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History As It Happened
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Reuters
One US column is now more than 150 kilometers into Iraq.
The reporter asked the soldier, in regards to the surrender of the Iraqi 11th Army which John noted, "If those reports are true, is that a good thing?"
The soldiers response, "That would be a wise thing for them to do."
Well, Sean, during the last war I was in high school singing stupid songs about bombing Hussein and having no real understanding of what was going on. I thought did, but I didn't. I think to a lot of 15 year old guys, war is still cool. We really didn't understand the brutal nature of war then.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Was Saddam in the bunker?
The Washington Post says he was, but they're not saying if he's dead or not. It's a very inconclusive article, but then, it's a pretty inconclusive thing, a war. Go read it, though. It's fascinating.
The true hardcore Anti War-ista's, deep down, must be sorely disappointed that they don't have 1000's of baby deaths to report so far. And the human shields, if there are any left, must be scurrying around to find more dangerous spots!
Via Ribbity Frog, the Palestinians censored Al-Jazeera. They broadcast news on the American attack on Iraq, but as soon as the subject turned to Iraqi soldiers surrendering, Al-Jazeera was pulled and Pal propaganda took its place.
What with that, and Hussein handing out another $210k to terrorists' families, no wonder the Pals were screaming "No good morning , no good night ... America, all Arabs should fight" today. By the way, schmucks--nice rhyme. Not.
Um, if you can't get the URL thing working, I'd suggest just having everyone enter HTML into the Nickname field. It seems to work fine for me, except it should be noted that the "_blank" tag seems to make it crap out.
UPDATE: This works ... as my nickname below shows. Just update your profile at the "Team" Blogger button so your nickname links to your URL via HTML.
Back on-line and (luckily) in a hotel room with high-speed access. I've added another eight or so bloggers to the roll. Frankly, looking at what's been posted since I hit the airport earlier today, this is really pretty extraordinary. Thanks to everyone who's been noting the latest.
I just heard on ABC that the Washington Post is reporting that Hussein was at the initial target site and there is also a decent possibility that he was not the man on TV earlier.
We only thought the Gulf War was well televised. This one is incredible. I am glued to my television. I prefer to watch it without the sound though. That way I can choose the music. I'm working my way towards Wagner, not there yet, but I'm working that direction. I really don't care what Ted Koppel or the other embedded ones have to say. I want to watch our warrior class, men and women, move their machines. About every 5 minutes I have to hit myself in the chest and tell myself to breathe.
The ground war began in Iraq last night as British and American marines stormed beaches on the Gulf coast in an assault on the south-eastern city of Basra, while explosions lit up Baghdad under a heavy bombardment by cruise missiles.
Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade launched a helicopter and hovercraft assault on "Red Beach" where the strategically vital Shatt-al-Arab waterway meets the Gulf. There were also reports that British and US marines had taken the port town of Umm Qasr on the way to Basra.
The assault was preceded by a barrage by coalition artillery, naval guns and cruise missiles, along with aircraft launched from US carriers in the Gulf. Initial reports suggested that when the marines reached the beach, Iraqi resistance was light or non-existent.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Protesting the protesters
Thanks to Razor from LGF, quick and easy instructions on how to ping San Francisco's Indymedia outlet and slow it down so that the kiddies can't organize as effectively.
Update: I've been informed that was illegal, and have taken out the link. Sorry.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Embedded reporters change of tone?
I'm listening to an interview with Rick Leventhal on Fox, and he sounds really beat down. The host even commented on the tone of his voice. I'm wondering if other embedded reporters are having similar reactions to the "actualities" of war from within a combat troop. I'd be interested if other people who've been listening to the embeds throughout the day have noticed any change in their tone or their reporting?
