'Pause' In Doubt As US Troops Hit Elite Force

Independent (UK) ^ | 3-30-2003 | John Lichfield/Anne Penketh

[blam]

'Pause' in doubt as US troops hit elite force

By John Lichfield and Anne Penketh
30 March 2003

American airborne troops launched a preliminary offensive against the Republican Guard defending Baghdad yesterday, despite reports from other US commanders that the advance had been placed "on pause".

The 101st Airborne Division attacked units of the Medina Division of the Republican Guard defending the Karbala Gap, south-west of the Iraqi capital, claiming later to have killed 50 soldiers and destroyed 25 tanks.

The battle for the Karbala Gap – a 20-mile-wide strip of land between a lake and the river Euphrates – is expected to be the first stage in the battle for Baghdad proper. Yesterday's attack, backed by Apache helicopters, was probably an attempt to probe the Iraqi positions to gauge their remaining strength after days of bombardment from the air.

The assault suggested, however, that reports of a "six-day pause" in the US main advance should be treated with caution. American journalists travelling with other advance units were told that a delay of four to six days had been ordered because of supply shortages and stiff Iraqi resistance.

Field officers south of the capital said the "operational pause", ordered on Friday, meant that northward advances would be put on hold while the military tried to sort out logistics problems caused by long supply lines from Kuwait and the delays caused by harassment from Iraqi flying columns. Food rations have been cut sharply for at least some frontline US units, they said, and fuel use has been limited. US troops were said to be receiving only one ration pack a day, instead of three.

However, other allied commanders in Kuwait and Qatar denied that there had been any freeze in military activity. US President George Bush also claimed in his weekly radio address yesterday that some US units were now less than 50 miles from Baghdad – closer than Washington has claimed before.

Overall, the conflicting information could be a deliberate attempt to confuse the Iraqi defenders. A British spokesman, Group Captain Al Lockwood, said the attackers needed to prepare for a new phase. "It is simply a matter of shaping the battle space, shaping the battlefield, getting up troops equipped with all the assets they will need for the next part of the campaign," he said. He said that the overall war plan was "on track and on time".

There were also signs yesterday that British forces encircling the southern city of Basra were probing Iraqi defences, possibly in preparation for an assault. Tanks from the Scots Dragoon Guards led a daring night incursion into the heart of the city for the first time on Friday night, destroying a number of "symbolic targets" including a 20ft high statue of Saddam Hussein, a headquarters for the Iraqi militia defending the city and and a television and radio mast.

David Ross, the tank commander whose Challenger 2 tank destroyed the statue, said: "I got it in my sights. We got the first round in and it only took one round.

"It was a black, cast-iron statue of Saddam Hussein in a greatcoat with his right arm raised in the air. It just sort of crumpled. There was a big flash and sparks everywhere and it disappeared – it was gone. I wish it was the real thing."

Up to 200 members of the ruling Baath party were claimed to have been killed near Basra when US warplanes fired missiles that destroyed a building in which they were meeting.

The US admitted yesterday that several of its Tomahawk cruise missiles – blamed for the market massacre in Baghdad on Friday night – had flown so far off course that they had landed in Saudi Arabia. The US has promised the Saudis that it will not fire any more missiles over Saudi territory until the problems has been identified and sorted out.

Overall, the battlefield position was confusing – maybe deliberately so. Although airborne troops were moving forwards north of Najaf, Marines and other airborne troops – supposedly part of the spearhead of the advance – were being deployed to quell Iraqi hit-and-run raiders in towns further south, including Nasiriyah, only 50 miles north of Kuwait. Military analysts said they were convinced that the all-out attack on Baghdad – or even an attempt to encircle Baghdad – could not start until the arrival of reinforcements from the United States.

But they said that a preliminary battle was shaping up in the Karbala area, which would – if successful – give the US domination of the plains south of the capital, and, maybe more usefully, a victory to counter claims that the allied campaign had bogged down.

