***Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - Day 8 - LIVE THREAD***

Various | 3/27/2003 | Me

[Centurion2000]

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...

[pitinkie]

Sky News saying US and UK will have to answer to Koffi after war...for civilian casualties..nothing about Iraq.

[Timeout]

Thanks for that excellent email.

I know I'm not the only female here who's noticed how good looking they are too! And well-spoken...after listening to all those young bozos on Jay Leno, etc. all these years, it's music to my ears to hear how all these guys use proper english and form real sentences. I know it's a minor point, but impressive.

[Peach]

Rush's web site just isn't worth the time. He makes many good points but his web site is a mess.

[hawkaw]

I heard that too. What the head of the UN is saying is absolutely disgusting.

Anybody listening to how the Irish Guard (hope I got that right) are giving out aid in the oil field areas. I think this is great

hawk?

[An.American.Expatriate]

Great Post!

Could be that these interests play a small part in thier intransigence - naaaa

The US / UK are the only ones who look out for thier own interests, all other countries are purely altruistic.

[section9]

The only thing I might have done differently is to have diverted the Fourth ID to Kuwait earlier so that it might have been able to march up the gut of the Mesopotamian Valley.

The Valley is key to control of Iraq, and I don't believe that we have enough men there to hit the center hard. This explains the presence of the Fedayeen Saddam and the Al Quds militias. Now then, within two weeks, the Fourth ID will have become reinforced and in place. Fourth ID will go right up the Al Samawa highway, a big four laner that runs from Al Basrah to Baghdad.

It is my opinion that we will wait another week and a half to two weeks to assault Baghdad proper, simply because we need to get Fourth ID on the ground and squared away. Fourth will go straight up the line to take its place squarely in front of the Hammurabi Division, laid out on a front some thirty miles south of Baghdad between the two rivers.

In the meantime, the Marines and Infantry are systematically isolating the "technicals" and eliminating them. One of the tactics we are using, as another poster pointed out, is to send out hunter-killer squads led by a sergeant to ambush the Fedayeen. This is a quick and innovative adaptation: the unsaid policy is that it is open season on undeclared Iraqi men who are out of uniform-"no bag limit".

Right now, there is a problem with basic supplies: water and food, on the northern Marine leg of the spearhead. It appears that the southern supply line runs through a lot of desert and can avoid some of the areas that have been contested, such as Al Nasiriyah. Everyone appears to be okay when it comes to ammo.

The combination of two events, the clearance of Al Basrah and the arrival of Fourth Infantry Division, will begin to turn things decisively in our favor. And that's not the half of it. Two divisions and an Army cav regiment are following. The First Cavalry, the Big Red One, and the Old Ironsides (First Armored) Division are on their way in. It will take another month to get them all there. Second Armored Cavalry Regiment has been on alert for some time and is on its way in, as well.

These reenforcements will do two things: tip the scales decisively in our favor militarily and show the Iraqi people that our advance will be overwhelming and remorseless.

I think that Tommy Franks knows we can't take Baghdad right now. I also believe that Tommy Franks wants to do what General Giap did to him and the rest of the U.S. Army in 1967: hold the belt of the enemy. We plan on keeping his major RG forces pinned until we get Fourth ID in place. To do that, we need more supplies and more of an effort to engage the Guard. Instead of rushing headlong into the Guard, we'll wait for him. Remember, Saddam and the people around him have an impression of American weakness. They believe that if they send enough men out and inflict enough casualties, the American media and the American people will rise up and force Bush to seek a political settlement. This is a severe misreading of one of the lessons of the Vietnam War. People in the third world don't recall that the reason Lyndon Johnson lost support was not because our men were dying, but because they were dying for no reason and no sight of victory.

Remember: the American people know the meaning of victory. They know that when the Regime falls, the war is essentially over. The rest is just mopup. Baghdad itself is, like Berlin before it, a real city and a real object that will signal the beginning of the end of the war.

It will simply take more time because we underestimated Saddam's resourcefulness and the reach of his party loyalists in the cities in the south.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Straight Vermonter]

Geneva Convention

SECTION I

BEGINNING OF CAPTIVITY

Article 17

Every prisoner of war, when questioned on the subject, is bound to give only his surname, first names and rank, date of birth, and army, regimental, personal or serial number, or failing this, equivalent information. If he wilfully infringes this rule, he may render himself liable to a restriction of the privileges accorded to his rank or status.

Each Party to a conflict is required to furnish the persons under its jurisdiction who are liable to become prisoners of war, with an identity card showing the owner's surname, first names, rank, army, regimental, personal or serial number or equivalent information, and date of birth. The identity card may, furthermore, bear the signature or the fingerprints, or both, of the owner, and may bear, as well, any other information the Party to the conflict may wish to add concerning persons belonging to its armed forces. As far as possible the card shall measure 6.5 x 10 cm. and shall be issued in duplicate. The identity card shall be shown by the prisoner of war upon demand, but may in no case be taken away from him.

No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.

Prisoners of war who, owing to their physical or mental condition, are unable to state their identity, shall be handed over to the medical service. The identity of such prisoners shall be established by all possible means, subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The questioning of prisoners of war shall be carried out in a language which they understand.

[Carolina]

Sky News saying US and UK will have to answer to Koffi after war...for civilian casualties..nothing about Iraq.

SkyGuy picked up on the threat in Koffee's statement yesterday warning "the belligerents" will answer for civilian casualties.

[Quilla]

I've never gotten the impression that President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld considered putting even one American serviceman's life on the line as a walk through Disneyland. The President, speaking in Florida yesterday, had tears in his eyes when he described how proud he was to be the Commander-in-chief of our troops. We are utilizing a humanitarian approach to our shock and awe campaign in an attempt to spare every life we are liberating. Personally, I feel the accurate positioning of incredible munitions is both shocking and awe inspiring.

Criticism is a way of life for the left leaning media. They have no proposals or recommendations, only snide, anti-Bush comments and questions. I'm doing my best trying to ignore them.

[Dog]

Koffi will answer to us about his oil for food program that was used to ship in Russian weapons and lord knows what else..

[oceanperch]

That was great and if I remember correctly it was done in about 2hrs.

[Timesink]

Rush's web site just isn't worth the time. He makes many good points but his web site is a mess.

?

[Nam Vet]

I was doing fine before you mentioned that socialist whore's name.

Nam Vet

[retrokitten]

I know that some posters really think Major Bob is hot but I don't. COL David Hunt and General McInerry (can't spell his name) have provided some of the best analysis of the war so far.

Just because we (okay ME) think he's hot doesn't mean we (ok, ME again!) think that his analysis is any better. I agree that Col. Hunt has provided better analysis and is much more entertaining to watch. Major Bob just looks better doing it! LOL!

[pitinkie]

I agree.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Of course not, the US is the modern Evil Empire.

[prairiebreeze]

What's interesting about this article, Amer Expat, is that it comes out of France.

Prairie

[pitinkie]

Methinks Koffees cup has just about runneth over!!

[Dog]

CNN live shots show incoming Iraqi missiles near the 3/7th cav...

[Cboldt]

Rush's web site just isn't worth the time. He makes many good points but his web site is a mess.

I went there to look for the NYT/Jennings cite too. I agree, very "busy" web-site considering the content.