Some comments that there may be uprisings/ street fighting in Basra and Mosul. I've blogged before that we don't want a Warsaw Uprising scenario. If there is a legitimate revolt, we need to be close enough to help.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Blitzer/Amanpour talking up the "embedded ones"
Wolf Blitzer just did a two-minute commercial for the embedding principle. Then Brown tries to spin it to a negative, then he goes back to spinning it positively. Brown seems lost. Blitzer said it was something we haven't seen before in the news business. I wish they had transcripts so I could have this for future use when all the "real" journalists complain about the embedded ones.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
sf protest footage on CNN
Aaron Brown is spinning like crazy about the footage from the SF anti-war "peace" protest that shows people beating up some people in a blue wagon (minivan?).
"Most of the protests have been peaceful..." Brown said, sputtering around. He's clearly at a loss for words. He said this is the first he's seen of this footage. Man, get a grip!
Eerily reminiscent of the L.A. riots footage of the trucker who got beaten up.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Hans.....As Seen on TeeVee
In a very short, but very interesting interview with Hans Blix tonight on ABC news, he gave his personal thoughts on Iraq. When asked whether Iraq had WMD, Dr. Blix said, "well we didn't find any, but undoubtedly they do". About his personal relationship with Saddam, Blix, chuckled and said, "Well I never met the man, he thinks that he is the Emporer of Mesopotamia and would not deign to talk to someone as lowly as me".
"This morning there was a group of sit-down protesters blocking Beale and Market, surrounded by a ring of police, with other protesters milling around the ring. The protesters were trying to sound all soulful singing, "all we are saaaaying is give peeeeace a chance" So I yelled at the top of my voice, Hey hey ho ho Saddam Hussein has got to go" and "Free free free Iraq!" It totally ruined their little moment. Heh heh."
"I live across the bay and I am very disturbed by the message the level of disturbance sends to potential terrorists -- come on down, the cops are totally overwhelmed by dealing with the bratty anarchists who think that closing down the city is cute. It declares the city is open for terrorist business."
"Another protest, this one moving up Market Street from the Ferry Bldg. Large banners the width of the street. at the front. I was crossing Market, so I decided to stand my ground in the middle of the street. March organizers wearing official-looking orange vests told me to move. I told them that they weren't policemen and had no authority to make me. The march stopped! Eventually the protesters got the bright idea of lifting the sign over my head and the march went on, but for a moment they were aghast--a protest tactic being used against a protest. Da noive! If there were 50-100 anti-protesters there I think we could have had some real fun. . . "
"Okay, ease up on the California bashing. Just because we have an ample supply of idiots doesn't mean that we're all idiots. But, lord help us, we do have our share. I almost got into a fight with one of them in the S.F. Civic Center area today. He was wearing an Israeli flag pinned to his shirt, but had marked over the star of David with a crude swastika. I one-finger saluted him and almost put my finger up his nose. My friend pulled me off as I was cursing him for the low-life I knew him to be. The main rally in the Civic Center around noon turned into a pro-Palestinian, pro-Saddam, pro-Arab rally. I know a lot of reasonable people have opposed this war, but those people have lost all control over the protests--if they ever had any."
"Hahahahaha im watching CNN right now, and apparently there was an attempted protest in times square during rush hour. The cops locked up everyone who didnt get run over. morons. "
Treasury Secretary John Snow announced that the United States was confiscating Saddam Hussein's "blood money," or its non-diplomatic assets in the United States and asked other governments to follow suit.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
NBC: Republican guard negotiating "secretly" to surrender
So Tom Brokaw breaks into "Friends" (!) with a 1-minute special report that basically says the Republican Guard is in secret negotiations to surrender. Hmm. Which possibility is more likely?
a) this is just a psy-ops rumor started to create doubt and confusion
b) It's really happening
c) the media exposure will screw the whole thing up, and they won't surrender
?
I hope it's true. But then the question becomes: what do we do with them in a post-war Iraq?
If you can bear the hypocrisy, check out this comment thread, where San Franciscans annoyed with the protesters are threatened with having their throats ripped out. Seriously.