The British Government claimed yesterday that there were signs of serious divisions in the Iraqi leadership. Downing Street took the unusual step of releasing intelligence reports which indicated that Saddam Hussein had sacked his cousin, Musahim Saab al-Takriti, as head of Iraq's air defences.

The Government hinted that this could suggest that Iraqi anti-aircraft missiles – rather than US missiles – had been responsible for the two strikes on markets in Baghdad which have killed a total of 69 civilians in the past three days. Downing Street offered no firm proof of such a connection.

[blam]

Another 'elite' force.

[grobdriver]

I've been loving this "pause" talk.
Use the media knuckleheads to spread disimformation - "we gotta take a break now" and then hit the enemy in the teeth after they relax.

[Dog Gone]

But they said that a preliminary battle was shaping up in the Karbala area, which would – if successful – give the US domination of the plains south of the capital, and, maybe more usefully, a victory to counter claims that the allied campaign had bogged down.

Oh, so now we have to fight battles in order to impress the journalists. That's the most important thing, apparently.

[Paraclete]

My guess is there's lots of special ops in Baghdad setting the table for the big push. A little patience right now will pay big dividends.

[San Jacinto]

Overall, the battlefield position was confusing – maybe deliberately so.

A lot of attention is being paid to activity south of Baghdad and north of Baghdad. There's not much being said about anything lurking out to the west.

I wonder if when the big RG battle starts to the south, something might hit Saddam from where he is not looking.

[SolutionsOnly]

'Elite' has to be the overused word in the language there's days!

Navy Seals are elite. Green Berets are elite.
The Republican Guard is not elite!

...and the 'media elite' isn't very elite either, come to think of it.

[Kay Soze]

"Overall, the conflicting information could be a deliberate attempt to confuse the Iraqi defenders."

[Kay Soze]

"The Government hinted that this [Saddam firing his Cousin in charge of Air Defenses] could suggest that Iraqi anti-aircraft missiles – rather than US missiles – had been responsible for the two strikes on markets in Baghdad which have killed a total of 69 civilians in the past three days."

[marron]

Hey guys, you're on "pause". This is a quagmire. You're not supposed to be attacking during a "pause".

Ah, gee.

We spent some 40 days pounding Iraqi trenches from the air before crossing them in Gulf War 1. I see no reason to try and cross the trenches around Baghdad until they have been similarly grinded and pummeled. Our Bradleys are bullet proof, but they are not artillery proof, so we should pause while the A10s and Apaches pick off the tanks and artillery pieces, one by one, a handful each day, until its done. If it takes a couple of weeks, or 4, or 6 weeks, who cares?

Meanwhile, the B52s pound away at the infantry, until they have unit-wide nervous breakdowns, the ones who are still alive, that is.

And when all of their heavy guns are gone, and when our 4th Infantry has finally arrived on the scene, and our northern front is ready, we will finish them.

The thought that the "pause" reflects a problem is silliness.

[Mr. Thorne]

Bingo, baby. BINGO.

[OOPisforLiberals]

It occurs to me that in maybe 5-10 years, we're going to start seeing documentaries on the History Channel on how the US armed forces developed entirely new informational doctrines on how to use the "Information Age Media" to their advantage.

Something along the lines of : "with the advent of the internet and instantaneous video transmission, classic information warfare strategies were obsolete (that is, trying to be secretive about things) The military developed an entirely new paradigm based upon taking full advantage the information-on-demand situation, and using the media as a means of misleading the enemy."

[blam]

"And when all of their heavy guns are gone, and when our 4th Infantry has finally arrived on the scene, and our northern front is ready, we will finish them. "

Fox News just reported that the 4th ID will be 'battle ready' in two weeks.

[Cboldt]

101 Airborne hit Medina from Medina's north. 101 Airborne is HOT.

So is the west. Maybe a push from the west to render all Iraq forces south of Baghdad irrelevant.