March 29, 2003

1,500 Iraq troops die

Allied commanders believe 1,500 Iraqis who went into battle against US troops in Najaf on Thursday night ALL perished.
And they reckon several thousand have been killed in five days and nights of carnage around the town and Nasiriyah 100 miles to the south.
So far just three Americans have died while four were still missing last night.[Actually, they found the bodies of these men,too, last night.--J.T.]
[...]
Yesterday details emerged of bloody battles for control of Highway Eight — the vital supply route to Baghdad dubbed “Ambush Alley”.
[...]
At Nasiriyah hospital, Iraqis posed as doctors by wearing white coats then opened fire.

But the attackers were wiped out by Allied firepower. Britain’s forces’ commander General Sir Mike Jackson admitted: “They are dying in quite large numbers.”

So, in addition to turning the rest of this hospital into Terrorist Central, the Islamist killers inside also pretended to be doctors?
Unreal.
What struck me about this story was the headline, though.
I haven't seen the battle of Nasiriyah reported in quite this way and it bothers me why not (probably should bother you,too.)
Yes, it sounds rather callous and cold to report large numbers of Iraqi war dead as a "victory" or to report it at all, but then that's what war is like.
Must Americans continually go to UK's The Sun to get honest reporting about the war and to read that Coalition forces are kicking some serious butt?

A crisp salute to Steven Den Beste for the link.

Central Command Says No Battlefield Pause

U.S. Central Command said on Saturday there would be no "pause" in military operations to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Earlier, U.S. military sources in central Iraq said troops had been ordered to pause in their northward push on Baghdad.

Reuters says that it was "U.S. military sources," but no-one reported it but them with an overnight story about this supposed 4-6 day "pause" and they were maintaining that it was because of our "supply-line problems," "adjusting to our new fiercer enemy," "waiting for reinforcements," etc., etc.--all casting aspersion on the capability of our troops and our commanders.
You know Reuters.
I think someone at CentCom (or the Pentagon) was messing with them or trying to find out if they were leaking.
I'm no Clausewitz, but I had no problem with our troops taking a pause:
after all, time is on our side and not Saddam's so we can afford to wait.
But this spinning of strategy in the Media is killing me.
The only thing that I hope can come out of this misreporting by Reuters is that they have even more egg on their face.
Next to the BBC (a/k/a the Baghdad Broadcasting System), Reuters bites and we can only hope that they're still losing money.

Homicide Bomber Kills Five U.S. Troops

Five American soldiers were killed Saturday when a homicide bomber in a taxi detonated explosives outside the Iraqi city of Najaf, a U.S. military officer said.

Capt. Andrew Wallace told Associated Press Television News that a taxi had stopped close to the checkpoint, and as five soldiers approached the car it exploded.

Wallace said the victims were part of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Divison. The attack occurred at a U.S.-manned checkpoint on Highway 9, north of Najaf.

Well, maybe we should have seen this coming, but I was still shocked.
Those murdering Islamist bastards.
It seems that the mosques all over the Middle East yesterday were boiling over with sermons exhorting the faithful to wage jihad and to gain martyrdom precisely being suicide bombers.
And such jihadi messages to kill the infidels has been on Al-Jazeera 24/7 both on TV and at their website, according to terrorism expert Walid Phares.
[Isn't it time that we pulled the plug on Al-Jazeera? And to those freedom-fighter hackers, please keep hacking their site, but do the Arabic one,too.]
Phares thinks that today's attack was the work of Hezbollah. Which is possible.
Fellow terrorism expert Steve Emerson favors Ansar al-Islam for the mayhem.(Also possible.)
Or that it could be payback for Coalition forces dropping a bomb on Fedayeen HQ in Basra yesterday, killing 200 of those thugs. (Good work!)
I don't care who did it, myself.
These IslamoNazis are all basically the same and they will kill us just as dead.
Take care, troops, please and don't take any more chances by trying to be so "nice" to the Iraqi "civilians."
There'll be plenty of time to show the good Iraqis that we're their friends after victory.
And if you need help on dealing with these killers, please avail yourselves of the help of the IDF!
Sadly, they know all that there is to know about Islamist terrorists and suicide bombers and how to stop them.

March 28, 2003

"Over in a flash"

Andrew Sullivan throws down the gauntlet today and asks his readers to find anyone in the Bush Administration or the military (meaning Rumsfeld, Myers, Franks, etc.) who said that the Iraqi war of liberation would be "over in a flash," as Bill Clinton has many more times than once.
Andrew asks this because he knows only too well that no Bush Administration official ever went on the record as saying that this would be a quick, 7-day-wonder war.
The first time I heard Clinton say that it would take "a week, tops" to take Iraq was on David Letterman's show on the night of Sept. 11, 2002.
(You remember that night, don't you? We had just marked the first year of mourning those over 3,000 souls who lost their lives on 9/11/01.)
Isn't it strange how the all the self-styled pundits in the Liberal Media picked up on Bubba's remark(s), embraced it as truth and "carved it in stone", as it were?
All the editorial bitching and moaning of the last day or so about the duration of the war is down to Slick Willy and his DNC talking points and nothing else.
Stay on your toes, America!
If you watch or read this media, you must mind your mental step 24/7 to avoid such lies, myths, fantasies, cant and propaganda that is as baseless, untrue and obfuscating as Clinton's "1-week war".
And Clintigula, "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

 

U.S. Military Opens Huge Airfield, Logistics Hub

With the arrival of a C-130 transport plane, Iraq's second-largest airfield Thursday took on a crucial role in U.S. war strategy: a way to sidestep Iraqi attacks on supply lines and get the troops what they need.

Tallil airfield -- mothballed since the 1991 Gulf War -- was captured Saturday by U.S. soldiers and is now an important forward base on the way to Baghdad. Supplies and men can be delivered here without having to travel by ground from Kuwait and risk bloody encounters with Iraqi forces still roiling the south.

A hastily posted sign declared the airfield as "Bush International Airport." The immediate goal was to speed all the stuff of war -- fuel, ammunition, water, food, reinforcements -- to the front, shortening supply lines that had extended as much as 200 miles into Iraq.

Another Coalition accomplishment in a very busy and successful week at war.
This is very good news!

Iran Intercepts Iraqi Speedboat Loaded With Explosives

Iranian gunboats intercepted an Iraqi speedboat filled with explosives in Iranian waters, U.S. Navy officials confirmed to Fox News Thursday, adding that they continue to be extremely vigilant for further Iraqi coastal activity.

Navy officials confirm the incident and say several similar boats also feared to be carrying explosives escaped back up the Shaat al Arab waterway, which marks the border between the two countries.

The Navy has been worried about this "fast boat" threat, which could threaten coalition vessels or commercial shipping. Keeping the waterway open for humanitarian aid and to move ships through and give them safe harbor are crucial on the agenda of naval coalition force.
[...]
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Wednesday night that coalition naval forces were on high alert against suicide attacks after the speedboats, packed with half a ton of high explosives, were intercepted. The explosives were discovered after one of the Iraqi boats was run aground during the confrontation.

The Herald reported that three other Iraqi speedboats, feared to be carrying the same amounts of explosive, escaped when Iranian forces engaged Iraqis at the mouth of the waterway.
[...]
Since the suicide boat attack against the USS Cole in October 2000, which killed 17 American sailors, and the ramming of the French oil tanker, the Linburg in 2002, warships in the area from Britian, America and Australia have been on high alert for Al Qaeda strikes.