Good to know that the protesters know what they're out there for, and stick to that campaign of nonviolence.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
what the left is saying about the Bush/Hitler connection
This is only slightly OT, because it's probably something you'll be hearing a lot of in the next few weeks from the left. Remember those posters of Bush comparing him to Hitler. Well, it's in print too:
March 16, 2003 -- The 70th anniversary wasn't noticed in the United States,
and was barely reported in the corporate media. But the Germans remembered
well that fateful day seventy years ago -- February 27, 1933. They
commemorated the anniversary by joining in demonstrations for peace that
mobilized citizens all across the world.
It started when the government, in the midst of a worldwide economic crisis,
received reports of an imminent terrorist attack. A foreign ideologue had
launched feeble attacks on a few famous buildings, but the media largely
ignored his relatively small efforts. The intelligence services knew,
however, that the odds were he would eventually succeed. (Historians are
still arguing whether or not rogue elements in the intelligence service
helped the terrorist; the most recent research implies they did not.)
If you want, you can read the whole twisted thing at Common Dreams
It reminds me a little bit of the Abe Lincoln/JFK assassination similarity sheets I used to see.
The United States provided aid to Saddam Hussein even after Baghdad began building weapons of mass destruction during the Iran-Iraq war, a report said on Thursday.
Not only did the US fail to protest when it learned of Iraq's use of chemical weapons during the Iran war, it also kept supplying arms and intelligence to Baghdad during those years, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
One of the hallmarks of the modern U.S. military is the ability to react quickly to a changing situation. And here not only one of the military scenario but also of the political. I conjecture that the Marine force was moved forward for "force protection" i.e. to deny the Iraqis the ability to fire rockets into Kuwait and that the time table for the big air show, as promised, is being delayed to allow time for Iraqi units to give themselves up.
Logging in from the Philadelphia Airport ... Fox has more sirens in Kuwait. Also, I've added the folks who sent emails to me in the past several hours to the roll. Now I'll be going on my own news blackout for the next several hours ... read you all from Minneapolis.
We are paused here at the moment but within the last half hour off to our right there was a sound, like rolling thunder, it was missiles being launched into Iraq.
This salvo went on for at least twenty minutes, I counted at least 20 missiles being launched.
We have had no incoming or return fire from the Iraqi's
We did hear some Arabic voices coming through the night, cheering and shouting, some suggestion it might be Iraqis surrendering but we have not been allowed to go and see, we have to stay with the column.
It's very quiet here now - the only sound is of me talking. All lights are extinguished, it is dark. As I'm talking now I hear a fantastic rumble again, the attacks are starting again.
I can hear black hawk helicopters with no lights on are overhead heading into Iraq. The sounds of missiles are increasing.
A large number of helicopters are now heading overhead into Iraq.
The initial stages of the invasion of Iraq are taking place right now.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States attacked key targets in Baghdad with cruise missiles on Thursday, setting government buildings on fire, and with its British allies sent advance ground troops into Iraqi territory.
Events unfolded swiftly on the first day of a U.S.-led campaign aimed at occupying Iraq and destroying the rule of President Saddam Hussein.
In Lebanon the Palestine Liberation Front announced that one of its officers, 1st Lt. Ahmed Walid Raguib al-Baz, was killed in the missile attacks on Iraq. The PLF was responsible for seizing the Italian liner Achille Lauro and the murder of one of its passengers, Leon Klinghoffer, in 1985.
... to the Warblog Corner of the blog circle. If you'd like to be added to those with posting rights, email me at avocare at comcast dot net. Tip to Michele for the idea ...
Wall Street Update: 15:30 ET Dow +24, Nasdaq +6, S&P +1.70: [BRIEFING.COM] Stocks retain resilience heading into the final half hour of trading...indices are all near unchanged, volume is about average, advance-decline line is near flat...it might almost seem as if not much of anything happened today... Nasdaq +6... NYSE Adv/Dec 1701/1520... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1530/1538.
Major Network News Websites: Awful Take a look at the CNN site, their HUGE headline is "Marines in Iraq"....duh.
