Commander of Iraq's 51st Division Surrenders to Marines, U.S. Military Officials Say

The New York Times ^ | 03/21/2003

[GeneD]

Headline only.

[GeneD]

Hope this isn't a duplicate.

[Beck_isright]

V

[Maeve]

Ping bump

[lilylangtree]

Good beginning!

[adam_az]

V

[GeneD]

Story by Michael R. Gordon:

CAMP DOHA, KUWAIT, MARCH 21 - The commander of Iraq's 51st division and his top deputy surrendered to United States Marine forces today, according to American military officials.

It was the first time that the commander of an Iraqi division has surrendered to allied forces. The 51st is a Regular Army unit that was deployed in southern Iraq directly in the path of the allied invasion.

American forces made a determined effort to persuade the 51st division to give in, including leaflets and propaganda broadcasts. The leaflets instructed Iraqi forces that did not want to fight to park their tanks to a square walk at least half a mile from their tanks. American officials said that many of the soldiers of the 51st had simply left their posts and that the division melted away.

There are indications that other Regular Army forces want to surrender or stay out of the fight. The most loyal capable forces, however, are the Republican Guards, who still seem determined to fight.

The Republican Guard forces around Baghdad were targeted in the air strikes conducted tonight.

[InterceptPoint]

Wonderful.

Who knows how many Divisions the Iraqis have?

[egarvue]

[snooker]

>>>Who knows how many Divisions the Iraqis have?

real or cardboard?

snooker

[sarasota]

Uh, where'd they go?

[Southack]

Nice!

NOTE TO SELF: Do not play poker with George W. Bush.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Or the composition of an Iraqi division?

[theDentist]

Who knows how many Divisions the Iraqis have?"

Dunno, but I bet since the bombing started there are a lot more!

[Beck_isright]

" NOTE TO SELF: Do not play poker with George W. Bush."

Shhhh, don't give the DNC(ommies) any hints.

V

[EternalHope]

Who knows how many Divisions the Iraqis have?

You'll have to be more specific.

If you mean RIGHT NOW, even General Franks may not know the answer.

[ravingnutter]

Found in a search...

They have 25 combat divisions, and seven independent brigades...Most Iraqi divisions have 8-10,000 troops, although this can be increased by a few thousand if reserves are called up.

StrategyPage.com

[ravingnutter]

Or the composition of an Iraqi division?

My link in #16 lays out the complete details of Iraq's forces.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you ! Great News ! I've been on the Live Thread ALL Day ! . . .

I'm linking this there after I hit the 'post' button here !

[JohnnyZ]

American officials said that many of the soldiers of the 51st had simply left their posts and that the division melted away.

Melted away . . . it must have rained?

[mware]

. . . -

V