[Sparta]

War against Iraq is soon. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND PRESIDENT BUSH!!!!

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Friday, December 27, 2002
By Bret Baier

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ordered a number of military units put on alert for deployment to the Persian Gulf, Fox News learned Friday.Some are being told to be ready to deploy, if needed, within 96 hours' notice.

"A lot of things will start moving in the next week or so," a defense official told Fox News.

The units are from several services and include two Navy carrier battle groups and two Marine amphibious assault groups.

One battle group is attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which returned to port in Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 20 following a six-month deployment in the Gulf.

Rumsfeld has also ordered the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship based in Baltimore, to be activated and readied for possible deployment.

About 230 personnel will be told to get the ship ready to sail, but at this point its full medical staff will not be ordered aboard.

Some units in the Air Force's Air Combat Command have also received "prepare to deploy" orders from the defense secretary, with planes due to leave the U.S. within the next 12 days.

They include F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour-Johnson AFB in North Carolina, F-15C fighter-bombers, B-1 and B-52 bombers and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes.

The B-52s will be deployed to Diego Garcia, a British airbase in the Indian Ocean, but all the other planes will be based in the Gulf.

B-2 bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which flew to Afghanistan and back again on missions, are not currently scheduled for deployment.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Dec 27, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- If the order to sail is given, the USS George Washington battle group would be sent from the Atlantic fleets, officials said. The George Washington returned from the region on Dec. 20 and is best prepared for action...[snip]...

CONTINUE...

[richardtavor]

The war will start (just a guess) on Jan. 3, after 1:00 a.m. Iraqi time (or Jan 2, after 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.) Next best target date would be Feb. 1st, 5:00 a.m. CST. This is based on the first New Moon in January and February (i.e. total darkness--best time to attack!)

[Jeff Gordon]

Loose lips and all that...

[genefromjersey]

I agree - but for different reasons.

God Bless America, and God Bless our Troops -

But God Help the rest of us if President Bush has mis-calculated !

I've seen some of our Freepers enthusing over the high probability of war with Iraq -and N. Korea - and Saudi Arabia - and Yemen - and The Phillipines - and Red China ... Have I left anyone out ? ( Oh yes : Cuba and Mexico. )

I imagine I'm draft exempt, by reason of age and prior military service - ( You won't see a lot of 68 year olds being called up, no matter how bad it gets ! ) - but I'm not quite as sure about you hot-blooded, eager-for-war " young ' uns ".

Maybe - just maybe the all-volunteer Armed Forces, the Reserves, and the National Guard will be enough - but, looking at the potential for conflict on a worldwide scale, I kind of doubt it !

When you get that Draft Notice in the mail, don't whine about it !

Please be honest enough to say : I'm one of the folks who encouraged this war, and I'm proud to be a part of it !