***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...

[retrokitten]

Okay, good. I'm sometimes slow on the uptake! LOL!

[Michael81Dus]

A nice Beethoven quote? No, the Music is from Friedrich von Schiller. But did you know, ninenot, that this "Ode an die Freude" with the text by Friedrich Schiller is the official anthem of the European Union?

We can see that the Iraqis aren´t shocked. Otherwise, the military in Basra would surrender - after so many bombs and so much pressure from US forces.

[Peach]

I don't know - who? (And I love the humor - just not the same stuff over and over - we need new material).

[Carolina]

Thanks for the nomination! };^D )

You're welcome!

[ninenot]

I'm in the chorus---we'll sing that sucker for the 6th time this June (Maybe just in time for the Iraqi celebrations!!!)

[Dog]

1446....Great post Chris..

[Peach]

ha ha ha. Yeah - that Franks is quite the magician.

[prairiebreeze]

POTUS and Blair up

[Carolina]

Prez and Tony on!

[Miss Marple]

Michael, I am sorry to be so late coming on this to answer your question. No one in the government in any senior position ever said this would be easy. No one...not the President, not Rumsfeld, Cheney, Powell, Rice...NO ONE.

The ONE person who DID say it, oother than reporters and so-called experts outside government was CLINTON. We all know what kind of an expert he is! He was just trying to set up high expectations.

Shoock and awe is a catch phrase from a story in which one USAF underling used this term in response to a question by a reporter. It was NOT a phrase used by the Pentagon.

More later. Going to watch the President and Blair.

[hawkaw]

Anyone listening to Sky news. Some guy said Rummy said the war would last "6 days".

Did Rummy ever say that?

Pres and PM are up.

hawk

[Norman Arbuthnot]

I was not impressed with that comment either. Why is everyone ignoring that there were additional troops called up yesterday, or the discussion of "force flow" which I heard a couple of days ago? It is my understanding that we have a continuous increase in force simultaneous with the invasion. This is a different strategy to allow assigning troops where they are needed in country, rather than having them all held in Kuwait or some other country.

I hope you don't think Major Bob has a political agenda? I don't. Like General McCaffrey I think he is just calling it like he sees it. I think McCaffrey has received some unwarranted flak for his assessment of the war plan to date. The military analysts are not here to be cheerleaders. Many people, especially here on FR, have tried to discredit McCaffrey by citing his past association with the Clinton administration. That's wrong. I despise Clinton as much as anyone here on FR, but I'm not going dismiss someone like General McCaffrey simply because he had a past association with x42's administration. We should simply consider his qualifications and the merits of his arguments. McCaffrey's military creditials are outstanding, he served as an infantry officer and saw combat both in Vietnam and GWI and has received three purple hearts. I'm sure that is why Major Bevelacqua respects his opinion. I think Bevelacqua, who BTW spent 17 years in the Army himself, carefully considered McCaffrey's argument that we would have been much better off with at least one or two more heavy divisions and concluded that he is correct.

[Peach]

We're all tired, retrokitten. It was a great post - needed a laugh today.

[Mr. Mulliner]

BBL

[Michael81Dus]

You sing it in German?

[null and void]

We would never get over 2,000 posts if we stuck to the war.

I'm just not seeing the problem here...

[section9]

My only quarrel with you is that I might send either the 4thID, or the Big Red One, in from the NORTH. Put the 2nd in the South as a relief to the 3rd, et. al.

We had that option. The Turks took it away from us under pressure from the French and the Germans.

As it is, we have to send everything in through Kuwait. This will take time, but will add immeasurably to our combat power since will will be operating on one front, instead of dividing our forces.

Yes, we were trying to duplicate Chancellorsville. But diplomatic reasons forbade that attempt. So what we're using in the north and in the west has to be flown in (well, perhaps not so much in the west-I believe some Marines have driven in secretly overland from Jordan to the H-3 Airbase: I believe that a lot of stuff is being thrown into that base, and that something big is happening out there).

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[An.American.Expatriate]

None Taken nully :-)

I've asked the Mod Guy, but haven't gotten a response.

There was quite a bit of food talk earlier and I made a request to keep it down. This was taken badly by some and they left the thread. To my knowledge, no request was made to remove posts...

If I get an answer, I'll let you know.

[TheExploited]

Chris,

I really appreciate your insights and look forward to them. I for one would like to see you post "the picture" so we do not somehow skip by your posts.

See you soon,

JM

[Carolina]

Prez: Americans have come to know him as a man of his word. Proud to have him as a friend. We are working to free the Iraqi people...noble purpose...sharing the sacrifices in this war...advancing day by day making progress....slowly but surely the grip against the throats of the Iraqis is being loosened...

American people offering prayers...now engaging the dictator's most hardened and desperate units...