Fox is no better and ABC is equally pathetic. The networks are doing well on TV but their web execution is terrible.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
What's the point of this?
Protesters shut down San Francisco's downtown. And their point is? That they can shut it down? How does this stop "the war machine"? How does this effectively do anything but annoy the hell out of San Franciscans?
The money quote, from Mayor Willie Brown:
"Most of these people who are being arrested and have been arrested, probably more than 75 or 80 percent, are not San Franciscans. I just wish they'd stay in their own communities and protest rather than put the expense on us.
Commenters on LGF reporting on the "peace" rally in San Francisco:
"I'm in the middle of this. My girlfriend is there taking pictures and I just came back to my office after watching them for a while. There's a lot to tell, but here's one anecdote as described by my GF who saw it first hand. On Market Street (the main S.F. street that has been shut down for several blocks downtown) a veteran had a sign that said "Saddam must go" on one side and "Mr. President, you can do it in my name" on the other. He was attacked by a mob of "peace activists" who ripped up his sign and then physically attacked him. Unfortunately, she could not get a picture since she was trying to get away from the attacking mob . . . . "
"My sister called me from her car in San Francisco this morning about 9am- she was trying to get to work- all the intersections were blocked around Moscone Center- she was trapped in her car and some wahoo protester had just offered her a bagel for her trouble- She rolled down the window and told him to go f&^k himself. She said the look on his shocked face was priceless. "
"There are already strong complaints that the SF protest is keeping ambulances and emergency vehicles from being able to get to the elderly and children who are choking. Anyone directly affected by these protests in such a fashion could probably sue ANSWER et al. out of existance for calling for, organizing, and directing an illegal protest that brought direct harm."
"I work a block away from the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Davis St SF , some demonstrators broke into the center and vandalized equipments and furniture. The police showed up 15 minutes later after the demonstrators were gone. I went back to the office to get a digital camera but by the time I came back the area was already cleaned up."
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Unfortunate event stateside
WABC 770 AM just reported that a man shot and killed an Arab store owner today in NYC, ostensibly in connection to the current conflict in Iraq. I hope the motivation is actually something else.
Dexter Filkins just got off the phone with Tom Brokaw. Filkins, a photographer and another journalist are heading into Basra by themselves, without piggybacking onto a unit. It seems like the "shock and awe" that Blitzer doesn't understand is what is being unleased on the Iraqi soldiers in the field--not on Baghdad.
CBS just reported that thirty Iraqis surrendered to Navy SeeBees this morning. They were trying to set a mine field, a couple of Marines shot at them, and they came over and surrendered to the SeeBees who were breaching a berm.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
What A Time To Be Out Of Pocket!!
I'm going to be away from the PC until around 9 or 10 tonight, so if you want to be added to the list of contributors and the blogroll please reach out to Michele (michele at asmallvictory dot net). We WILL get to everyone eventually ...
The headline on the CNN main page: • Pentagon: 'We will have casualties'
Click on the link and you get this story, with headline: Rumsfeld warns Iraqi leaders of unprecedented 'force'
You have to read to the third paragraph from the bottom of the story to find the mention of casualties:
Echoing comments made by President Bush Wednesday night, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscored the danger U.S. armed forces face.
"We do not regard combat as an easy task," he said. "Warfare is dangerous. We will have casualties."
I've heard this sentiment expressed several times recently, most notably here:
"What will follow will not be a repeat of any other conflict. It will be of a force and scope and scale that has been beyond what has been seen before." -Donald Rumsfeld.
I can only hope that our leaders will stop making these inane statements.
Just to summarize: Every war is different. I'm sure that when World War I began, it was "beyond what has been seen before," and the same with World War II, and, for that matter, VietNam (think puff the magic dragon). That's called technological progress. It's not something you need to crow about.
Not to mention the fact that I can't recall a war ever being a "repeat" of another conflict.
Of course, I don't know how a war in one country could possibly eclipse the scope of the global conflagration that was World War II.
