Flight deck 'shooter' signals launch on USS Abraham Lincoln.
Posted on 03/24/2003 2:34:16 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Following a grim weekend of events in which Arab television broadcast footage of American POWs executed and being interrogated by the Iraqis, U.S. military officials expressed satisfaction over the progress coalition forces are making toward their objective of taking down the Saddam Hussein regime and getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction.
"Progress toward our objectives has been rapid and in some cases dramatic," said Gen. Tommy Franks, head of U.S. Central Command.
As fresh explosions were reported in Baghdad, coalition troops continued their push toward the capital. The Army's 3rd Infantry Division has progressed to within 50 miles south of the city. The soldiers approached the Shiite holy city of Karbala but were stalled by a sandstorm, according to the Associated Press.
Franks characterized the resistance by the Iraqi forces as "sporadic" and coming from "dead-enders," or those whose allegiance remains with Saddam Hussein. CENTCOM said it mainly comes from "irregular units" – either the elite Republican Guard, Special Security Organization forces or Saddam's Fedayeen, the Baath Party paramilitary organization.
"We know that the Fedayeen has put himself in a position to mill about, to create difficulties in rear areas," said Franks, "and I can assure you that contact with those forces are not unexpected."
Franks further warned there will be more casualties, and the likelihood of Iraqi forces using chemical weapons increases as the pressure builds against them.
Flight deck 'shooter' signals launch on USS Abraham Lincoln. |
Meanwhile, the U.S. has confirmed an Apache helicopter was downed during an aviation attack against Republican Guard forces near Baghdad, and the two-man crew is considered missing. The remainder of the 30 to 40 helicopters involved in the attack returned safely.
Iraq claims farmers shot down two Apaches and aired footage on state-run television showing one helicopter upright on the ground near Karbala. Iraqis in civilian clothing danced around the aircraft waving rifles.
Two Army helmets were shown at the scene but no sign of the crew.
"Farmers shot down two Apaches. We showed one today and might show the second and the pilots," Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf announced after the footage aired.
Fox News reports the protocol for flights by Apache helicopters in hostile environments calls for them to fly with other support aircraft. If one were to go down due to mechanical reasons, the crew would be recovered and taken back.
"Our troops are well-trained and highly motivated ... tough kids," said Franks in reference to the missing pilots and the 12 U.S. soldiers missing from a maintenance company, some of whom were shown on Al-Jazeera television as executed or being interrogated by Iraqi military personnel.
On the fifth day into the war, coalition Air Forces continue to strike Iraqi regime command-and-control sites and military formations "virtually all over the country" with precision munitions. Defense officials exhibited a series of slides and footage to demonstrate the effectiveness of the precision-guided munitions. These showed before-and-after shots of an Iraqi MiG airfield, an armored personnel carrier at a bunker complex and two tanks in central Iraq taken out by coalition bombing.
"Only those buildings that were targeted were destroyed," Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks stressed. "We remain committed to minimizing the potential effects on the people of Iraq and also the infrastructure."
Defense officials report British and American soldiers have secured Basra airport, an ammunition storage unit and are in the southern oil fields, putting out fires and protecting wells from further sabotage. Special Operations forces from the U.S., UK and Australia are conducting direct action and strategic reconnaissance operations across the country, Several ongoing missions are underway looking for weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
Franks also reported that de-mining operations have cleared about half of the channel up to Umm Qasr, so that humanitarian ships loaded with food, water and medical supplies can begin delivering aid to the Iraqi people within the next few days.
"I believe within a few days, the people in Basra will have more access to food and water then they have had in decades," Franks said.
This NRO teaser suggests the Third Infantry Division is now "outside Baghdad":
MSNBC: "MAY HAVE FOUND CHEMICAL PLANTS OUTSIDE BAGHDAD" [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Seems like the 3rd Infantry Division found something outside Baghdad. (Fox reporting too; I do not know if the Pentagon has confirmed ) Posted at 04:50 PM
(sorry---been dyin' to say that)
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