Pentagon sources: U.S. attack on Iraq may be postponed to end of March (Army Radio)

Haaretz.com NEWS FLASH ^ | 3/3/03 | Haaretz

[Mark Felton]

Pentagon sources: U.S. attack on Iraq may be postponed to end of March, beginning of April (Army Radio)

[This is all that is available on the News Flash at this time].

[LouD]

it is clear that Bush's support base is starting to lose patience with him.

All those who are losing patience with him share one thing in common: They are not privy to the information that he sees. I've seen nothing in Bush's performance thus far to indicate that my confidence in him is misplaced, so I will continue to assume the guy with access to the attack strategy, all the intel and all the readiness data knows better than a bunch of DEBKA-powered armchair quarterback wanna-bes...

[Rain-maker]

roflmao...George IV, probably more true than we know.

[ellery]

It's not Powell's fault. The president makes the decisions. It would be crazy to chance the UN route without an "out." We'll see...but my confidence in this administration is starting to flag.

[ellery]

Add the news that Russia and China have gone to the security council to propose injecting their troops into Iraq to help the inspectors. The forces that oppose the liberation of Iraq get stronger every day -- and while that may not stop us, it certainly makes the whole situation ever more precarious. We need to go SOON.

[Arkinsaw]

Add the news that Russia and China have gone to the security council to propose injecting their troops into Iraq to help the inspectors. The forces that oppose the liberation of Iraq get stronger every day -- and while that may not stop us, it certainly makes the whole situation ever more precarious. We need to go SOON.

Our blood is in the diplomatic water. Spain's Anzar went wobbly the other day. Eastern Europe laid their money down on the US. Getting pinned here will put France and Germany in the permanent driver's seat for Eastern Europe. Lord only knows how emboldened North Korea and the neo-Fidels would become.

Bush has proved that he can turn things around (his UN challenge speech) but he needs to pull out his next turnaround NOW if he has one in the sack.

[Ichneumon]

The United States waited TWO YEARS after Pearl Harbor before responding.

Don't look now, but we're edging up towards "two years" after 9/11/01.

And if you think the US didn't respond until "two years" after Pearl Harbor, then what in the hell were these
American carrier battles, all of which took place within FOUR MONTHS of Pearl Harbor?
And the battle of Midway, the turning point of the Pacific war, happened within six months of Pearl Harbor.

[Ichneumon]

"The Battle of Midway was about six months after Pearl Harbor, on June 4-5, 1942."

Make that seven months. Need to work on the counting thing...

No, you were right the first time. June 4-5 1942 is just a few days short of six months from December 7, 1941.

[ellery]

Exactly -- in this war, time is not on our side.

[Tigermoth]

Hmm... I thought President Bush said "days and weeks, not months and years" back in September of 2002...

I would challenge you to find any statement by him like that during that time frame.

Here's what the administration implied from September:

September 16, 2002

The measure should give the Iraqi president "a matter of weeks" to comply with long-standing U.N. resolutions on his weapons program, Powell said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/12/attack/main521836.shtml

September 14, 2002

“We’re talking days and weeks, not months and years,” the president said in outlining his request for a UN-imposed deadline on Saddam.

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/09/14/story395723059.asp

September 13, 2002

President Bush called on the United Nations Thursday to move quickly -- within a matter of weeks, according to his advisers -- to enforce its resolutions demanding Iraq's disarmament.

Bush aides say they would like to see the issue play out in a six- to eight-week period....."We cannot wait months for him to comply," a senior administration official said.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/12/bush.speech.un/

[ClancyJ]

I just needed to vent. My patience is wearing thin, and I've got to find a way to stave it off.

Remember, Bush has to make the decisions that mean someone's father may not come home. I feel this really is a tough burden for him. When faced with a decision to go or wait for a better option - he again has to weigh the cost in the lives of those young dads.

As we have seen in Bush time and again, he moves patiently and slowly but with well thought out plans. Look at the China standoff, Afghanistan when he drove us crazy wondering if we were going or not, the stem cell decision.

So, whatever the delay, the Bush team is working toward their goals and calculating every scenario.

Yet, I too sometimes wonder if we are just watching total disorganization, sabotage among our own ranks, in-fighting, or bad decisions.

[ClancyJ]

Good points.

Why in the world would military planners allow our forces to sit in ships waiting to offload? Talk about sitting targets.....

How come the Turkish agreement was not worked out long before they even headed to Turkey?

I am really beginning to worry about the execution of this war. We are allowing all voices, all countries to determine our actions and our timetable. Time for the U.S. to start running this war. As long as Bush makes every person in the world think they have control of this war, they will exercise that control.

[The Great Satan]

The folks who bet you that the battle would begin on or before March 31 look like they're going to be out some dough.

Jim Rob wins either way, since the loser(s) have to make their donations to FR.

[Recovering_Democrat]

DISINFORMATION
Everyone's got their panties in a wad. Calm down. Can't ya'll recognize a purposeful piece of BS when you see it??

[aquawrench]

I am amazed at the whinning going on in here. No troops in Turkey may have thrown a wrench into the plan. Im glad no freeper is in charge of sending our guys into battle. Besides, it could be disinformation.

Chill out.

[VRWC_minion]

BUT we went in less than ONE month after SEPT.11.( Oct. 7) We've been hearing weeks not months for longer than I can remember, and I for one have had it!!

And we quickly ran out of targets for our air force to bomb because of intelligence and we didn't have enough men on the ground to block much of the retreats by the Talibon.

Do you honestly think that Bush is puting the political above the military needs ? I don't.

I believe the military is actively working at establishing itself, searchign out and confirming targets and planning and providing for counter moves.

Are they ready to go now if they had to ? Sure. Will Bush keep them waiting long as soon as he gets the green light from the Pentagon ? I don't think so.

[slimer]

You are not alone my friend. Lots of people are frustrated. Keep the faith.