Thoughts on War Blogs: If this war had occurred two years ago, we would have all been checking and rechecking the DrudgeReport for constant updates and intrigue. Now, to look at Drudge's site, you see he still has the same stuff posted that he had up four hours ago. It is interesting that Blogging has given us the ability to create a wildly dynamic site with updates measured in minutes, not hours, with info from around the world. This war is not just about a new world order, but about a new way in which information is transferred across the world.
R.I.P. DrudgeReport
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
U.S led troops have taken the town of Umm Qasr
CBS is reporting this, quoting Kuwaiti sources.
In 1992 a UN commission formed to demarcate the boundary between Iraq and Kuwait redrew the borders, placing most of the naval and commercial ports of Umm Qasr under Kuwaiti control. The new borders divide Iraq's Rumaila oilfield between Iraq and Kuwait, moving the border 80 kilometres into Iraqi territory. The Rumaila oilfield has an estimated remaining production of 11 billion barrels of crude oil. Umm Qasr was Iraq's only operating seaport. The port of Basra was blocked by vessels sunk during the early stages of the Iran-Iraq war. Iraq spent billions of dollars upgrading Umm Qasr's ports, building factories and petrochemical plants and dredging channels to enable large tankers to dock. The new borders became official under UN auspices on 15 January 1993.
National Guard Called Out to Protect Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant: Terrorists may have targeted the Palo Verde nuclear power plant in Arizona, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Thursday. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has sent National Guard troops to provide additional security at the plant
British Royal Air Force group captain Mike Harwood, who commands the British joint Harrier Force, addresses his detachment on their base in Kuwait March 20, 2003.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Refugee and reconstruction news
I get this weekly email newsletter called Global Development Briefing, which lists NGO-related goings-on around the globe, carries job postings, etc. It's for international aid and development professionals, not scruffy "activists." I forget how I started getting it - I'm not in the industry. Anyway, this week's Briefing carries the following items relevant to this blog:
A special camp will be set up in the no-man's land between Iraq and Jordan to process refugees fleeing Iraq in the event of a war, Jordanian officials said Mar. 19. Refugees seeking to enter the kingdom will be processed in this "assembly" camp before they are sent to two other temporary camps near the Jordan-Iraq border, once their identities have been confirmed. Jordan agreed in mid-February to set up two temporary refugee camps near Ruweished, the last frontier town which lies 35 miles (60 kilometers) before the Karama border post with Iraq. They will be able to accommodate 10,000 refugees and will be managed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Jordanian Red Crescent. Jordan took in 1.3 million refugees out of 2.5 millions who fled Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.
International donors Mar. 17 committed some $2 billion in aid over the next year to rebuild Afghanistan and help it counter international terrorism and curtail heroin production. U.S. government representative Alan Larson said Washington would contribute $820 million in new aid this year, while Japan said it would give a further $500 million over the next two and a half years. The EU, which hosted the donor meeting, has pledged $432 million in aid until the end of 2004. The World Bank has said Afghanistan received about $1.3 billion in international assistance over the past year but that less than half that money went to reconstruction, with the rest going to humanitarian relief. Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani said Kabul intends to raise $200 million of domestic revenue to support its $550 million annual budget but will rely on international assistance to meet the remaining shortfall. He said in an Financial Times interview the $550 million budget for the fiscal year that starts this month is only for recurring costs, while a separate development budget of $1.7 billion that will focus mostly on infrastructure projects will be entirely financed by donors. Mr. Ghani, a former academic who also worked at restructuring Russia's coal industry for the World Bank, said Afghanistan had attractive assets such as telecommunications, oil and gas, "with gas resources now proven", mining and agriculture. But his most immediate concerns were security and reducing poppy cultivation, which is "at the heart of the matter."
SF Indymedia is taking a long time to load. They're calling to shut down SF. Let's all head over there and make it even harder for their page to load and give instructions to the nazimedia kiddies.
Up to four oil wells on fire. Heavy shelling on the border near Basra. And evidence that the central Iraqi military command is out of commission or out of contact with the bulk of the military units.
