***Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - Day 26 - LIVE THREAD***

Everywhere! | 14 APR 03 | An.American.Expatriate

[Brad’s Gramma]

LOL!!

[umbagi]

Brian just corrected himself... "Cobras."

You don't want to short-change the U.S. Marines!

[two23]

So nigh is grandeur to our dust,

So near is God to man,

When Duty whispers low, Thou must,

The youth replies, I can!

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank you..I saved this to go under that photo in the daily photo-journal that I'm keeping.

[umbagi]

How's life?

Pretty dull... That's good, when we're talking war. And when we're talking "I've got to get something done tomorrow!

A little embarassed to admit it, but I've been searching the web for the name of a movie that scared me to death back in the late '50s -- can't find it... 'Bout a bunch of people stuck after some kind of nuclear disaster, fallout turning people into monsters. I saw it with "The Beginning of the End," and it was so bad the latter didn't impress me at all.

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

I'm watching Richard Quest anchor on CNN. I saw him last night for the first time and hated him, but somehow he's growing on me. I think Fox should hire him away.

[Mo1]

Hey umbagi ... what is with the bumper to bumper traffic on the bagdad cam??

[JLS]

Hey night crew. Hope everyone is fine. Geraldo seems to be doing a good job with this interview of the ex-POW family.

[JLS]

Lastnight it was posted that the circle was the temporary city hall of Baghdad, so job seekers etal were coming to it.

[Mo1]

Oh OK ... doing you have any idea what they are chanting?

[TheLion]

Just getting on...looks pretty quiet tonight.

[amom]

Can anyone make out what it is they are chanting on NTVcam?

[Mo1]

At first I thought they were saying we want peace .. now I am not sure what they are saying .. but it is getting loud

[amom]

LOL I see we are both wondering at the same time. Seems the freedom of speech has caught on quich over there.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Just pulled it up. That's WEIRD!

[Mo1]

Anyone speak Iraqi ??

Cause I have no idea what they are saying

[TheLion]

Latest from Debka on Al Qaim: Excerpted.

Aerial photos over al Qaim in northwestern Iraq have revealed a cluster of long, hangar-like structures with large steel doors some 12-14 meters high and 15-20 meters wide, the size of sheds housing heavy fire trucks. In frequent passes overhead, spy satellites and reconnaissance aircraft have picked up surface indications of the hidden presence of nuclear, chemical or biological materials. They have not ruled out al Hussein surface to surface missiles being held ready there to deliver unconventional warheads. Some of the Scuds fired against Israel in 1991 were launched here. Signs of chemical emissions have been detected in the deep canyons riddling the Al Qaim region, most of them concealed from overhead view by overhanging cliffs. More impenetrable hiding places are to be found along the Euphrates river banks, which are densely overgrown thanks to the rapids splashing down from the mountains.

Coalition forces have refrained from going straight in to Al Qaim to establish once and for all what weapons are hidden there for several reasons. Its installations are the most heavily guarded in Iraq – more even than Saddam Hussein’s own bunker fortresses in Tikrit. The brigade of especially trained, crack Special Republican Guards loyalists guarding al Qaim have proved impervious to tempting coalition offers to surrender, preferring to defend the site with their lives. The coalition command has tried limited air and ground assault, including even what is termed “unconventional warfare direct-action missions”, but until this weekend made little progress.

Unlike other parts of Iraq, where resistance quickly melted away, the defenders of al Qaim have put up a professional, tenacious and dedicated fight. Military sources told DEBKAfile that had coalition forces confronted this quality of combat in the rest of Iraq, they would still be pinned down at Nasiriya in the south after three weeks of fighting. The Iraqi defenders are making skilful use of al Qaim’s daunting topographical features which make it impassable for heavy tanks. The attacking force is therefore obliged to fight in this Tora Bora-like redoubt from canyon to canyon, hilltop to hilltop, bush to bush.

In the last 24 hours, US forces have seized the strategic intersection of Highways 11 and 13 leading into Syria, a major step towards cutting off the overland escape route of Iraqi forces and top members of Saddam’s hierarchy. However, it is not impermeable. The Euphrates River and its banks provide alternative routes for slipping across into Syria.

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=464

[Brad’s Gramma]

We want peace? Peas?

[amom]

Yes WIERD. I hope it settles down and we have an uneventful evening. I wanna get some sleep tonight. lol