[richardtavor]

Hopefully not already posted, just breaking 2 minutes ago.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[richardtavor]

Deadline ends in 4 hours and 15 minutes.

[CholeraJoe]

It was posted earlier as saying that they were loaded and ready. This is the first confirmation of launch. Flight time to Baghdad 6-7 hours.

[mhking]

RED ALERT! SHIELDS UP! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!

Alert Starfleet. We are about to engage the Borg...

[michigander]

You may want to add this story over here as a confirmation report.

[Thane_Banquo]

BBC apparently televised the take-off of B52s. As someone noted earlier, B52s are not a first-wave attack aircraft.

However, the exception is if they are indeed loaded with cruise missiles. Cruise missiles are usually the first (or among the first) munitions fired at the enemy. Ingress to the Middle East is, what, 7 hours or less for B52s?

[Mike Darancette]

Flying time to Iraq is about six hours.

Probably will release Cruise Missiles over the Mediterranean Sea.

[N. Theknow]

Go BUFF's!

[Oldeconomybuyer]

This looks like official confirmation of the earlier BBC post. The liberation of Iraq has begun. USAF advance spotters are lasing targets.

Expect fireworks over Baghdad at the dinner hour as the CNN cameras in the al-Rasheed hotel go dark with the first magneto-electric bomb.

God Bless our soldiers and allies.

[cynicom]

Part of the opening salvo.

[SamAdams76]

There was a 200-reply thread on this a few hours ago that claimed to have been verified by the BBC with video. To my knowledge, that report was discredited (no offense intended to the one who posted it).

Unless this report can be verified with actual video footage, eyewitnesses or confirmed by other news sources, I'll have to remain dubious.

Nevertheless, if the B-52s were to take off tonight on a mission, this would be about the right time for them to do so (currently midnight in Baghdad). If they are just now taking off, they should be there just before sunrise - now that's what I call quite a wakeup call!

[Carolina]

Am watching BBC News live streaming and they show the B-52s still on the runway.

[shezza]

Pingy! The countdown alarm is about to go off...do you have your jugs of water stored?

[MadIvan]

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the RAF took part in Iraqi artillery emplacements.

Speculation is that the Iraqis may be readying chemical weapons shells to fire at our lads. In which case, I hope they introduced the Iraqis to Miss Cutter.

Regards, Ivan

[Paleo Conservative]

You're not the first, but who cares?

BBC Live Footage-B52's About to Take off from RAF Fairford..

Boeing's B-52 webpage.

A B-52H Stratofortress from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., releases a
Joint Direct Attack Munition during a test.

[Paleo Conservative]

Yakkety Yak Bomb Iraq

Requires Windows Media.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Tin roof!

Rusted!

[TankerKC]

Been there/done that. I was at Fairford with the KC-10s in April of '86 for El Dorado Canyon (Libya). It's on!

[MattGarrett]

I believe there was a request that NO MILITARY INFORMATION BE POSTED, Dude. What part of that did you NOT understand?

LOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS.

[Beck_isright]

And so it begins.... I guess I'll start the grill up and have the quality dead cow product and taters finished in time watch W speak. It's going to be a long night so please, let's keep the graphics to a minimum gang! FR is strong, but let's be frugal and just type the news and commentary and save the graphics for war pics. (Just my friendly suggestion).