Free Republic

AUSTRALIAN SAS soldiers could hunt down leaders of the Iraqi regime spotted in their operational areas, the Australian commander for the Iraq war has revealed. Brigadier Maurie McNarn, who is in charge of the nation's forces in the Middle East, said the primary focus of the special forces remained seeking out Iraqi missiles and weapons of mass destruction in the western region of the country. But they were also on the lookout for any regime leaders, he said. That could include Saddam Hussein, his sons and generals or officials of the ruling Baath Party. "If they come into their area...

AUSTRALIA'S SAS soldiers have come across the first signs that Iraqi troops are deserting the battlefields, while abysmal weather conditions in Iraq could actually aid their operations. Defence spokesman Mike Hannan today said SAS forces working behind enemy lines had encountered unarmed Iraqi soldiers on their way home from the war. He said the SAS soldiers had allowed the Iraqi soldiers to return to their homes. "Our special forces continue to press on with their surveillance and reconnaissance missions deep in Iraq. "Recently the SAS have encountered Iraqi soldiers who have been unarmed, and who have been returning to their...

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - They aren't getting much coverage from the international television networks, but Australia's special forces troops, heavily engaged in the war against Iraq, undoubtedly prefer it that way. The Australian defense department has lifted the lid just a little on the type of men involved in the covert, dangerous -- and by all accounts, effective -- operations deep inside Iraq. "This is not your Hollywood super-hero," Army chief Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy told a briefing in Canberra. "This is a quiet, resolute, very intense man who can make intelligent assessments, a man who can operate as part...

SPECIAL forces trained in psychological warfare will have moved into urban areas in recent days, having previously been searching northern and western deserts hunting for Iraqi weaponry which could be used to attack on Israel. It is likely that the US, British and Australian forces, which are trained in irregular warfare and the encouragement of uprisings, have played a part in the reported insurrection at Basra. Such an operation would require reliable, early intelligence as a prerequisite for going in. After initial deployment, it would involve early meetings and negotiations with local leaders opposed to Saddam Hussein’s regime. Operating in...

AMMAN, Jordan -- In a secret operation, U.S., British and Australian special operations forces have been battling Iraqi soldiers during the past week in Iraq (news - web sites)'s western desert to gain control of two strategic air bases. At least one of the air bases has been captured by coalition forces, according to military sources. The base, called H3, is 45 miles east of the Jordanian border. Both bases in the western desert could be used by helicopters that could transport troops to Baghdad for a battle there. The area around Iraq's 280-mile highway from Jordan's frontier to Baghdad...

Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalon has paid tribute to the role Australian Special Air Services (SAS) troops are playing in eliminating the risk of an Iraqi Scud missile attack on his country. Mr Shalom has phoned Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to personally express his gratitude. A statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the action of Australian Defence Forces was aimed at eliminating the risk of Scuds from western Iraq. During the last Gulf War in 1991, 39 missiles were fired at Israel leaving two people dead and hundreds injured. Since the current attack on Iraq has begun, the...

TWO hundred SAS, Delta Force and CIA paramilitaries were last night behind enemy lines in Baghdad — and about to slit the throat of Saddam’s regime. Battle commanders have ruled out a full advance into the capital to avoid bloody street-fighting and heavy civilian casualties. Instead the Special Forces teams — also including SAS squads from Australia — will become the enemy within. More: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003140559,00.html

AUSTRALIAN navy clearance divers were searching for booby traps and mines in the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq late yesterday, while SAS troopers were reported to have taken part in an attack by coalition special forces on airfields in the west of the country. Australian commander Brigadier Maurie McNarn revealed the increased RAN commitment to the war yesterday and conceded that civilian casualties from Australian attacks could not be ruled out. His comments came as British press reports suggested Australians had been among a force that raided two bases on Iraq's border with Jordan, which resulted in the...

Australian pilot gives thumbs down to US bombing order CANBERRA - An Australian FA/18 Hornet pilot has refused an American command to bomb a target in Iraq in the first conflict between the different rules governing the way the two allies make war. Although Prime Minister John Howard said the incident during the coalition's drive towards Baghdad was not evidence of tension between the two commands, the prospect of a clash of rules was clear from the start. Australia operates under a tougher set of rules of engagement than the US because Canberra has ratified more international agreements than Washington....

A TEAM of Australian special forces have taken out two of Saddam Hussein's command and control centres and killed some of his most elite soldiers, it was revealed today. The 500-strong Australian Special Forces Task Group includes commandos, specialist troops trained to deal with weapons of mass destruction, Chinook CH-47 helicopters and an SAS squadron operating deep inside Iraq. They were flown to a forward base by C130 Hercules transporters and have already fought groups from Saddam's Special Security Organisation and the Iraqi Intelligence Service. It is understood that Iraqi command and control centres for ballistic missile systems and anti-special...

Australian special forces have taken out two of Saddam Hussein's command and control centres and killed some of his most elite soldiers, they said today. The 500-strong Australian Special Forces Task Group includes commandos, specialist troops trained to deal with weapons of mass destruction, Chinook CH-47 helicopters and an SAS squadron operating deep inside Iraq. They were flown to a forward base by C130 Hercules transporters and have already fought groups from Saddam's Special Security Organisation and the Iraqi Intelligence Service. Two Iraqi command and control centres for ballistic missile systems and anti-special forces operations were destroyed. Australian F/A-18 Hornet...