However, the intervention of the Iraqi speedboat is the first tangible evidence that attacks are being plotted in the region.

This is an amazing story, which is getting *zero* coverage, outside of the Fox Network.
Why Iran should render us this service perplexes me a bit, but I'm very grateful they did and I'm sure the Coalition's naval forces are, too.
Iran, thank you!

Hackers Replace Al-Jazeera Web Site With American Flag

Hackers wreaked electronic havoc Thursday on Internet sites operated by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera, diverting Web surfers to pornography and to a page with a U.S. flag and the message "Let Freedom Ring."
[...]
Hackers calling themselves the "Freedom Cyber Force Militia" initially redirected Internet traffic destined for Al-Jazeera's Web site in English to a different Web page on computers operated by Networld Connections Inc., an Internet provider in Salt Lake City.
[...]
The Arab network's Web sites have been suffering disruptions for days, ever since showing pictures of dead and captive U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Al-Jazeera, based in Qatar, is an unusually independent voice Saudi-funded echo chamber in the Arab world.

I love it!
Cheers for the Freedom Cyber Force Militia!

This was the scene in New York yesterday:
Hundreds of NYC Peace Activists Arrested

NEW YORK (AP) -- About 215 protesters were arrested Thursday after they lay down on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, blocking traffic in the latest of a series of demonstrations against the war.

The "die-in" temporarily closed the avenue between 49th and 50th streets, near St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Saks Fifth Avenue store and across the street from Rockefeller Center. Most of those arrested face charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, police said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Wednesday that anti-war protests were costing millions of dollars in overtime and drawing police resources away from crime-fighting and anti-terrorism operations.

The demonstration's organizers alleged late Thursday that officers had injured some protesters during the arrests, and had inappropriately asked others about possible links to domestic terrorism.

Then, in our nation's capital there was this:

Anti-War Protesters Arrested Outside White House

[Among those taken to the clink was none other than that sneaky little sh*t Daniel Ellsberg. Nice one, DC police!]
Up in Vermont, it got even uglier:
Protesters Throw Stones at National Guardsman
Oh, yes....these people have been getting more violent and confrontational with each protest, particularly with the police.
[Remember them? For most of us, they've always been "good guys," but after so many of NY's "Finest" were among the victims of 9/11, almost everyone, including scofflaws, proclaimed them "heroes."
Well, the protesters seem to have returned to the "The cops are pigs." mentality.]
Their "protests" have resulted in more arrests and millions of dollars for city services including extra police coverage and that of sanitation workers (these people are beyond litterbugs!).
Exercising one's First Amendment Rights is one thing, but causing real harm, by blocking public roads, damaging public and private property and assaulting other people on public sidewalks is not part of "speaking out."
Practice "civil disobedience" at your peril.
I can only hope that the police will continue to arrest the lawbreakers and that our judges will start levying hefty fines and/or imposing jail time on the malefactors, also.

Jed Babbin, a professional blogger for NRO, is none the less OUTSTANDING in his war coverage.
Bookmark this link: Jed Babbin on National Review Online
Then, check out this Thursday post he entitled "Fair Kill Chains:"

The worst news yesterday was that Iraqi TV was back on the air. The HPM (high-powered microwave) weapon--which some insist on calling the "E-bomb"--apparently knocked out only the international channel, leaving the in-country transmitter on the air. Amnesty International said that could be a breach of the Geneva Conventions. Baloney. It's a part of Saddam's command and control and propaganda mechanisms. It's a fair target, and should be hit again and again.

Which is what we're not doing to Iraqi's defense headquarters. It's still standing, but probably has had its abilities reduced. We must be leaving it standing because we're talking to some of the thugs inside. Psyops and negotiations. They must know that their time is running out. Their own people are scared to leave the building.

They don't want to go out, because they--and the Saddam Fedayeen--are being outfought inside Baghdad. A small--how small I didn't even ask--bunch of special-ops guys are doing their job exceedingly well. Which is to say that for their small number, they are having a disproportionate effect on the enemy. That's a polite term to describe the work of the scout-sniper. Reconnaissance is always the prime mission, and locating targets for immediate and later strikes is very important. But if we can kill a few Fedayeen every time they stick their noses above ground, pretty soon they won't want to. A suppressed sniper's rifle can drill you from several hundred yards away or across the street, and the guys near you won't know where it came from. SGO, to the tenth power.

Yesterday, I promised an explanation of the "kill chain" and got diverted. Before that happens again, the "kill chain" is English for what the Air Force calls "F2T2EA". Find a target, Fix its position, Track it, Target it, Engage it, and Assess the result. This is the reconnaissance and command -process to find and destroy targets. In Afghanistan, we thought it was taking too long. The Air Force and the Navy are shortening the "kill chain" by automating it. Now, once a target is seen by a pilot, much of the data on it can be gathered and processed through to the air controllers to speed the decision on whether and how to attack. On-board some modified aircraft is a system called "Link-16" which takes over the data tasks. It's taking minutes out of the process, which often is the difference between a hit, and an escape. We will see fewer escapes in Iraq than we did in Afghanistan. And you can thank Link-16.

Got all that, cadets?!?
Whew, Jed! You told us a lot!
I think I'm just about ready to jump into the cockpit of an F-18 right now, because that Iraqi TV station's gotta go and I feel the need for speed!
(AF guys, I know you're out there... We love you! So could you also please bomb and destroy those giant arms holding scimitar swords on that parade ground in Baghdad?
I hate those. And liberated Iraqis are surely not gonna want those around in their bright new country.)

Given the current lop-sided-Left anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-American slant on the war from all the TV news (except FoxNews, of course), except when they can't shut up their patriotic embedded reporters and ditto that for the Liberal-leaning print media that are trash-talking the American war effort in the WaPo, NYTimes, and LATimes, Babbin's daily take on the war, along with Steven Den Beste's, David Warren's, and the NYPost'sRalph Peters are among the very few but very best these days that can be relied upon for truthful, accurate and insightful coverage of the Liberation of Iraq.

All you'll get from the Liberal Media now is "Iraq is Vietnam," "Iraq is Mogadishu," "The U.S. is doomed."
Just to give one example, while all of us have heard from the Leftist Media that noble and proud Iraqi paramilitary have been giving our fine soldiers a "fierce battle," Jed actually states uncategorically that these Iraqi thugs are being consistently outfought by our Coalition guys.
What a difference a Lib Left slant makes.
I submit that Mr. Babbin (and I and other Right Wing warbloggers) are Soldiers in the Political Propaganda War, which is becoming a bigger part of the War on Islamist Terror all the time, almost as big and more nasty, in its way, than man-to-man combat against Baathist criminals dressed up like women.

Al-Qaeda fighting with Iraqis, British claim

Near Basra, Iraq: British military interrogators claim captured Iraqi soldiers have told them that al-Qaeda terrorists are fighting on the side of Saddam Hussein's forces against allied troops near Basra.

At least a dozen members of Osama bin Laden's network are in the town of Az Zubayr where they are coordinating grenade and gun attacks on coalition positions, according to the Iraqi prisoners of war.

It was believed that last night (Thursday) British forces were preparing a military strike on the base where the al-Qaeda unit was understood to be holed up.
[...]
If terrorists are found, it would be the first proof of a direct link between Saddam's regime and Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.

The connection would give credibility to the argument that Tony Blair used to justify war against Saddam - a "nightmare scenario" in which he might eventually pass weapons of mass destruction to terrorists.

