Iraqis are now trying to pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's main square.
Posted on 04/09/2003 7:02:33 AM PDT by RJCogburn
A senior American military commander declared today that Saddam Hussein's government had lost control of Baghdad to American military forces and Iraqi celebrants and looters in the street.
``Today the regime is in disarray,'' Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks said at briefing at Central Command headquarters in Qatar. ``The capital city has been added to those places where the regime has lost control.''
``I think we are at a degree of a tipping point for the population that recognizes that the regime is gone,'' he said.
General Brooks cautioned that coalition forces intended to continue military actions until the last remnants of the Iraqi regime were wiped out or some authority came forward to capitulate.
``There are still places where the regime has control,'' he said. ``So it's not over.''
But he noted the televised scenes of what he called ``jubilation'' on the streets of Baghdad, celebrations that have frequently turned to looting and disorder.
American forces dramatically reduced the scale of aerial and ground attacks in Baghdad overnight and into this morning. But troops from the Third Infantry Division and the Marines were expanding their zones of control to an area that now encompasses nearly half of Baghdad.
There has been little resistance over the past 12 hours, General Brooks said.
``We're not finding hostility from the population,'' he said. ``The population recognizes that the end of the regime is near, if it has not already occurred.''
The growing lawlessness in Baghdad and other cities presents a significant problem for military leaders. Local police forces, have virtually disappeared, leaving the challenge of maintaining order to soldiers untrained in civil police work.
Navy Capt. Frank Thorp, a senior Central Command spokesman, said today it was ``premature'' to talk about a transition from military operations to police work.
Iraqis are now trying to pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's main square.
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Imus said that we have managed to transform Baghdad into Detroit...
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