the MSNBC cam.
BagCam - webcam in Baghdad
Pretty Boy/Mr. Chicken/Pretty Chicken - Richard Engle, ABC News
Ollie Alert - Ollie North on Fox News
Baghdad Bob/BagBob - Iraqi Disinformation Minister.
Combover - the Iraqi UN spokesman
BagdadPeter/benedict arnett - Peter Arnett
Lara Loon/34D Lara - Lara Logan
BagWind - that is open for interpretation
Mediots - Reporters that ask stupid questions
Achmed/Achmed Villa The-Tool-Man Taylor
Dr. Bob Alerts! - Bob Arnet from MSNBC
Major Bob - Bob Bevelacqa
Sandy - the dog that would bark constantly during raidsBomb signal - Car alarms would go off if the bomb was close enough, sometimes before the exposion was heard.
Achmed Vila and Norm Habib co-hosted "This Old Bunker" marathon last weekend.
"Phallics gone wild" AKA "Viagra Mosque"
"Minister of Wishful Thinking." - Iraqi Disinformation Minister.
yo-yo geraldo - Geraldo Rivera
the Hands of Victory - Will now be known as Fallen Arches
Baghdad King - Scott Ritter
a very dark place - Where the peaceniks stick their heads
Six Flags Baghdad - Saddam Place
Baghdad Bob's House of Illusion
New Name for Leftist Anti War Protest: "Wankerama"
Jane Fonda: Wankerella
Helen Thomas -- Wanker Emeritus.
Hillary = Wankham

[nopardons]

It seems like yesterday and 50 years ago all rolled into one.

Poor Baghdad Bob,he'll NEVER be as popular, as he was a year ago.

[cyncooper]

I was JUST about to sign off that night. My husband and I were getting ready to turn everything off and go to bed when I hit refresh one more time and someone posted about seeing and hearing something on the bagcam. So I put it on (of course!) and we were up for hours after all.

Yes, I remember.

[MEG33]

Great list!

[mikegi]

... 1 YR AGO ...

Was the war considered a "quagmire" by then? The shameless press now says the war was "easy", executed "perfectly", and was - dare I say it - a "cakewalk".

[Mo1]

[MEG33]

Loved Greg Kelly's reporting.

[Mo1]