On Wednesday Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said the coalition had solid evidence that senior al-Qaeda operatives have visited Baghdad in the past.

Rumsfeld said Saddam had an "evolving" relationship with the terror network.

The presence of fanatical al-Qaeda terrorists would go some way to explaining the continued resistance to US and British forces in southern Iraq, an area dominated by Shi'ite Muslims traditionally hostile to Saddam's regime.

I predict that there will be more evidence of Al Queda before we're through here, perhaps even something as strange as the appearance of Osama in the bunker with Saddam.
In the meantime, God bless and Happy Hunting to the Desert Rats of the U.K. on that raid!

March 27, 2003

ANTIWAR OBSCENITIES
Major kudos go out to John Podhoretz of the N.Y. Post for being the first person to say in public that the proper place of crabby retiree reporter Helen Thomas is not in the front row of White House press conferences but in one of a row of rooms in an "old-age home."
Tee-hee-hee.
He also takes a few swipes at another Leftist witch that I loathe--the evil and vicious Katrina vanden Heuvel, Conservative hater and darling of the Liberal Media.
John, you go, boy.

From the Official Website for Tiger Woods

"I have great respect for the men and women fighting overseas to protect our way of life in Iraq and other parts of the world. As the son of an Army officer, I understand the strength, courage and discipline required to successfully carry out their missions in hostile environments and feel tremendous pride they are representing us.

Obviously, no one likes war. Our Congress and President tried hard to avoid the use of force, but ultimately decided it was the best course of action. I like the assertiveness shown by President Bush and think we owe it to our political and military leaders, along with our brave soldiers to be as supportive as possible during these difficult and trying times. I just wanted to take this opportunity to let our forces know that I am thinking about you and wishing you and your families the best."

A great American salutes other great fellow Americans...
How marvelous to see a celebrity who does love his country, supports its "policies" and backs his President.
Thank you, Tiger, and I hope you keep winning those trophies and Masters jackets.
You're a class act.

Found thanks to KLo at NRO's The Corner.

POWELL TO U.N.: BUTT OUT

Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday vowed that America won’t turn over control of Iraq to the United Nations - and a French veto - after Saddam Hussein is ousted.

"We didn’t take on this huge burden with our coalition partners not to be able to have a significant dominating control over how it unfolds in the future," Powell told a House subcommittee.

"We would not support . . . essentially handing everything over the U.N. for someone designated by the U.N. to suddenly become in charge of the whole operation," Powell added.

Powell’s tough talk signaled that the Bush administration is ready to take a hard line with the United Nations after it failed to get tough with Saddam or enforce 17 resolutions demanding he disarm.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who last night began a quickie summit with President Bush at Camp David, also signaled that he doesn’t foresee any quick turnover of Iraq to any kind of U.N. administration. [Keep your fingers crossed and pray that Tony doesn't go wobbly now!--Jen]

France has been angling for U.N. control of Iraq’s reconstruction giving the French a veto through the Security Council and thus a greater chance to line up contracts for French companies and reduce America’s influence.

Bush had vowed to give the world body a chance to find "its legs" in rebuilding Iraq but he’s also said the United Nations failed to live up to its responsibilities in confronting Saddam, meaning it’s more or less on probation now.

Let's also hope it's MORE, not less, President Bush!
And SoS Powell, you're looking like a winner again.
If we're the ones giving up "blood and treasure" to liberate Iraq, why shouldn't the US-led Coalition run it after the shooting stops?
Besides, President Bush's aim is for Iraq to have a democratic, free government and I don't know what kind of government those Frenchies have, but you can just imagine the mess the French/Russian/German/ChiComs would put together on behalf of the "U.N."...the world's first (and last) Democratic Communist Republic Soviet/Ex-Soviet Federation?
Reconstruction plans must also include putting an end to the UN Oil-for-food program for Iraq and letting the US/UK control those monies;
after all, as the WSJ pointed out yesterday, why keep the O.F.F. program running when it was instituted solely to restrain the agressive excesses of Saddam Hussein, who's about to be "regime changed" any moment?

We simply must get the UN out of the US and get the US out of the UN!
In that the U.S.A. pays over $500 million in U.N. dues (and then there's that $3 billion new building they want...), wouldn't all we taxpayers be glad not to have to fund this anymore?
Oh, yeah.

US 'will lose war against Iraq'

The US does not have the military means to take over Baghdad and will lose the war against Iraq, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter said.

"The US is going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs, defeated. It is a war we cannot win," he told private radio TSF in an interview broadcast here.

"We do not have the military means to take over Baghdad and for this reason I believe the defeat of the US in this war is inevitable," he said.
"Every time we confront Iraqi troops we may win some tactical battles, as we did for 10 years in Vietnam but we will not be able to win this war, which in my opinion is already lost," Ritter added.

Some military analysts have said there are not enough allied troops in Iraq to take control of Baghdad,* but British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament yesterday the US and Britain believe they have "sufficient forces" in Iraq and London was not planning to send reinforcements at this stage.

Ritter resigned in August 1998 after accusing both Washington and the UN of not doing enough to support the weapons inspectors.

When it comes to Useful Idiots, they don't come any more usual or idiotic than Scott Ritter!
Having served in the US Armed Forces himself, he knows what lies he's uttering, but his betrayal of his country is so complete, he plainly doesn't care (or he's being very well paid to do this by Saddam).
The man should be shot for Treason--that is, if he's not shot first by an irate parent of an underage girl whom Scott has tried to lure into having sex games with him.
* Not "some military analysts," but a military analyst: to wit, Barry McCaffrey.
Here's one version of Barry's war theory at Arab News, but you can find it in all of the Left-leaning and Arab papers, including the World Socialist, although Barry's musings were first printed in Reuters.
('nough said?)
Barry has no problem taking on Operation Enduring Freedom's top general Tommy Franks as well as Donald Rumsfeld by warning them that he thinks our Iraq fighting force is too small, that we will incur 3,000 casualties for this reason in the Battle of Baghdad, yada, yada, yada.
Need we point out that McCaffrey is being paid to comment as a Military Analyst on MSNBC, whose Left-wing, anti-America, anti-Bush bias is never absent for 5 minutes at a time?
(Nor would they have hired Barry if he didn't pretty much share their views.)
And while McCaffrey is clearly very bright and has received the same fine officer training, as well as garnered the years of experience as Franks, Head of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Richard Myers, and Rumsfeld, he allowed himself to be underutilized by the Clinton Administration, in which he was made "general" of the War on (some) Drugs, which, for a career military man who went to West Point, is hardly the same as heading up a "real war."
Even in that position, McCaffrey was forced to hide his light under a bushel:
In 1998, he completed a federal study of the effects of the marijuana and when he found that pot "officially" had negligible effects, wasn't addictive or a "gateway drug," the Clinton Administration made Barry bury it.
So, I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that McCaffrey is just plain jealous. And bitter.
It's really too bad his career didn't end more gloriously.
So, should we believe Barry and his war theory or Scotty and his "America will lose" scenario?
Not a bit of it.

Al Gore speaks out about war coverage

Former Vice President Al Gore is blasting the media for what he calls an unwillingness to question the war.
His comments were made Tuesday night in a speech to more than 200 Middle Tennessee State Tennessee students. The topic was on the impact of the entertainment media on American communities, but when the subject of the news media and war coverage came up, Gore un-loaded.

