Pentagon briefing - Thurs. Apr. 3:
SOD Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers
"We are grateful for the brilliant and courageous rescue of PFC Lynch...
"It was a superb rescue effort...
"As the coalition continues to close on Baghdad there will likely be difficult days ahead."
The Baghd. and Medina have suffered serious (blows). Regime has been forced to backfill regime w/ regular army...(who they don't trust..heh)
"We're finding some bridges wired, but not yet detonated..perhaps they read our leaflets....perhaps coalition advance was so rapid they were taken by surprise...
Strategy is working...the coalition has secured oil wells. (bridges, roads)...all in less than 2 weeks."
"While coaltion forces have taken extraordinary effort to protect innocent civilains (Saddam's death squads have executed many...Saddam may hae killed more Muslims than anyone in history)..
'The regime is weakened, but still (dangerous)..For senior leadership, their fate is sealed. There is no way out." (Lower leverl can surrender, turn on leaders, help us)...
"It seems that Iraq is running out of real soldiers...and soon all that will be left is war criminals."
Gen. Myers:
"Things are progressing well...still (much) work to be done.."
Coalition air forces have flown over 1000 sorties over Iraq in last 24 hours...
Pics:
Strikes at Baghdad airport, Apaches helicopters destroying regime tanks and missile launchers s. of Baghdad...
Questions:
Re. lights going out in BD: GM: "Like any objectives in and around Baghdad, we just can't comment on that...(troop movements around BD)..."CENTCOM has not targetted the power grid in Baghdad."
R: "We've had pretty good visibility....some forces have retreated into the city...some have gone home..."It's been degraded significantly, but it still exists." (Re. C&C inside BD).
R: "There are any number of soldiers that are behaving as soldiers, they are either surrendering, being captured or killed or gone on fighting...(others have put on civvies, hide in schools...act more like war criminals) "The execution of Iraqi people...is certainly not something that soldiers do."
R: "They have conducted exercises over recent months...dug trenches, etc. to suggest they'd end up in the city of Baghdad...."We do worry about them attacking the Shia population in the e. side of the city. They've done that kind of thing before...and blame(d) it on coalition forces....
Re. N. Iraq: R: "We have a lot of Spec. forces up there.,173rd, the Brits., excellent relations w/ 2 Kurdish groups...So. of Kirkuk...have to assume that they've been wired w/ explosives...we'd like very much to get un there (re. oil wells...Gen. Franks has plans..we will get there)...
GM: "Coalition forces are destroying most of the equip assoc. w/ RG...a lot of the people have been killed...a lot of the people who come out after dark..(death squads)...attack our people ..we're taking all of that into account..
R:"To call it a ploy after they've been decimated....(after we've womped them)...it's hardly a ploy."..(heh)
Re. urban warfare: GM: "You've got the city of Baghdad, about 5 million residents...you have a country that Baghdad no longer controls....whatever happens inside Baghdad is almost irrelevant compared to what's going on (outside...oil fields...post-conflict government)...half the people who want nothing to do w/ oppressive regime...you'll have to be patient about that...
R: "There's no question that some governments are discussing...cutting a deal...if the inevitable end is to give hope and comfort to Saddam's regime...."There's not a chance that there's gonna be a deal. It doesn't matter who proposes it."
GM: (and "no matter which country suggests a "deal") "It has the potential to prolong the conflict" (and increase the chance of civilian casualties.)
Re. the Iraqi people: R: "They don't need any coaching or guidance from us (they know what the nature of the bad guys are)...
R: "There have been friendly fire indicents in every war for the history of mankind...it will always be so...it would be inaccurate to say that there's been an increase or "the level (of B on B) is higher in this conflict..."
GM: "You may have a regime you may not. At this point, they won't be able to communicate with the people of Iraq...we would control the water .(etc)..they become a non-entity...if there are any left..."
R: "Goodness. Reliable? I see so much intel...some of it's anecdotal...untested...I haven't seen anything from multiple sources...that suggest that he is or isn't alive." (re. Saddam, he's good)
R: "If he's able to get out of the country, he's out of the country...but are we encouraging him to get out of the country? The answer's no and I don't know who inside the admin. would suggest that...
R: "Tom Franks is the man on the ground....if he wants something...he'll call."
R: "Needless to say, the last thing anyone wants to see is chem. weapons used in this conflict...we've always believed that the chances of them being used increased the closer we got to Baghdad. (If they're holding out for a deal to be cut..."when it's not even a remote possibility" or "will they go ahead and use them...that's the dilemma, I suspect he faces..."It's best that they not use those weapons." (re. what the response would be from us)...
R: "Until people decide that they are for sure he's gonna go...it won't happen...the moment that they're convinced...and they want to be helpful...we'll figure out a way...
R: "I have not seen anything recently on the part of Iran that is disturbing. We have seen that Syria is conducting itself (the way it was prior...?)...
R: "What was not predictable when we started? It was not predictable whether we would be able to (save the s. oil wells, prevent SCUDs, humanitarian crises, mass refuges, chem. weapon)...there have been a whole series of things ..that had to be addresed by Gen. Franks...and because he (addressed these...we're where we are)..(great rant! see transcripts))
R: "We have faced a whole series of risks...from the beginning...nothing's ever over til it's over...sure, there are difficult days ahead. Is it more unpredictable? I think not."