[TADSLOS]

This can't be true since the Demoncrats and French insist we are doing this unilaterally.

[Defender2]

Outstanding that Our Allies are assisting us in this endeavor!!!!

[Principled]

I wonder which country will be next?

[A_perfect_lady]

I wonder how we got the UAE on our side? Did we promise them France when it's all over? If we didn't... let's!

[SwinneySwitch]

PTL and pass the Ammo!

[The Lake City Gar]

I wonder how the "Kill all Muslims" crowd feels about this??

[Dog Gone]

This is probably the multi-state defense force that was sent to protect Kuwait. I don't think they'll be involved in any offensive capacity.

[DainBramage]

Check and see how many have Saud in their name, then call them our friends.

[goodnesswins]

I've had UAE listed for the past week, as they committed other assets earlier....this, however, I believe, is NEW. LET'S ROLL.....

WHO has joined the ALLIES FOR LIBERTY & FREEDOM?

THESE ARE the 29 ALLIES for IRAQI people’s (women & children included) FREEDOM

U.S., Britian, Australia, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Armenia, Lithuania

Slovakia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Quatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Albania, Kuwait, Israel, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Macedonia, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Georgia Republic, Marshall Islands and Japan

FREE the IRAQI people!!!

	What OTHER countries want the IRAQI citizens FREEDOM?
		ARMENIA
	AZERBAIJAN	GEORGIA Republic
MARSHALL ISLANDS
goodnesswins, with technical assistance from abner

[Semper911]

Are we going to have to pay them, a la Turkey?

Either way, glad they're on board.

[SamAdams76]

Contrary to the conventional, liberal-dominated press in American and Europe, the United States does not stand alone and in fact, there is solid backing for this regime change in Iraq. It's going to happen.

During the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, we were treated to the same "peace" demonstrations by the Marxist left. During the buildup of Desert Shield, hundreds of long-haired freaks camped in front of the White House pounding drums and playing their flutes. Many don't remember that but it happened. We were told that we were getting into another Vietnam quagmire and that we were not going to be able to defeat the "third largest army in the world" without sustaining massive casualties.

As soon as the war got underway, these "demonstrators" dried up and blew away. As they will this time as well.

[George W. Bush]

Why are you guys so surprised?

They sent their navy about a week ago. Their small naval vessels and their troops will be protecting Kuwait to free us up to go into Iraq.

If Saddam would invade Kuwait, he'd go after any of the Emirates if he could. And they have other aggressive neighbors too who would love to seize their oil.

So, it would be surprising to me if they weren't helping us.

The reporting on them has been sparse but I think it's a lot like the eastern Europeans. This is kind of a defining moment for a lot of these little countries. They're remaking themselves at the start of the 21^st century. They're sick of living in fear of their neighbors and a lot of them have known oppression. They look to us to be their protectors. And they're willing to be good neighbors and to help us in return.

There have been some good articles on how the push to democratize the Middle East is coming from them and the Saudis and Syrians.

[Stultis]

DeuceTraveler made the following very interesting observation in another thread (quoted maroon in my response):

Small countries in the Arab world, like Bahrain and Qatar, see America not as a bully, but as a political and economic protector from their more powerful neighbors such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. This parallels the same situation occuring in Europe. (emphasis added)

Ahhh. The parallel had not occured to me. Very insightful generalization. Some folks in The Ivory Coast have been feeling the same way lately:

Leave it to the frogs to resort to unilateral military force, and then use it to impose appeasement.

To each his own: The great Arab League break up (Amir Taheri)

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Way to go, UAE!!

[DoughtyOne]

The United Arab Emirates is a member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Other members are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.

This article from a few weeks ago addresses the Gulf Cooperation Council's plans for the war with Hussein.

LINK

[JohnBovenmyer]

Now if our friends in UAE would just take the surrender of the "human" shields (note proper punctuation) and keep them separate from all the good Iraqi's we liberate.

[Future Useless Eater]

February 2003
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Baghdad  SunSet  SunRise
	24   9%  +8.4hrs	25   7%  +9.2hrs	26   5%  +10.2hrs	27   3%  +11.2hrs	28   2% Blackout	01   1% Blackout	5:59pm   6:30am
March 2003
02   0% Blackout	03   0% Blackout	04   1%  -11.2hrs	05   2%  -10.2hrs	06   3%  -9.3hrs	07   5%  -8.4hrs	08   7%  -7.4hrs	6:04pm   6:22am
09   9%  -6.4hrs	10 11%  -5.4hrs	11 13%  -4.5hrs	12 15%  -3.5hrs	13 20%  -2.6hrs	14 26%  -1.8hrs	15 34%  -1.0hrs	6:10pm   6:12am
16 44%  n/a	17 55%  n/a	18100%  n/a					6:15pm   6:03am
Legend:       (%)Luminance compared to a Full Moon         (Starlight alone is 1/2 of 1% of a Full Moon) Nighttime TOTAL BLACKOUT period       ( + ) hours AFTER sunset when Moon is behind the Earth, OR       ( - ) hours BEFORE sunRISE when Moon behind the Earth (Times not adjusted for 25 minutes of civil twilight after sunset or before dawn) (Luminance figures are approximate based on an average lunar cycle. Figures are even less when the moon is lower in the sky ... and crescent moons don't get very high in the sky until after daybreak) .

And just in time!

It's now daylight - Monday morning in Baghdad.

In just a few days we will have a prime nighttime 'opportunity' - SEVEN nights in a row with NO MOON or virtually no moon all night long.

The lunar calendar to the right should help explain this. The NEW MOON occurs on the date shown as March 2nd, because that date represents the EVENING of the 2nd AND MORNING OF THE 3RD.

There will be clearly FOUR nights of total blackout, by anyone's count. That is because the moon will be behind the Earth ALL NIGHT LONG on FOUR Baghdad nights. [The moon rises and sets in 10.5 hours, but the winter nights are still 12.5 hours long] The four dates are shown as Feb 28, Mar 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

One night before those, on the evening/morning of Feb 27/28, the moon will be just a tiny sliver, and will appear for only the first hour before sunrise. If we could measure the intensity of that moon under ideal circumstances (like from South America at mid-day), it would appear 3% as bright as a Full Moon.

But in Baghdad, in the hour before sunrise, it will only barely be noticeable on the horizon, and will be less than ONE PERCENT of the brightness of a Full Moon. That, plus it will be washed out by dawn's early light.
So that nighttime will have 'virtually' NO Moon ALL night long.

The same is true for the two evenings/mornings: March 4th/5th, and 5th/6th, except in reverse. The tiny crescents on those nights will be barely noticable, mixed in with the dusk of sunset. Those tiny crescents will be followed by undisturbed pitch blackness ALL NIGHT long.

(Besides, who wants to go bombing in the first hour or so after sunset... Most Iraqi's are still awake, and it's still too light out from the sun.)

Detailed Local Forecast For Baghdad, Iraq

Click for updates

      Last Updated Monday, February 24, at 5:45 AM Local Time (Sunday 9:45 PM EST)

Today: Sun along with patchy clouds. High 74F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Some clouds. Low 53F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow: Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 62F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.

Tomorrow night: A few clouds. Low 43F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday: Chance of showers. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 30s.

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the low 30s.

Friday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 30s.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 30s.

Sunday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 30s.

Monday: Partial sunshine. Highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Tuesday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 40s.

Wednesday: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 40s.

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

---

Travel Tip for Saddam: Pack plenty of clean underwear.

[Grampa Dave]

More evidence that we are not going it alone or by our selves.

Thanks for posting this!