Posted on 03/16/2003 3:57:05 PM PST by Timesink
Fred Francis reporting live as I type this from Iraq's Northern Front.
Many members of the Iraqi regular army are already coming across to surrender. They report no food. Morale near zero. Everyone from the highest commanders to the lowest privates that remain are openly discussing plans to surrender en masse the moment war starts.
One commander says he has 27 tanks; only 6 work.
Francis reports that US forces expect near-ZERO military response from Iraqi forces, except from the Republican Guard around Baghdad itself. The reason: They actually think they WON in 1991 because we didn't go after them. (Even though that was by UN fiat, not a military decision.) They will fight, unless they've been shocked and awed, heh heh heh.
Sounds like a good targeting option; hit the rear first.
Hah! Fooled by a rug merchant! Christiane was born in London of an English mother and an Iranian father. Roomed with one of the Kennedys at the University of Rhode Island. First media job was at WJAR, Providence.
So SpecOps will go behind the enemy line to rub off these execution squads, or at least get them busy. Then ordinary troops won't fight hard. They would rather watch these execution squads killed by Americans than die for Saddam.
I think that Saddam could try to infect citizens of Baghdad first. Send bunch of refugees from Baghdad to advancing American military, swamping them a la Milosevic. After the initial chaos dies down, the real headache could start. Refugees developing small pox. American soldiers could get infected. There won't be enough to treat both civilians and soldiers. The picture of dying civilians will be beamed all over the world, which will be somehow blamed on America. I think that is one of the things Saddam wants to see happening.
About face!...
Fire!!
You retreat you die, but if you surrender you go forward away from the execution squads. Of course you have to hope your white flag helps you not get shot in the first few seconds.
Gee, talk about being trapped between Iraq and a hard place...
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