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The Battle For Umm Qasr Correspondent Scott Pelley (CBS) For the Marines of Fox Company, the war began with light and thunder, alongside British Royal Marines. The first casualties that night were their preconceived notions of the enemy. Sergeant Robert Coppola, from L.A., was among the first Americans who rolled through the breach and into the fire. “It was supposed to be a relatively easy target--just a lot of workers, not any resistance at all,” he says. “And then, before we came in, they told us there was a tank regiment in the area and they had a bunch of...

I watched with disgust as the daily Centcom briefing on the war for Iraq took place Wednesday morning. While there has been an obvious anti-American tenor from the press corps throughout Iraqi Freedom, the questions on Wednesday were so virulent that they are worth revisiting. First and foremost, the majority of reporters did not have questions at all. The majority of reporters wanted to do nothing more than make a statement on camera, and then ask Brigadier General Vincent Brooks to address it. One of these statements was the regurgitation of an Internet rumor that said Vice President Dick...

<p>4th Infantry Division due to arrive in Kuwait ‘within days’</p> <p>Leading elements of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division are set to begin arriving in Kuwait “within days,” when troops could swiftly pick up battle vehicles at ports and head north to join the fight, a defense official said Wednesday.</p>

Wow. 60 Minutes is showing the liberation of Umm Qasr. The people are thrilled. They are getting water. Thanking the reporters. One soldier or Marine was in near tears saying that he felt joy and that now he knows why he is there. Amazing piece for CBS. Surprising.

Senior Iraqi officials are denying coalition claims that U.S. and British forces are in control of a key port city in southern Iraq. Iraq says the battle for the southern port city of Umm Qasr is still being waged, disputing U.S. and British claims that the city is under control of coalition forces. Iraq's minister of information, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, told reporters in Baghdad that coalition forces are waging a propaganda campaign regarding Umm Qasr. "They tried to mislead the audience, the public opinion, the viewers about what is going on in Umm Qasr," he said. "They said they control...

Tigris Thrust UnlikelyMar 26, 2003 - 1925 GMT Summary U.S. Marines appear to have abandoned an attempt to launch another advance up the Tigris. British troops could continue that advance, but operational constraints suggest they more likely will be called on to support advances at An Najaf and An Nasiriyah. Before they do, they will need to secure Basra, a time-consuming battle. As such, U.S. advances toward Baghdad may need to await U.S. troops still en route for the region. Analysis After a two-day media blackout, elements of the 7th Regiment, 1st Marine Division turned up near An Nasiriyah...

Southern Fighting Still FierceMarch 26, 2003 Intense fighting continued Wednesday in southern and central Iraq, while Baghdad came under aerial attack again, causing reported civilian deaths. Addressing servicemen and women at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, President Bush hailed the service of American troops in the war against Iraq so far, as U.S. and British troops battled what the president called "the most desperate elements of a dying regime." As he has so far in the six days of war, the president promised victory. "We do not know the duration of...

<p>DOHA, Qatar — Brutal irregulars loyal to President Saddam Hussein's elder son, Uday, who ran an extensive smuggling network out of Umm Qasr, are believed to be leading the resistance that has stalled the delivery of tons of humanitarian aid to southern Iraq.</p>

The delivery of humanitarian aid to Iraq is likely to be delayed for days as Australian and other allied divers work frantically to clear mines from the port of Umm Qasr. The aid, which is desperately needed in the besieged southern city of Basra, includes a large consignment of Australian wheat waiting near Oman. Australian navy divers yesterday worked in muddy waters at depths of up to 20 metres to clear the approaches to Umm Qasr's two ports. According to defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mark "Pup" Elliott, the 25 divers are working above and below the waterline to remove mines...

Tue Mar 25, 4:37 PM ET British Royal Marines, of 42 Commando, stand guard at a check point in Umm Qasr, Iraq (news - web sites) Monday, March 24, 2003. (AP Photo/Dave Husbands, Pool)

First Major Relief Convoy Reaches Iraq By PATRICK McDOWELL .c The Associated Press UMM QASR, Iraq - The first sizable relief convoy rolled into Iraq in a sandstorm Wednesday as allied forces struggled to clear the way for more aid shipments, using dolphins to remove mines from waterways and trying to subdue Iraqi fighters in the city of Basra. Three days after President Bush promised ``massive amounts'' of humanitarian aid, seven large, battered tractor-trailers entered Umm Qasr carrying food and water donated by Kuwaitis. The convoy was escorted by U.S. soldiers. ``We planned for 30 trucks but we only got...