He says the networks have all but ignored members of congress opposed to the war, "I think we face, diplomatic, economic, political, and strategic dangers now partly because of the relative intolerance of dissent on the part of the media."

[Listen up, Owlie Bore, the Liberal Media paid so much attention to anti-war politicos, including members of Congress, that ABCNNBCBS just about gave every single one of them their own show! And even now that hostilities have begun, they're still trash talking the war, the President and a triumphant America at almost every turn.--Jen]

Channel Four tried to interview Gore before and after the event for a more detailed explanation of his views. He declined our requests.

No prayers and thoughts for the troops (whom he sought to command). No support for the current Commander in Chief (a position which he tried so desperately to hold...). Bupkus. If you've ever sat up nights and wondered what it would be like if the Boy-who-was-made-out-of-Wood was President and where'd we be today, I think the Gorebot just told us. I say this at least once daily but I'll say it again: Thank God President Bush is President!

March 26, 2003

FoxNews caption:A U.S. Army soldier carries an injured Iraq child from a battle scene near Basra.





FoxNews caption:U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Marcco Ware carries an injured Iraqi soldier Tuesday morning, March 25, 2003 in central Iraq.

America, if you're not proud of our men and women in uniform, you're just not paying attention!
Not only are our Coalition forces fighting a vicious, nasty enemy but they're taking the time to be compassionate and kind to the Iraqi citizens, not only the innocent children, but even their conquered enemy combatants and prisoners.
(We've seen how Saddam's people treat our prisoners, but never mind that right now, just think about how Good really does triumph over Evil, one person at a time.)
Notice also, how so many of those fighting for Saddam seem to be without shoes and in rags. So sad. These people really needed liberating from misery and terror and not a moment too soon.

Marines discover Iraqi 9/11 mural

U.S. Marines searching Iraqi military headquarters in this southern city that was the site of intensive fighting came across a mural depicting a plane crashing into a building complex resembling New York's twin towers, a news agency photograph showed Wednesday.

The plane's logo and coloring resembled that of Iraqi Airlines, said Getty Images News Service executive Brian Felber, based in New York.

The photograph, showing two rifle-toting Marines in front of the mural, was shot by staff photographer Joe Raedle, who is accompanying the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from Task Force Tarawa.

But this is not to say that Saddam and his regime are in any way connected with 9/11 or its Al Queda perpetrators, of course.
Maybe we should just call them "admirers" of the 9/11 attacks and the 19 Islamist hijackers?

U.S. Denies Targeting Baghdad Neighborhood

U.S. military officials on Wednesday denied targeting a residential section of Baghdad where Iraqis say an American missile killed 14 people.
[...]
Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said U.S. forces did not specifically aim at the northern Baghdad community of Al-Shaab, "nor were any bombs and missiles fired" there. American-led forces did target Iraqi missiles and launchers very close to homes in another neighborhood nowhere near Al-Shaab, but could not say whether the weapons used might have gone astray, officials said.

"We do know for a fact that something landed in the Shaab district," McChrystal said. "But we do not know if it was U.S. or Iraqi. We do know that we did not target anything in the vicinity of the (Al-Shaab) district."

Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said Iraq had placed missile launchers as close as 300 feet from residents' homes and that was "a sign of the brutality of this regime and how little they care about civilians."

Clarke said that U.S. war strategists had gone to great lengths to craft precision strikes on military targets in order to keep casualties low. "Any casualty that occurs, any death that occurs, is a direct result of Saddam Hussein's policies," she said.

I'm willing to bet, along with many of the military officials, that these civilian casualties today, as well as most of the civilian casualties claimed by the Iraqis in the last week, were caused by Iraqi AAA (Anti-Aircraft) or "friendly" fire.
In fact, I wouldn't put it past Saddam and his lackeys to have fired AA-fire on this market to create civilian casualties for just the kind of media stunt they're pulling here.
Thank God for FoxNews, who are reporting this story properly, whereas the rest of the Liberal Media are reporting the Iraqi version ("caused by U.S. missiles") as if it were the gospel truth.

Al-Jazeera Calls on U.S. to Ensure Free Press

Banned on Wall Street and wiped off the Internet, Arab news channel al-Jazeera defended its controversial coverage of the Iraq war on Wednesday and demanded the United States come to its aid in the name of a free press.

Al-Jazeera, which angered the United States by showing footage of dead and captured American soldiers, said it was deeply concerned after two of its reporters were banned from the New York Stock Exchange and its Web sites were hacked.

On Wednesday, it also showed pictures of what it said were two dead British soldiers and two British prisoners of war.

I would say "You first, Al-Jazeera," but we already have a free press here and *some* media which actually reports the news based on facts.
To those hackers who shut down the just-launched English website of Al-Jazeera I have to admire by telling you "Good work and Thank you!"
(I heard that the reason given by the NYSE when they threw out the Al-Jazeera boys was "We just don't like you." Woo-Hoo!)
Sadly, the UK got a taste today of the agony we were put through over the weekend when Al-Jizm began showing footage of the desecration of the dead bodies of 2 British soldiers (R.I.P. men. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.) and the misery of 2 British soldiers that have been taken as POWs.
Of course, we have only the Iraqis "word" for it that these dead soldiers (both Brits and Americans) were killed in battle and not executed in cold blood by Saddam's henchmen.
In fact, there's every reason to believe that they were not only executed in cold blood, but even in public:

Fear G.I.s killed in public: report

Some of the dead U.S. soldiers paraded Sunday on Iraqi TV had likely been executed in front of townspeople after being captured, it was reported today.
[...]
The New York Times, citing unnamed military officials, said a communications intercept indicated some of the seven dead soldiers may have been executed.

The tape, recorded by Iraqi TV and aired on the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, showed at least four dead soldiers, some who appeared to have been shot in the forehead.

"When the full story comes out, people will be outraged," a senior military official told the paper.

Actually, we're already outraged!
If the response of the British soldiers in country and the British public at home to this heinous TV footage of their dead and their "lads" taken prisoner is anything like the American one, it will only enrage them and stiffen their resolve even more.
And I believe I heard a report even before this Al-Jazeera "exclusive" being released today that the British soldiers in Iraq were getting fed up with being so restrained in their fighting.
As for Al-Jazeera and their whining about being treated "fairly," so that they can be a megaphone for Saddam, all I can say is, "Bite me!"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
BTW, one of the best bombing hits of the War was last night when our guys lowered the boom and dropped a big JDAM on Iraqi TV!
Excellent work, fly boys!
Now if only Coalition forces would bomb that hideous low, squat cement nightmare of a building that sits in front of the Live TV feed in Baghdad: hideous and definitely begging for a bomb, plus our view would be ideal!

Nine in 10 Iraqis welcome US invasion

I AM half Iraqi and residing in Singapore, and I would like to inform all your readers that nine in 10 Iraqis welcome the American invasion of Iraq. The 1/10 are linked to Saddam Hussein's regime.

The invasion should be seen through the eyes of the Iraqi people. Whether there is war or no war, Iraqis are dying.

The author, Laith Muhmood Al Adely, then gives a synopsis of "Saddam's murderous 24 years in power," concluding with the period 1990-2003 thusly:

Iraq, which has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, has been subjected to a humiliating 12 years of United Nations-imposed sanctions.

This reduced a once rich and proud nation to misery and poverty. So, where does it all end?

