***Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - Day 5 - LIVE THREAD***

Everywhere! | 23 Mar 2003 | An.American.Expatriate

[null and void]

Good Morning.

This is the Daily Thread of Operation Iraqi Freedom - LIVE THREAD.

It is designed for general conversation about the events of the day. In depth discussion of events should be left to individual threads - but links to the threads or other articles is highly encouraged. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information.

Please have mercy on us dial up limited FReepers! Limit the big graphics, post links instead. A breif description of what the graphic is would help:

To all who helped this get started, thank you!

Special thanks to An.American.Expatriate for staring the daily threads, Mo1 for the screamer, the AdminMods for their tolerance, mhking for the video links, and, of course, Belly Girl...

[Howlin]

Hey, good news! Still, parents in the hosptial is stressing! Take care and stay tuned.

[Tree of Liberty]

If I were Saddam, I'd be waiting until the U.S. forces were as congregated as possible in a place I could attack (excluding the Kuwaiti border) before using CW weapons. That place just happens to be where our troops are just coming to about now.

[Fledermaus]

I don't buy this arguement. Every knows he's lying about WMD. And I think he'd use them regardless if he really thought it could kill US forces.

I doubt, at this point, Saddam (who I totally believe is dead) cares about world opinion.

[ninenot]

Well, this cretin is modeling his military career on that of the DC Sniper. Perhaps the military has learned that a discharge to civilian life might not be the best solution.

[Fledermaus]

Brit said on "Special Report" that there would be a lot of the interview

[justshe]

Akbar's mother.

Helen doesn't even live on this planet anymore.

[ninenot]

Agreed that Saddam is a goner.

Agreed that world opinion does not matter.

HOWEVER, it's still useful to keep some information close to the vest. If it's a WMD manufacturing operation, there will be PLENTY of time to rub Hans Magoo's nose in it.

[prairiebreeze]

MSNBC at least has been stating that Akbar is Muslim. I don't know about others but at least they weren't covering that fact over in their reporting today.

Prairie

[nicmarlo]

I remember seeing a press conference yesterday where someone from DOD said no SCUDs have been launched against Kuwait. I don't remember who was giving the conference.

And I heard today that DOD is saying NO scuds have been used by the Iraqis to date. Period. They are calling it a missile, similar to the one they were destroying before the war, Alsamud?

[don-o]

My first post - be nice to me.

I have had the msnbc Baghdad cam on since I got home, 45 minutes ago, and it has been non stop boom-boom.

Sounds like victory.

[debg]

re Akbar. my (black) students at school were incensed by this guy. they called him a traitor to both america and to blacks.

[prairiebreeze]

Welcome! We don't bite,,,only nibble and gnash occasionally. Things are heating up for certain in Iraq.

Prairie

[overtaxed_canadian]

From Debka (not sure if this has been posted yet)

US Short of Troops for Baghdad Battle

Three days of violent sandstorms and low clouds are forecast for southern and central Iraq from Tuesday, March 25. For the Iraqis, this means a couple of days’ respite; for the American and British, a scramble to shroud their tanks and equipment in canvas and tarp sheeting to protect them from the creeping grains. Not only are the tanks out of action until the end of the week, but grounded too, as DEBKAfile’s military source report, are the heavy bombers, the fighter bombers and the helicopters which fought their first skirmishes with the Special Republic Guards Al Madina Division near al Kut on the road to Baghdad – and lost an Apache. Its two pilots were captured and shown on Iraqi television Monday night.

In the mountains of Kurdistan in the north, snow blizzards instead of sandstorms will hamper the movements of British and American special forces for the next couple of days. Since Monday, March 24, these forces have been coming down in five northern Iraqi airfields: Barmeni, Harir, Bakarjo and Ankwa and H-3 in the west, forming up for the assault to secure the oil fields of Mosul and Kirkuk. Their next mission will be to head south for the offensive against Saddam Hussein’s tribal home of Tikrit, north of Baghdad.

