[Beck_isright]

Please, let us revel in the victories, but remember what awaits us. Probably 50-75,000 hardcore troops. NBC attacks. The proverbial cow cookies hit the fan in about two weeks when we get there. SO please, pray for our troops and pray for a mass surrender.

V

[leadpenny]

Pray for Shock and Awe in Bagdhad!

[SpeakLittle_ThinkMuch]

2 weeks? How about 2 days.

[Jeff Chandler]

It will be over in two weeks. We (or more likely, Mossad) have moles in the Iraqi government.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Husker24]

50 years ago we simply would have surrounded the city and starved them out, this will pose an interesting problem.

[Redcloak]

How does he make this plan work if his army has surrendered or defected?

[Dat]

Is it possible to surround the city but not attack it? Just outwait the Iraqis?

[Bobby777]

In any case, regardless of how good things go or how little resistance is met, it is never wise to underestimate an enemy's cunning, will, numbers or traps ... there will be plenty of time after all is done to review ... for now, prudence is called for ... especially with a lunatic like Saddam who has turned chemical weapons loose many times ...

Saddam and Sons may indeed be pushing up daisies ... but until there in 100% proof they are dead, I will assume they are still in power, or if dead, have enough loyal to their "cause" to potentially make things difficult ...

[Brad’s Gramma]

Prayerful bump.

[Lancey Howard]

Very good post.

You know, I don't care how easy all this looks on TV.
What I am watching on all the cable news networks is tanks and troops - - the cavalry - - moving toward Baghdad. Eventually there will be a lot of American troops there.

Saddam Hussein has had months and months to contemplate this showdown. Say what you want about Saddam, he is (was?) not an idiot. No way did he ever expect in a million years to win a war against the US. So.... what did he plan to do?

We better pray he didn't, somewhere along the line, get his hands on a nuke or two. Because he was just nuts enough to let Baghdad get surrounded by as many US troops as possible and then say "eff you" and go out with an atomic bang, taking Baghdad and lot of the US military with him.

Let's hope and pray our intelligence didn't fail.

[John Lenin]

It's time to test out those E-bombs.

[vger]

Saddam Hussein has turned Baghdad into a "hornets' nest"

President Bush is going to turn Bagdad into an FA-18 Hornets Hot Dump Zone!

[Professional]

Oh Pulleeeze!

Air defenses? Well, a good one needs radar. As soon as it gets turned on, BLAM!

Heavy weapons? Gee, our artillery shoots farther than theirs, advantage, US!

Oil trenches? Sure, if they want to ruin THEIR visibility, fine.

[MJY1288]

The problem I see with Sky News and it's speculation on hoe Saddam will defend Baghdad is this:

Once Baghdad is sorrounded and all that is left is the most loyal of the "Elite Republican Guard" trying to defend the city of Baghdad, all we have to to is let them hunker down in a defensive posture and fly a Global Hawk somewhere near the city and identify each and every position they have taken and relay that info back to CITCOM and program the JDAMS and the MOABS and every other precision weapon we can deliver with our GPS guided munitions.

What the world will witness is what I could easliy describe as "SHOCK & AWE" when hundreds of defensive positions are simutaniously struck by extremely accurate multible delivery systems

[eccl1212]

The Ba'ath party leadership will NOT rollover... even IF sadaam's head has gone missing.

They will fight, and run for cover... IN IRAN....
Or, Syria.
The NEXT potential theatre of operations...
and this time, if we need a base to land our ships and planes. we can use the ones we have set up in Iraq and Afghanistan...

and Tony can refuse to help this time, without UN resolutions, and make France happy with him again.

By the time we are done with this... will we be tired of the UN and "coalition" building and breaking?

The brits are already getting squeamish because they lost 12, relative to our 4, in a helicopter crash. I doubt they will be up for another go at it when we move on to the next target in the Axis of Evil....

Or, will they?

[Tredge]

I'm wary of the junk Hussein was spewing in the Gulf War (mother of all battles, invaders die, etc.).

There must be some cultural thing I don't understand about lying. Is anyone else getting that? Is their some facet of their culture that says "Lie until they catch you, then take a step back and tell the next lie"?

If I'm naive, then I don't know what to call Dan Rather. I watched his interview with Saddam or whoever the hell that was, and the one thing that I kept wondering was, "Does it register that he's being used?" They trumpet their honesty the loudest of any culture I've encountered, but I've yet to find a culture that lies more. Shakespeare must have had something to say about all of this.

I think of myself as cosmopolitan, but the outright lying that comes from this culture makes it impossible to take a single word from this quadrant seriously. Especially since "trust the intel, and damn the rest" has worked so well. You all must think I'm naive.

War predictions? Baghdad is the nucleus, a hard kernel in the middle of a gelatinous mass. Saddam's death doesn't stop anything. One of his sons was the official protector of the city, I forget which son. He might be dead too. Not enough info here. But I can say, when I try to predict how this war will come out, I don't watch what the Hussein regime does, I watch Rumsfeld.

[apeman81]

Gloom and Doom is good. Never want the youngsters in the unit to think it's going to be easy.

I sincerely doubt their will be a concentrated defense. But plan for the worst.

AAA is ineffective against cruise missiles. Targets can be IDd and defeated form UAVs. The idea of a siege is an anachronism. Unless, of course, you’re Janet Reno and you’re
dealing with Americans with children in their home.

All kidding aside, an effective way to draw friendly forces into a classic, street to street siege would be Iraqi forces to imbed themselves in Baghdad and begin a horrific campaign against the citizens of Iraq. In this case, it would not go over well to circle the city and pick them off slowly from the air, while they slaughter the people we are there to liberate.

[Porterville]

Uhm, the Republican Guard and high level Iraqi type are rummored to be negotiating surrender...I believe it. Stalingrad was under attack from empire, Baghdad is under attack for liberty. Who is going to fight??? Who would fight not to be free??? Stalingrad, hardly, just a bunch of gangsta's with rpg's who can surrender or die.

[babygene]

Those new e-bombs will render all of their intresting weapons useless...

[dixiechick2000]

Self serving bump!