I read previously that Saddam is so prone to killing his people that commanders are afraid to make decisions without his direct orders. That means that when the military is out of contact with him, they're subject to immediate chaos - as opposed to our military, where commanders are trained to make sound decisions toward a common goal even when separated from higher command.
While channel-surfing, I came across Pat Robertson's CBN offering Operation Prayer Shield. I didn't stay long enough to see if it was live, but the differences between north and south are still setting in for this former NJ resident.
Guess which high-ranking American official said this?
When I met with Yitzhak Shamir on April 9 [1991] to discuss the peace process, he was quite concerned that despite a great victory, Saddam was alive and still in control. “It’s not a good lesson for the area,” Shamir told me. “Such a man, if you could call him a man, who’s cost us so many losses, who has dared to attack us with missiles, is a man that we can’t live with. I think everything in the region will be temporary until this fact changes.” I responded that all our Arab coalition partners believed that Saddam would be ousted by a coup within six to eight months.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Concerning the Red Cross Report
I wonder if they got to look down into the crater that used to be a building? The one dead is said to be a Jordanian trucker who stopped to make a phone call. Huh? What'd we do, bomb a truck stop? "Eat at Mom's" bombed, film at 11.
I watched al sahaf on al-jazeera. he said that the US has bombed the Iraqi sattelite channel, but while he was saying that the ISC was broadcasting and if it really did hit the ISC headquarters it would have been right in the middle of baghdad. what was probably hirt were transmiters or something. all TV stations are still working.
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Putin condemns attack on Iraq
Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the US attack on Iraq as "not necessary to enforce United Nations resolutions":
"The military action in Iraq is being conducted in spite of world opinion, in spite of the principles and norms of international law and the U.N. Charter," Putin said. "This military action cannot be justified."
Russia is working with Iran to set up camps for Iraqi refugees, while seeking a special meeting of the Security Council to "address the crisis". (I thought we were already "addressing" it.)
To me the most interesting thing there is the open collaboration between Russia and Iran. What does that portend for international efforts to "address" the problems Iran poses?
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
'Ashamed to be an American'
Hey, this woman beats the Dixie Chick by a long shot:
""I am very ashamed to be an American right now," Lydia Riley, 63, of Washington said Wednesday at a protest in Washington. "There's been nothing but lies and misrepresentations by the Bush administration."
War protests from D.C. to West Coast on CNN.com
As opposed to the truths and full disclosures of the Iraqi regime?
BTW, you know that reporters usually go out of their way to highlight the wackiest quotes on any topic of controversy. This must be like shooting fish in a barrel.
According to a radio report, Continental Airlines is expecting a 20% drop in international travel as a result of the war.
Is that all?
I think this first week of the war is when we're at most risk for terrorist attacks aimed at the US and its allies, including airplanes - either suicide missions on board a plane, or a missile attack of some type. Security has been increased in Manhattan and its environs. I wonder if they've stepped up the Air Marshalls' program in anticipation of this war?
Drudge Posts Again: "Military intelligence was picking up signs and 'circumstantial evidence' that Saddam and his senior leadership were either incapacitated or out of communication with battlefield commanders. It was too early to say if they were killed or wounded... MORE..."
BBC Reporter's Notebook: Kuwait :: Gavin Hewitt :: 1643GMT
It was late afternoon, close to the Iraqi border when we began to hear some explosions taking place inside southern Iraq.
Then the sound of aircraft increased - American aircraft - and we actually saw an American aircraft firing a missile shortly after a very loud explosion was heard coming from inside southern Iraq.
Thanks for everyone's posts ... this is working about even better than I thought, and as I've been on the phone all morning, has been a real lifeline. Also, I still can't get Blogger to correctly load everyone's URL ... the tag keeps pulling the Command Posts's URL, not the one in our profiles. I'll keep trying to fix this ...