I quote my father: 'We Iraqis need an electric shock; we, an intelligent and cultured people, allowed a thug to rise to power and lead Iraq from one disaster to another. If the electric shock comes in the form of an American invasion, then so be it.'

To all those who are anti-war, I suggest that they go to Iraq and experience life in Saddam's Iraq.

They will soon change their view and understand why Iraqis await the day when they are rescued from the evil regime.

Day by day, bit by bit, the evidence grows that this is a just war and a necessary war, not just to protect and defend U.S. Security at home and the security of our friends and allies, but to bring meaningful, necessary and beneficent regime change for the people of Iraq.

BBC's own man blasts
his bosses over 'bias' (Scroll down for story)

THE BBC was last night sensationally condemned for “one-sided” war coverage — by its own front line defence correspondent.

Paul Adams attacks the Beeb for misreporting the Allied advance in a blistering memo leaked to The Sun.

And he warned the BBC’s credibility is at risk for suggesting British troops are paying a “high price for small victories”.

On Monday, he wrote from US Central Command in Qatar: “I was gobsmacked [This is Brit speak for "shocked."--Jen] to hear, in a set of headlines today, that the coalition was suffering ‘significant casualties’.

“This is simply NOT TRUE. Nor is it true to say — as the same intro stated — that coalition forces are fighting ‘guerrillas’.

“It may be guerrilla warfare, but they are not guerrillas.”

Adams’ memo was fired off to TV news head Roger Mosey, Radio news boss Stephen Mitchell and other Beeb chiefs.

It adds stunning weight to allegations that BBC coverage on all its networks is biased against the war.

In one blast, he storms: “Who dreamed up the line that the coalition are achieving ‘small victories at a very high price?’

“The truth is exactly the opposite.

“The gains are huge and the costs still relatively low. This is real warfare, however one-sided, and losses are to be expected.”

The BBC has come under attack for describing the loss of two soldiers as the “worst possible news for the armed forces”.

One listener asked: “How would the BBC have reported the Battle of the Somme in World War I when 25,000 men died on the first day?”

I've seen and heard about many instances in the past week of warfare that the BBC's coverage is so biased as to be virtually intolerable to listen to.
If only something could be done today when it could make a difference.
Would God that they could issue a "confession," an apology and a vow from now on to cover the War truthfully and with the goal that the UK and the US might hopefully win this war and that that *might* be a good thing.
I can hope, can't I?
The BBC is the Number #1 source of news for most of the world's people (outside of the US) and they could make a real difference for Good and not Ill (dare I say "Evil?")
In the meantime, I hope that the British public will continue to complain loudly by telephone calls, email, snail mail, boycotting advertisers, whatever they can think of to let their displeasure with BBC bias be known.
The BBC is owned by the British government, for which the British public pay taxes, and for its TV network to issue "news" slanted to work against the cause of Britain is not only shocking but unconscionable.

March 25, 2003

First girl lost in the war

A PRETTY 19-year-old country girl who joined the US Army to escape unemployment was feared to be the first woman soldier to die yesterday.

Blonde Jessica Lynch was among 12 soldiers in a US supply convoy ambushed by Iraqi troops.

Her parents were left weeping like others in America and Britain as more Coalition victims of the war were identified.

Supply clerk Jessica was feared dead after five survivors from the ambush were paraded before Iraqi TV cameras in sickening footage beamed around the world on Sunday.
Also shown were the bodies of the other seven members of the 507th Maintenance Co convoy, but Jessica’s parents could not identify her among them.
Her father Greg Lynch said: “The only thing they can tell us is she’s missing.

Where is Jessica? (Probably someplace awful being tortured sexually for her blonde prettiness.)
Let's start putting the pressure on those damned Iraqis to tell us where she is!

HELP! I CAN'T STOP WATCHING THE WAR
This describes me for the last week so well, it's sad!
And it's also the reason why I haven't been blogging as much as I should.
Forgive me.
And is anyone forming a chapter of Warbloggers/WarWatchers Anonymous after the War is over?

Third 'Buffalo Six' Member Pleads Guilty

A day after a co-defendant pleaded guilty to supporting Al Qaeda, another member of the "Lackawanna Six" reached a deal with the government Tuesday in which he also admitted attending a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Yahya Goba, 26, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a charge of providing material resources to a foreign terrorist organization by training at the camp in the spring of 2001.

Like Shafal Mosed on Monday, Goba admitted to training to use assault rifles and other weapons at the al-Farooq camp affiliated with Usama bin Laden. He said he and the others heard bin Laden speak about "men willing to becoming martyrs for the cause."

With Goba's guilty plea, half of six men from the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna arrested in September 2002 have reached deals to avoid trial, and others are likely to follow.

Remember how these terrorist scum maintained that they had gone to Afghanistan for "religious training?" Guess not.
And do you recall how their Muslim friends and neighbors all said they were "innocent" and "nice guys?" Guess not again.
Good work, FBI!
They're singing like canaries.

Report: Shiites Uprising Against Saddam

The Shiite majority in Basra has started a popular uprising against Saddam Hussein's forces, Sky News reported Tuesday.

Iraqi forces are reportedly firing at the Shiite protesters, who have the support of British troops in the area. British forces have captured the top Baath party official, a U.K. spokesman said.

In an about-face, British forces said Tuesday they have decided to move against militia fighters who have prevented them from securing the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
[...]
In a separate attack on militiamen loyal to Saddam, members of Britain's 7th Armored Brigade captured a member of the Baath Party in nearby Az Zubayr on Monday night, the spokesman said. The goal of the operation was to "separate the party members from the military," the spokesman said.

Also in Az Zubayr late Monday, a soldier with another British unit was killed. It was the second combat death for Britain.

RIP for this British soldier.
This news of the uprising is very welcome and something that had been hoped for, for a long time.
Bless their hearts--it looks as if the Shi'ites in southern Iraq have decided to forgive us for abandoning them in 1991.
Let Freedom Ring in Iraq, starting with Basra!

12:41 PM Permalink

Are chemical weapons going to be used?

CAPTURED FOES FOUND WITH CHEM-WAR GEAR

Some Iraqi troops had up-to-date chemical-weapons equipment when they surrendered - a warning sign that Saddam Hussein's forces are ready to use the dread arms, a new report says.

They had old guns but 2002 gas masks, chemical decontamination kits and atropine - an antidote for nerve gas, reported CBS correspondent Jim Axelrod, traveling with the Army's 3d Infantry Division south of Karbala.

"I would guess they were planning on using chemical warfare. They may or may not use it but they were ready for it," Sgt. Jennifer Raichle told him.

A captured Iraqi soldier said he believed that chemical weapons were hidden at a nearby depot, along with conventional arms and chemical gear, and U.S. forces will check it out today, the report added.

This is most definitely NOT good news, but as our troops get closer and closer to Baghdad, the use of chemical weapons becomes more of a real possibility by the hour.
Check out CNN's version of the story about Saddam authorizing the use of chemical weapons when our troops reach the "red zone" (50-mile radius) around Baghdad:Report: Baghdad a chemical threat
.
You remember chemical weapons?
You know, the ones Saddam said he didn't have and that he couldn't convince Blix he'd destroyed...
This is one of those things that you don't want to be right about.
I pray for our troops, even though I know they're prepared, and I'll be glad when this part of the war is behind us.

05:24 AM Permalink

Must Read: Ralph Peters on the War thus far

WINNING BIG
Here are the opening grafs:

IN combat, the ideal leader is the man who remains calm and methodical under fire. Today's 24/7 broadcast news demands just the opposite: raised voices, an atmosphere of crisis and a rush to judgment.

