***Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - Day 6 - LIVE THREAD***

Multiple ^ | 25 March 2003 | Various

[An.American.Expatriate]

Good Morning.

This is the Daily Thread of Operation Iraqi Freedom - LIVE THREAD.

It is designed for general conversation about the events of the day. In depth discussion of events should be left to individual threads - but links to the threads or other articles is highly encouraged. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information.

Please have mercy on us dial up limited FReepers! Limit the big graphics, post links instead. A breif description of what the graphic is would help:

Special thanks to null and void for keeping these running over the weekend and Monday, to all of you for keeping these threads alive, the AdminMods for their tolerance, mhking for the video links, and, of course, Belly Girl...

[Robert A Cook PE]

Yep. You've got the initials right for JDAM.

For others:

The recipe for a JDAM.

Take one bomb (older, conventional, iron-bomb filled filled high explosive preferred - they're cheaper than new ones.) Size can be from 200 lb to 2000 lb.

(Hint: The bigger the bomb, the bigger the bang.)

Add a clamp-on set of fins around the bomb. Fins have a GPS guidance package at the nose, and steerable fins in the rear. They keep the bomb from twisting in mid-air, provide power to the steering mechanism, and hold the nose package to the steering package.

Clamp bomb to airplane.

Tell GPS where to go.

Drop bomb from airplane (somewhat) aimed at target.

Bomb falls, steers, lands in/near/under/through target.

Fuze sets off remainder of explosive.

Big bang results, with explosive power delivered where you want it. Misses are reduced - though not eliminated.

Number of bombs needed is reduced from tens of thousands (WWII - twenty each dropped from 500-1000 propeller-driven aircraft with ten crew in each airplane) to one or two (dropped from one aircraft with one or two crewmembers.)

[Dog]

Force flow increasing by the hour...

[Otta B Sleepin]

They aren't that selective. They fry all electronics within a mile radius.

[P.O.E.]

Q&A session:

Reporter asking long-winded (i.e., speech) about war being dangerous. Dope even calls critics "Sunday-morning generals" - I guess he means college sports?

Rumsfeld taking him to school - mentions a lot of "real" generals & Joint Chiefs as being "comfortable" with plan and the way it's going.

[prairiebreeze]

Rummy slapped that question good! Rattled off several top brass names and the Joint Chiefs as being very comfortable with the number of troops that are there.

Prairie

[StriperSniper]

if we have enough troops...

A few more uprisings like in Basra and we may find we have more than enough.

[alnick]

Wouldn't a day care center be empty at night?

[Miss Marple]

First question attacks on the notion of not enough ground troops. Force flow put in place weeks and weeks ago. Every hour number of US and coalition forces is increasing. Those of us (Joint Chiefs, Gen Franks, President, Rummy) who work on this all agreed on the plan. Those outside government don't know what we are thinking or have planned.

[Otta B Sleepin]

What about the jammer??

Gen. Myers said this was the last one. All have now been destroyed.

[Inspectorette]

LOL - ya did good, I definitely got the drift ;-)

[Dog]

Reporter asking about the Basra uprising....

[prairiebreeze]

Agree to that too. Troops near front getting a respite of sorts according to some news I've heard. Nothing has halted that's for sure.

Prairie

[Howlin]

Those of us who are trying to lead normal lives appreciate it, too!

[LPStar]

Some have said it's an orphanage. In any event, I bet they would have toddlers stationed there defending the TV station 24 hours per day.

[this_ol_patriot]

Rummy looks like he swallowed a frog, a big french frog when these dumb questions are asked..could be Pentagon vending machine sandwiches though.

[Mad Dawgg]

The poor bummers over at DUh are fighting amongst themselves over the "Basra Uprising" because the hard cores can't believe it is true.

The hard cores are saying it is a ruse by the British to cover them because they fired mortars into the civilians!

These poor people are having a bad day and I am enjoying every minute of it!

[P.O.E.]

For the cubically challenged:

Fox ticker: Rumsfeld: forces are short distance from Baghdad.

[retrokitten]

The hard cores are saying it is a ruse by the British to cover them because they fired mortars into the civilians!

LOL! Idiots.

[Dog]

Rummy slapping the reporter for inferring that the people of Basra are firing on Allied troops...

[AppyPappy]

We could take out the antennaes with HARM's. We are leaving them up for a reason. Al-Jeer-us-here is the real enemy.