Australia's elite Special Air Service (SAS) troops called in an airstrike to destroy an Iraqi platoon, Defence Minister Robert Hill said. "They came across what was interpreted as a platoon of Iraqi military with a number of vehicles," Senator Hill told ABC radio. "And that was taken out with the assistance of an air strike." The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has revealed the 150 SAS troops deployed in the Persian Gulf have killed an undisclosed number of Iraqi soldiers in several skirmishes. The ADF said on Sunday a SAS unit, usually comprising five or six men, directed an air strike...

Britain's SAS and the tanks of the Desert Rats are set to play a far more important role in the invasion of Iraq than previously believed. The war plans are a compromise between two opposing arguments within the United States military over whether the conflict should be fought with light or heavy forces. They include no role for the 1st (US) Armoured Division and the 1st Cavalry Division, which have yet to arrive in Kuwait and were expected to provide the bulk of the armour. That leaves the 116 tanks of 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, with a key...

The United States general who will command British troops in battle told thousands of soldiers gathered for a desert parade yesterday that he was thankful for their presence in the looming conflict with Iraq. Lt-Gen James Conway, the commander of 1 Marine Expeditionary Force, addressed more than 4,000 men and women from the 7th Armoured Brigade and 16 Air Assault Brigade, who assembled with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles. "About 225 years ago in my country the expression 'The British are coming' was used to scare the children," he said at Camp Coyote in northern Kuwait "I can...

Despite the contention by Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, that the Pentagon would be able to work around the absence of British troops, military officials and analysts said this would be extremely difficult - and might well be impossible if the US wanted to launch an invasion of Iraq before the end of the month. Political and logistical difficulties, particularly Turkey's decision not to allow a US task force of 62,000 troops to land, has left military planners with only one heavy US army division in the theatre, leaving the UK 1st Armoured Division as the only other...

HOW THE SAS WAS GOING TO ASSASSINATE MILOSEVIC British security agents plotted to assassinate Yugoslavia's President, Slobodan Milosevic, in the early Nineties using an SAS hit squad, the intelligence historian Stephen Dorrill claims. Mr Dorrill says that a secret MI6 file explored three options in which the Serbian leader could be killed during the Bosnian war. His book quotes claims by a former MI6 officer, who worked in the Balkans in the early Nineties, that an ambitious colleague who was responsible for developing and targeting operations in the Balkans had produced the file. "It was approximately two pages long, and...

U.S. Newswire March 10, 2003 Monday 7:26 AM SECTION: City and Business desks LENGTH: 350 words HEADLINE: Women with Guns Go Shopping; Second Amendment Sisters Invites the Public to 3rd Annual Shop 'n Shoot(sm) DATELINE: LAKEWAY, Texas, March 10 BODY: The Second Amendment Sisters (SAS) Michigan Chapter today announced the 2003 Shop 'n Shoot(sm) weekend, to be held April 26-27. Competitive shooting events will start at 9:30am on Saturday, April 26, with instructional shooting on Sunday, April 27, at the Frankenmuth Conservation Club in Frankenmuth, Mich. When attendees are not shooting, they will have the opportunity to shop either the...

Vancouver Sun February 15, 2003 Saturday Final Edition SECTION: News; Pg. J8 LENGTH: 1177 words HEADLINE: Shooting club gains popularity at historic college for women: Some alumnae from Mount Holyoke College in the U.S. find trend troubling SOURCE: Los Angeles Times BYLINE: Elizabeth Mehren DATELINE: SPRINGFIELD, Mass. BODY: SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Flush with anticipation, four students from the nation's oldest women's college peered into the display case last week at Smith & Wesson's Sports Shooting Center and considered which handgun each would select for target practice. The .22, said Christie Caywood, because it fits so nicely in her hand. April...

SECOND AMENDMENT SISTERS (SAS) 900 RR 620S, Suite C-101, PMB 228 Lakeway, TX 78734 Toll-free 877-271-6216 Email inquire@2asisters.orgS.A.S For Immediate Release January 27, 2003 (Re-released Feb 11, 2003) RENOWNED FIREARMS EXPERTS TO SPEAK IN PHILADELPHIAAyoob and Rauch offer insights into personal protection for women Philadelphia, PA-Second Amendment Sisters of Pennsylvania (SAS-PA) is proud to announce a weekend lecture series with Massad Ayoob and Walt Rauch. The weekend kicks off with a dinner on April 4th at Cannstatter Volksfest Verein in Philadelphia. The two-day lecture series runs on Saturday April 5th and Sunday April 6th at the Holmesburg Rod and Gun...

SECOND AMENDMENT SISTERS (SAS) 900 RR 620S Suite C-101, PMB 228 Lakeway, TX 78734 Toll-free 877-271-6216 Email inquire@2asisters.org Website http://www.2asisters.org For Immediate Release February 10, 2003 SAS Enabling Abused Women to Call for Help “Donate a Phone” Campaign is a ‘first step’ Lakeway, TX-SAS is pleased to announce that it is taking part in a program that will help abused women in their quest for safety and survival. In conjunction with the Wireless Foundation and Motorola, SAS will be collecting old and unused cell phones for the “Donate a Phone Call to Protect” campaign. Why would SAS join a campaign...