After declaring victory on Friday and Saturday, a number of media outlets all but announced our defeat yesterday, treating the routine events of warfare as if they were disasters.

Nonsense.

We're winning, the Iraqis are losing, and the American people have executive seats for what may prove to be the most successful military campaign in history.

I implore you to read the whole piece: it's terrific!
I've been a fan of Ralph Peters's military analysis for a long time now and he doesn't disappoint in this latest piece.
In fact, it put more than quite a few of my 24/7 Cable News-induced fears to rest and I'll bet it will help you, too.
So read it, already!

In addition to his own fine essay about the war's progess, Steven Den Beste also recommended this article.

03:10 AM Permalink

Fighting Poles snapped on Iraqi front

Poland admitted on Monday that its elite GROM commando unit had taken part in the U.S.-led attack on Iraq after the soldiers posed for a Reuters news photographer.
[...]
"You don't comment about the theater of operations because that would give away information about our capability...this is secret," he [Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski] added.

GROM is an SAS-style commando unit which has seen recent action in Afghanistan. It is one of the few highly trained units in Poland's armed forces, which are mostly underfunded and still rely on outdated Soviet-era equipment.

Poland, a NATO member whose government has supported the tough U.S. line against Baghdad, sent 200 troops to the Gulf in what they originally said was a supporting, non-combat, role.

The Reuters photographs showed masked GROM soldiers taking prisoners, scrawling graffiti on a portrait of Saddam and posing with U.S. Navy Seals holding up a U.S. flag.
"These photos shouldn't have happened," said Szmajdzinski. "The next time it will definitely be with the Polish flag."

Caption:Polish special forces stand in the port of Umm-Qasr in southern Iraq after turning captured Iraqis to U.S. control on March 23, 2003. Poland admitted on March 24 that its elite GROM commando unit had taken part in the U.S.-led attack on Iraq after the soldiers posed for a Reuters news photographer.

The Poles are famed for being the fiercest fighters!
The Coalition is delighted to have them aboard and on the ball!
Thanks and Long Live Poland!
Tip of the beret (that's a black Army Ranger beret, BTW) to MerdeInFrance.

02:20 AM Permalink

Iraqi Treachery and Perfidy in battle of Nasiriyah

Iraqis deceive Marines at Nasiriyah

In what could be an ominous preview of the battle for Baghdad, Iraqi forces — many of them mingling in civilian clothes with women and children and firing from a hospital — have stymied U.S. Marines attempting to hold a pair of bridges on a key route north to Baghdad.

Monday evening, the Iraqis controlled the bridge over the Saddam Canal, but by Monday night, the Marines said they were once again in charge. At least nine Marines have been killed and 50 wounded.

Marine chaplain was there holding one of the Marine’s hands, not talking to him about religious matters but just telling him in a comforting tone of voice that he was going to be OK. I heard one Marine say to one of the injured men, “Don’t worry, we’re here to take care of you, buddy.” You hear about the “Band of Brothers” in the military and that’s what you see here.

Some captured Iraqi prisoners say they were ordered to use any means necessary to ambush the Marines, including putting women and children in the street.
In such close quarters, the most support the Marines have been getting is from the artillery. But the U.S. rules of engagement are making that difficult. The rules state that the Marines must see an enemy soldier firing at them before they are authorized to call in artillery strikes.
       It’s a very difficult, very bloody urban battle and will probably continue tonight and again tomorrow. The bulk of the fighting is in very close quarters, and the Marines have been training for that for years.
       Despite their setbacks, the Marines were confident all day Monday that they would gain control of the bridges again.

This terrific, eyewitness story epitomizes the worth of "embedded reporters."
Filed by Kerry Sanders, who is embedded with the 1st Marine Division, this report delivers crucial information, not only to the American public to show what a dirty war the Iraqi irregulars have been fighting, but also gives "need to know" facts to our military and its staff about what we can expect to meet from the enemy.
Kerry, you may think you're *just* a reporter, but you're a soldier now, too, my friend!
Great work!
[I'm starting to think that the movie "Black Hawk Down" was a big hit in Iraq. These Iraqis keep trying to make Iraq "Mogadishu" and we aren't even to Baghdad. What the facts and the book stress, though and the movie really doesn't, is that our guys weren't "defeated" in Somalia. They took heavy casualties, but they also inflicted massive casualties on the attacking Somalis and if Clinton hadn't pulled our forces out and given them the right equipment , who knows what might have happened.]

02:09 AM Permalink

Rest in peace, Good Samaritans

Base Mourns Crew Killed in Chopper Crash in Afghanistan

Grief spread through this south Georgia military base following word that six flight crew members had been killed in a helicopter crash during a nighttime mercy mission in Afghanistan.

The HH-60G Pave Hawk crashed Sunday during a flight to pick up two children with life-threatening head injuries and take them to Kandahar. The crew was within a couple of weeks of completing its tour of duty and returning to Moody.
[...]
Officials said the crash was not believed to be the result of enemy action. The Pentagon identified the dead as
1st Lt. Tamara Archuleta, 23, of Los Lunas, N.M.;
Staff Sgt. Jason Hicks, 25, of Jefferson, S.C.;
Master Sgt. Michael Maltz, 42, of St. Petersburg, Fla.;
Senior Airman Jason Plite, 21, of Lansing, Mich.; Lt. Col. John Stein, 39, of Bardolph, Ill.;
and Staff Sgt. John Teal, 29, of Dallas.

This makes me so sad.
One of this crew was even from Dallas and was engaged to be married soon.
But we again have the sure knowledge that our military is made up of fine people and that Americans in general are good people and that we go to other countries, even when it's for purpose of combatting an enemy there, to help other people and to effect Good.
We thank these fine soldiers for their service and for giving the ultimate sacrifice.
God rest them.

12:38 AM Permalink

Reagan was right about the Patriot missile

The Patriot - It works!

The PAC-3 anti-missile system that has been intercepting Iraqi missiles aimed at U.S. troops and other strategic sites in Kuwait never should have been deployed. It should have been branded unworkable, chalked up as a waste of $3 billion better spent on schools and health care, and forever mothballed under the heading "Another Crazy Missile-Defense Fantasy."

Such would have been the outcome if the logic of missile-defense critics had applied. After a superb record in development, PAC-3 suffered various glitches in the Army's operational tests of the system. One former Clinton administration official predicted that PAC-3 would only be 25 percent effective. It was deployed anyway, on the theory that some defense against incoming Iraqi missiles, even if imperfect, is better than none.

Its success so far should shatter one of the principal arguments of critics of President Bush's missile-defense plans -- that missile defense is, a priori, technologically impossible.

"It's, on its face, insane," the influential left-wing writer Christopher Hitchens has said of missile defense. "You can't. Everybody knows you can't. It's just a crazed boondoggle." Democratic honcho Paul Begala was only a little more restrained a few weeks ago: "At some point we have to say it didn't work. Microwave ovens do work; 'Star Wars' doesn't work."

There now can be no doubt that the basic "kinetic kill" technology behind the idea of missile defense -- obliterating an incoming missile by slamming an interceptor into it -- is feasible, and not just in tests, but in combat conditions. Just as a microwave heats popcorn, PAC-3 knocks down missiles.

