[Richard Axtell]

So far, all the maps I have seen on television and online, show the 82nd Airborne still largely in Kuwait. What if they are secretly in the Western Desert of Iraq, and will be part of the northern force that will come down and drive through the weakened Iraqi defenses, to take Baghdad while the bulk of the RG divisions have deployed to the south, in repsonse to the 101, and the Marines? This may be another "Hail Mary" kind of operation, that we will only fully perceive after the fact?

[browardchad]

What if they are secretly in the Western Desert of Iraq, and will be part of the northern force that will come down and drive through the weakened Iraqi defenses

Quite a few people on FR think there's something in the Western desert of Iraq -- time will tell.

[longshadow]

Sorry; this was meant to be a reply, not A FReepmail to you:
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So far, all the maps I have seen on television and online, show the 82nd Airborne still largely in Kuwait. What if they are secretly in the Western Desert of Iraq, and will be part of the northern force that will come down and drive through the weakened Iraqi defenses, to take Baghdad while the bulk of the RG divisions have deployed to the south, in repsonse to the 101, and the Marines? This may be another "Hail Mary" kind of operation, that we will only fully perceive after the fact?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

We have a winner.....

The trap has already snapped shut, but the prey doesn't even know it.

The mere fact that RG forces from Tikrit were permitted to reinforce the Southern front RG's without our airpower annihilating them is proof that we WANTED them to move those forces South. The most obvious reason is a "hidden" force that will appear out of nowhere to isolate the RG from being able to retreat to Baghdad, which would be threatened on it's flank/rear by a RG force in Tikrit.

They took the bait.... their fate is sealed.

Game, set, and match.

[kms61]

There's only on brigade of the 82nd in the theatre, and per one of their embedded reporters, they're being used to secure the supply lines in the south. Everybody keeps talking about a surprise from the West, but as near as I can tell, all the troops are accounted for....it's not hard to keep track of them with only 10 Army divisions and 3 Marine divisions. The land forces in-country are almost all in the south.

[Vinnie]

This may be another "Hail Mary" kind of operation, that we will only fully perceive after the fact?

I was thinking the same thing. It sounds like Iraq is leaving the northern approach open. IF we have the forces to take advantage of it.