(Updates with crowd at water tankers) By Rosalind Russell UMM QASR, Iraq, March 25 (Reuters) - Cupping his hand to his mouth, 27-year-old Farazdag tried to explain to an American soldier that he needed water. Behind him, a crowd gathered, making the same gesture to anyone in uniform, even towards the U.S. and British military vehicles speeding by. The southern Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr, on the Kuwaiti border, is now under the control of the invading forces, but it has been left without water supplies or electricity. Residents say stocks of food are running low and the market...

Umm Qasr "safe and open" - British commander UMM QASR, Iraq, March 25 (Reuters) - The southern Iraqi port town of Umm Qasr, where U.S. and British forces have faced Iraqi resistance for days, is now "safe and open," a British commander said on Tuesday. Brigadier Jim Dutton, commander of the British Royal Marines' 3rd Commando Brigade, told reporters he hoped the first ship bringing aid to Iraq would arrive within 48 hours. 03/25/03 04:53 ET

Prisoners of War Await Uncertain Fate in Iraq Mon March 24, 2003 01:16 PM ET By David Fox UMM QASR, Iraq (Reuters) - Who wants to be an Iraqi prisoner of war? Plenty of people in southern Iraq it seems, as it is about the only way to get a square meal in this swathe of territory now controlled by U.S. and British forces. With over 3,000 prisoners of war held in an enclosure on the outskirts of Umm Qasr, civilians in the battle-scarred port town are trying to "surrender" as a means of getting food and water. "I...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/25/03 - Tikrit, Baghdad, Fayda,Al Faw,Najaf,Nasiriyah,HMAS Kinimbla,captured mines, Basra, Az Bayr, Az Zubayara, Umm Qasr BREAKING Tikrit - Mailbox for the Baath Party Baghdad - Mutisystem Organ Failure for Saddam? Tense and Post-surrender Errors in Speech Fayda, north of Mosul - new attacks on Iraq Southern Iraq - oil wells burn Southern Iraq - Iraqis freed by the USA Southern Iraq - headquarters of the 51st Iraqi Mechanized Infantry Division Al Faw -British Royal Marines bring justice to the Baath party Najaf - Weapons hot Nasiriyah - Battle at the Euphrates River...

CAIRO, Egypt, Mar 24, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Saddam Hussein's most trusted paramilitary militia, Saddam's Fedayeen, has assassinated the Iraqi leader's enemies, put down protests and ruthlessly cracked down on dissidents since its founding in 1995. Now, with U.S.-led coalition troops advancing toward Baghdad, the Fedayeen - whose name means "those ready to sacrifice themselves for Saddam" - are showing putting up stiff resistance and trying to prevent regular army soldiers from surrendering. Reports from the front suggest members of the Fedayeen may have organized battlefield ruses, like posing as civilians or faking surrender, to draw U.S. and...

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...

Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic, an independent television station financed by the Qatari Government, at 0632 GMT on 22 March begins to carry live from Baghdad a news conference by Iraqi Information Minister Muhammad Sa'id al-Sahhaf. Reception is good. Al-Sahhaf begins by speaking in English, with Al-Jazirah Television providing simultaneous translation into Arabic. He says that the Iraqi troops in the southern part of the country inflicted heavy losses on the enemy forces in Umm Qasr. He says the Iraqi positions in the area are still holding, repulsing all attacks by the enemy troops. He says that in...

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...

US fights on to secure Iraqi port of Umm Qasr UMM QASR, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. forces used planes and tanks on Sunday in a battle to dislodge Iraqi fighters from the southern port town of Umm Qasr, where at least 120 Iraqi Republican Guards were reported to be dug in. After two air strikes by British Harrier jets, each dropping one 500-pound bomb and sending columns of black smoke curling into the air, some Iraqis could be seen waving white flags and surrendering. But as night fell U.S. soldiers were still using machinegun, artillery and mortar fire in...