The national missile defense slated for deployment by Bush in the United States against potential intercontinental ballistic missile launches will, of course, have to be much more sophisticated than the system in the Gulf. An ICBM is faster than one of Saddam's short-range missiles, travels at a higher altitude and might be accompanied by decoys.

The difference, however, between national missile defense and so-called theater missile defense (what is happening in Kuwait) is one of degree rather than principle. The experience in the Gulf during the past 12 years demonstrates how technology can improve, steadily moving a weapons system from fantasy to reality.
[...]
Instead, the PAC-2, designed to destroy a warhead by blowing up near it, was refined, and a new version, the PAC-3, was developed that would destroy a warhead by smashing into it, the same "kinetic kill" technology planned for national missile defense.

In recent days, both the PAC-2 and PAC-3 have intercepted Iraqi missiles, supported by a complicated surveillance network of radars and sensors that is a miniversion of what will be necessary for a national system (and that, given the erroneous shoot-down of a British jet, might still need refining).[This fatal accident was apparently caused when the Brit jet didn't give out the proper "squawk" to the sensors, signalling that is was erroneously an "enemy" to be destroyed.--Jen]

While testing is still ongoing on national missile defense, Bush has announced his decision to deploy the first ICBM interceptors in the United States by September 2004. The system won't be perfect, but it will provide some defense against, say, a North Korean missile launch.[I want it now!--J.T.]
[...]...Bush's eminently practical attitude is to deploy what we have, while continuing work to improve it. [Reagan would approve, I think!--ed.]

But Democratic Sen. Carl Levin has fumed, "President Bush's decision to deploy a limited national missile defense system starting in 2004 before it has been tested and shown to work violates common sense." For Levin, as for other missile-defense critics, sense" would have meant letting those Iraqi missiles through in recent days. Their favored missile defense consists of a gas mask and a bunker.

Let me tell you, those folks who have been saved from at least 20 missile attacks on Kuwait just in the past few days are mighty glad that the Patriot exists, that it's been deployed and that it works (except for that tragic British plane incident).
And with all the ugly noises the NorKs have been making for months, I can't wait until we get our NMD up and functioning!
Reagan would be so proud and in view of the fact that the Old EUropeans also called him a "dumb comboy," particularly when he deployed missiles in Western Europe, he looks pretty smart and forward-looking, doesn't he?
As does President Bush, whom I'm sure was one of the top brass who gave the nod to deploy these Patriots in the Iraq theater to test their efficacy with the long-range plan of incorporating this technology into the upcoming NMD system to be installed at home.

*BTW, yesterday was my BLOGIVERSARY!
Happy First B-day to The Greatest Jeneration!
It's been quite a year, so it's onward and upward in Year 2!

12:10 AM Permalink

March 23, 2003

Aussies take out Iraqi platoon!

Australian SAS destroy Iraqi platoon, says Hill

Australia's SAS troops helped destroy an Iraqi platoon overnight, Defence Minister Robert Hill said today.

"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 yesterday a SAS unit, usually comprising five or six men, directed an air strike against what appeared to be a ballistic missile site.[What's this? Iraq isn't supposed to have ballistic missiles!--Jen]
[...]
"They don't seem to get a lot of rest, the special forces - it's extraordinary how they do it."

GOOD ON YOU, Ozzie friends! We love you!
(And the Brits and the Poles!)

11:51 PM Permalink

Sweet! Mikey Moore gets loud boos

Yahoo! News - Michael Moore booed as he slams Iraq war at Oscars

Famed US documentary maker Michael Moore used his win of an Oscar to launch a violent attack on US President George W. Bushand war in Iraq amid loud boos from the audience.

As one wonderfully waggish person put it tonight over at Lucianne.com, Moore criticizes the President for wanting to disarm Iraq and yet he wants to disarm America! Zing!
Guess it's back to France for Mikey, where the champagne and Bush-bashing flow more freely and where they respect "art" like Moore's "documentary!"
Au revoir, Blubbo!
I didn't watch the Oscars and wouldn't have even without the war on the front burner.
I just didn't have the stomach for all that idiocy in one place, although clearly, there were *some* people at the awards ceremony with some brains in the audience.
America and her fighting men and women at the front thank you for striking a blow for Democracy tonight!

11:22 PM Permalink

Must read for idiotarians! Pauline conversion of a "human shield"

" I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam" by Daniel Pepper

I wanted to join the human shields in Baghdad because it was direct action which had a chance of bringing the anti-war movement to the forefront of world attention. It was inspiring: the human shield volunteers were making a sacrifice for their political views - much more of a personal investment than going to a demonstration in Washington or London. It was simple - you get on the bus and you represent yourself.

So that is exactly what I did on the morning of Saturday, January 25. I am a 23-year-old Jewish-American photographer living in Islington, north London. I had travelled in the Middle East before: as a student, I went to the Palestinian West Bank during the intifada. I also went to Afghanistan as a photographer for Newsweek.

The human shields appealed to my anti-war stance, but by the time I had left Baghdad five weeks later my views had changed drastically. I wouldn't say that I was exactly pro-war - no, I am ambivalent - but I have a strong desire to see Saddam removed.

We on the bus felt that we were sympathetic to the views of the Iraqi civilians, even though we didn't actually know any. The group was less interested in standing up for their rights than protesting against the US and UK governments.

I was shocked when I first met a pro-war Iraqi in Baghdad - a taxi driver taking me back to my hotel late at night. I explained that I was American and said, as we shields always did, "Bush bad, war bad, Iraq good". He looked at me with an expression of incredulity.

As he realised I was serious, he slowed down and started to speak in broken English about the evils of Saddam's regime. Until then I had only heard the President spoken of with respect, but now this guy was telling me how all of Iraq's oil money went into Saddam's pocket and that if you opposed him politically he would kill your whole family.

It scared the hell out of me. First I was thinking that maybe it was the secret police trying to trick me but later I got the impression that he wanted me to help him escape. I felt so bad. I told him: "Listen, I am just a schmuck from the United States, I am not with the UN, I'm not with the CIA - I just can't help you."

Of course I had read reports that Iraqis hated Saddam Hussein, but this was the real thing. Someone had explained it to me face to face. I told a few journalists who I knew. They said that this sort of thing often happened - spontaneous, emotional, and secretive outbursts imploring visitors to free them from Saddam's tyrannical Iraq.

I became increasingly concerned about the way the Iraqi regime was restricting the movement of the shields, so a few days later I left Baghdad for Jordan by taxi with five others. Once over the border we felt comfortable enough to ask our driver what he felt about the regime and the threat of an aerial bombardment.

"Don't you listen to Powell on Voice of America radio?" he said. "Of course the Americans don't want to bomb civilians. They want to bomb government and Saddam's palaces. We want America to bomb Saddam."

We just sat, listening, our mouths open wide. Jake, one of the others, just kept saying, "Oh my God" as the driver described the horrors of the regime. Jake was so shocked at how naive he had been. We all were. It hadn't occurred to anyone that the Iraqis might actually be pro-war.

The driver's most emphatic statement was: "All Iraqi people want this war." He seemed convinced that civilian casualties would be small; he had such enormous faith in the American war machine to follow through on its promises. Certainly more faith than any of us had.

Perhaps the most crushing thing we learned was that most ordinary Iraqis thought Saddam Hussein had paid us to come to protest in Iraq. Although we explained that this was categorically not the case, I don't think he believed us. Later he asked me: "Really, how much did Saddam pay you to come?"