The Iraqis, accustomed to these extremes of climate, will use the breather for reorganization, re-supplying the units with fresh stores of ammunition, fuel and provisions and urgent repairs of combat vehicles. They will also use the time to carry out snipe at and harry American convoys, stray vehicles and small campsites.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Iraqi high command has diagnosed the weak point of the US columns driving to Baghdad as being their long supply lines, often trailing several hundred kilometers behind and easily vulnerable to guerrilla attack. The Iraqis have begun using small fighting squads, often in civilian dress, armed with hand grenades, mines and RPGs, to blow up bridges and vehicles. This was the tactic employed at Nasiriya and Basra.

Based on the first four days of combat, war commander General Tommy Franks has reached a number of conclusions and effected some revisions in his plan of operation.

1. Contrary to expectation, there are no signs of cracks in the Iraqi high command - from the chief of staff down to division, brigade and battalion officer level.

Franks had one last stab at undermining the Iraqi command Monday, March 24. At a news briefing called without prior notice, he said the Iraqi command is no longer “robust”, hoping perhaps to influence the morale of the lower ranks of Iraqi officers and troops.

2. In view of this and other emerging facts, the coalition is short of ground strength for the assault on Baghdad. Franks’ officers at Doha are saying that the Iraqi capital cannot be taken by two US armies. While there is no intention of postponing the assault on Baghdad, putting in a request to the White House for reinforcements is under consideration. The 4th Armored Division passed through the Suez Canal Monday on its way to the Gulf. To shorten its journey, the division’s troops will probably disembark at Saudi Red Sea ports and cut through east into Iraq. The 173th Airborne Brigade based in Italy, counterpart of the 82nd Airborne Division, has received orders to move out to northern Iraq.

3. All these forces, as well as Iraq’s elite divisions, are making ready to fight the main battle for Baghdad. According to our military sources, that campaign is most likely to get started on Saturday, March 29. Only then, will the two sides bring out their biggest guns and apply firepower to a degree never seen since World War II. If the battle goes against him, Saddam may well disclose the chemical and biological weaponry he has kept hidden, or even resort to some sort of nuclear device. That will also be the moment of greatest peril for Israel and Iraq’s other neighbors.

Away from the main arena, a small yet illuminating scene played out just across the Iraqi border Monday morning. Syria complained that a stray American missile had struck a bus killing five civilians and injuring ten.

According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the only true fact in this terse account was that the bus was Syrian. The missile was no stray. It was deliberately fired from an F-15 fighter-bomber at a bus carrying armed Palestinian volunteers to join up with Iraqi forces, in order to make sure this was the last such Palestinian group of volunteers for Iraq. That F-15 made a piece of history; it carried out the first American air attack on a combatant Palestinian group. More will certainly be heard of this episode.

[nicmarlo]

they called him a traitor to both america and to blacks.

good for them....very good. I agree and it actually made me sick to my stomach when I heard about it....shock first.

[RummyChick]

did you hear this about not picking up our leaflets..they have people wearing chemical suits to reinfornce the idea that we have laced with them chemicals

psy ops in full gear

[ztiworoh]

I figured some of the name change may be due to trying to discourage jokes related to Admiral Ackbar from the Star Wars movies, this guy -

[Fledermaus]

I agree with that

[section9]

Fox - Pentagon says "it could be an interesting 24 hours"

Three divisions attacking full abreast against the Guard?

Now that will be worth the candle. We are going to slaughter those ass clowns.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Tree of Liberty]

IT'S A TRAP!!!

[Fledermaus]

The Iraqis, accustomed to these extremes of climate, will use the breather for reorganization, re-supplying the units with fresh stores of ammunition, fuel and provisions and urgent repairs of combat vehicles. They will also use the time to carry out snipe at and harry American convoys, stray vehicles and small campsites.

Not if we are bombing the crap out of them. Sandstorms won't make much difference for precision bombing from F-117A's and B-52's, Tomahawks and Cruise missles.