It hit me on visceral and emotional levels: this was a real portrayal of Iraq life. After the first conversation, I completely rethought my view of the Iraqi situation. My understanding changed on intellectual, emotional, psychological levels. I remembered the experience of seeing Saddam's egomaniacal portraits everywhere for the past two weeks and tried to place myself in the shoes of someone who had been subjected to seeing them every day for the last 20 or so years.

Last Thursday night I went to photograph the anti-war rally in Parliament Square. Thousands of people were shouting "No war" but without thinking about the implications for Iraqis. Some of them were drinking, dancing to Samba music and sparring with the police. It was as if the protesters were talking about a different country where the ruling government is perfectly acceptable. It really upset me.

Anyone with half a brain must see that Saddam has to be taken out. It is extraordinarily ironic that the anti-war protesters are marching to defend a government which stops its people exercising that freedom.

Thank you, Daniel!
Brilliant story--you're lucky to have gotten out of Iraq alive.
Sorry I had to quote the whole thing, but it was too good to cut anywhere.
I can only hope that thousands of peacenik idiotarians do read this testimony of your Pauline conversion and get a clue that protesting the war is really a show of approval for Saddam and his reign of terror!

Hat tip to TheAngryClam who also has a fine eulogy for some of the US soldiers who lost their lives today and yesterday. As AC says, God rest them.

07:39 PM Permalink

First WMD site found by U.S. troops

US TROOPS CAPTURE CHEMICAL PLANT

About 30 Iraqi troops, including a general, surrendered today to US forces of the 3rd Infantry Division as they overtook huge installation apparently used to produce chemical weapons in An Najaf, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of Baghdad.
[...]
The huge 100-acre complex, which is surrounded by a electrical fence, is perhaps the first illegal chemical plant to be uncovered by US troops in their current mission in Iraq. The surrounding barracks resemble an abandoned slum.

It wasn't immediately clear exactly which chemicals were being produced here, but clearly the Iraqis tried to camouflage the facility so it could not be photographed aerially, by swathing it in sand-cast walls to make it look like the surrounding desert.

Note: This story was filed by the JPost's Caroline Glick who is embedded with the 3rd I.D. in Iraq.

I think that this plant is the first of many such facilities that we'll find in the days and weeks ahead.

07:18 PM Permalink

12 missing in Nasariya presumed to be ones on Iraqi TV film

12 U.S. troops presumed captured

Twelve U.S. soldiers were missing in action near the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, the U.S. Central Command confirmed Sunday. The Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera aired footage from Iraqi television Sunday of interviews with what it identified as U.S. soldiers captured near Nasiriyah, and showed an Iraqi morgue and bodies in uniform, identified by the station as U.S. troops.

"TWELVE U.S. service members are reported missing," said Lt. Gen. John Abizaid at a Sunday press conference at Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar. Abizaid characterized the fighting near Nasiriyah as "the sharpest engagement of the war thus far."

Al-Jazeera said the prisoners were captured around Nasiriyah, a major crossing point over the Euphrates River, northwest of Basra. U.S. Marine Corps sources told NBC News that overnight a convoy of Army vehicles with 31 soldiers took a wrong turn and drove through the southern Iraqi city. When they tried to turn back, they were confronted with an Iraqi ambush.

Iraqi television filmed the bodies and prisoners, saying they fell into Iraqi hands during a battle at the town of Souq al-Shuyukh, southeast of Nasiriyah, where U.S. forces have encountered stiff resistance.
[...]

The bodies, mostly still fully clothed but some with shirts pulled up, were shown on the floor in pools of blood. In the first room, at least two had wounds to the head, and another had a groin wound. In another room, an Iraqi uncovered more bodies, some with blackened faces.

At least five prisoners, speaking American-accented English, were interviewed. Two were bandaged. Those interviewed included one woman. Two of the prisoners identified their unit only as the 507th Maintenance.

An official at Fort Bliss, Texas, confirmed that soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Division were in an incident and said the U.S. military was seeking to confirm which were killed and which were taken prisoner.

All I can to the Enemy is, "Thank you for showing us your evil, ugly face in all its stark reality."
You'll only make killing you that much easier.
But our troops will kill you as soldiers and combatants in battle.
And we'll treat Iraqi prisoners humanely--and they know that, too.
I am praying fervently for these POWs, especially the lady soldier, because physical abuse will be even worse for her.
These animals don't think twice about rape. Damn them.
I also pray for the souls of the murdered soldiers and their families.
God be with you and send you a Comforter.
I can only pray that their death was quick.
Be aware that 10 Marines also lost their lives in this ambush/firefight [Story here also in addition to the 7 soldiers the Iraqis "executed" on their own for purposes of this film.
[I tried to make myself look at this film, but by the time I got to the Al Jazeera link, they'd finally gotten some belated decency and quit showing it, lucky for me, really.
TheDrudgeReport has some stills and LittleGreenFootballs, for purposes of educating people as to what a Death Cult extreme Islam really is, has a link to the Al Jazeera feed, but grown men have been saying all day that the film is disgusting and horrible.]

06:47 PM Permalink

Round about lunchtime in Baghdad...

Dispatches:U.S. B-52s Take Off

U.S. B-52 bombers took off from their U.K. base for the third day.

Godspeed, guys! They should be over Baghdad around 3:00 AM my time, Noonish Saddam-time.
Hope it doesn't spoil his meal. Tee-hee-hee!
[BTW, this link isn't a bad resource for war news updates if you can stomach Reuters.]

06:17 PM Permalink

This is what worries me...but I know our guys will prevail!

Iraq Deliberately Allowing Advance on Baghdad, says Official

Iraq's vice president claims Baghdad is deliberately allowing coalition forces to move toward the capital. The senior official also claims American soldiers have been captured. Iraqi officials also say there were many civilian casualties in bombing raids on the southern city of Basra.[I'm not buying it!--J.T.]

Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan appeared on Iraqi television, saying that captured U.S. soldiers would soon be shown on television. U.S. officials deny any coalition soldiers have been captured by the Iraqis and have shown video of hundreds of Iraqis surrendering.

Mr. Ramadan also said allied troops are moving so quickly in their desert drive north because Iraq is deliberately allowing them to move uncontested to Baghdad. He said the coalition forces would be defeated once they near the capital city.[Let's hope he's very wrong about this,too.--Jen]

Iraq's information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, said 77 civilians were killed and 366 injured when, what he called cluster bombs were dropped Saturday on the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Mr. al-Sahaf accused coalition forces of targeting residential areas in Basra. There has been no independent confirmation of his claims.[Yeah, right. "Targeting civilian areas with 'cluster bombs'?" Not us. We're the Good Guys. We don't do things like that and don't you forget it--Jen]

Although U.S. officials have not reported the loss of any American aircraft in combat, senior Iraqi officials told reporters in Baghdad that Iraq's air defense system has shot down five coalition fighter aircraft and two helicopters.[This certainly only happened in your dreams, Mr. Asshat "Ramadan"! Pardon my French here.--J.]

I am very worried about the battles immediately ahead as our troops near Baghdad, but if that's what the Iraqis want us to think, then maybe these camel-loving bastards are full of BS, which wouldn't be the first time!
Bring it on, "Ramadan."
I know our forces are locked and loaded and ready for bear!
One thing old Taha baby can look forward to, if he lives through the war, is a nice trial for war crimes as he obviously knew of the torture and execution-style killings of our servicemen and women today.

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