NYTimes Reports On Successful Ground Encounter: KUWAIT, March 20 — The first reported combat engagement of the United States war with Iraq occurred at 3:57 p.m. local time today, when a patrol of light armored vehicles from the Marine First Division encountered two Iraqi armored personnel carriers south of the border with Iraq.
The armored vehicles, called LAV-25's, engaged and destroyed the armored personnel carriers using 25-millimeter chain guns, a type of machine gun, and TOW guided missiles
Lt. Smash posted recently. His site is slow, but it loads. I received a letter from Captain Steve and posted it as well. I should put it here, but it's a bit long. For those who don't read Kim du Toit's blog, Captain Steve is a pilot stationed at Prince Sultan Air Force Base in Saudi Arabia, who's sent letters from the front.
The thing I find most amazing is the direct contact from the battlefield. This isn't your father's war.
Drudge Post (and I don't believe it): "I am being told by several senior officials not to take that taped speech Saddam gave last night as proof that he survived the attack," CBS NEWS reporter David Martin said on air.
"They say the evidence that put him in the bunker last night was very reliable, and they are confident that the cruise missiles and bunker-busting bombs that were fired at that bunker last night hit the target. So now, intelligence experts are studying the tape to determine if it is really Saddam, or a body double which he is known to use from time to time. And they are running a computerized voice analysis, comparing that speech with known recordings of Saddam's voice. But that's a process that takes awhile. So we may not have a quick answer."
"There is considerable belief in this government that they may, in fact, have gotten Saddam."
Drudge not loading. It looks like my site meter, Extreme Tracking, is slow to update stats. Other loading slowdowns noted. I think this will be the biggest Internet day ever, bigger than September 11.
Our Friends the Saudis: “The kingdom will under no circumstances take part in the war against brotherly Iraq, and its armed forces will not enter an inch of Iraqi territory,” Prince Abdullah said on behalf of the ailing King Fahd.
Sky News Commentator in Britain "Iraqis out-thinking the Americans". Claims the US has been caught on its "back-foot" and that the Iraqis have taken the initiative. Of course, this is absurd. If the purpose of the war was to save two oil wells from being lit-up, then this foolish Brit would be right. But he continues to forget that the purpose of the war is to disarm Saddam and to change the regime. This has nothing to do with "tactical" PR moves on the part of a handful of Iraqi footsoldiers.
Sky News Reports 2 Oil Fires: Sky News reporter questions possible American "arrogance" for claiming to start war at a "time of our choosing". With the burning of the well, Sky News reporters suggests that the war is now on Iraqi timetable.
Keep in mind when you hear about bomb damage that all that anti-aircraft fire that is shot up into the air must fall somewhere. A SAM can blow up a house just as easily as an American bomb. There are often injuries in those mob scenes you see on the news where the folks are shooting their AK-47's into the air.
Sunset in 6 minutes. I think tonight we hit the air defenses and radars. Since we can visit downtown Baghdad, even in daylight, with the F-117A's, they may pay a visit or two to selected command posts.
OK ... we're up to 18 bloggers who have at least requested access. Some of the user profiles don't have URLs, so if you're not on the blogroll, send me a note so I can add you to the links. Also, I'm still working on the Author URL tag issue.
A woman with the very Western name Barbara Ferguson is writing reports from an embedded position for The Arab News. Interesting that a straightforward, even positive, view of US military activity is seeing light of day in Saudi Arabia. I like this quote:
The Marines, he said, have been told to defend themselves to the greatest extent possible, “but they also know they have to be very careful in regard to collateral damage.
“We are all able to make distinctions between good people and bad people,” said Col. Anderson.
“We’ve been telling our Marines that we are not at war with the Iraqi people... and this is not propaganda, this is what I honestly believe.
“If we do go to war, we want to try to preserve their culture, their historic sites, their mosques, etc. So as long as no one is shooting at us from such a place, and it is not dangerous, we will not destroy it.”
“Besides,” he said, “What we destroy, we will have to rebuild.”
Wonder if that will cool off "the Arab street" any?
Thursday, March 20, 2003 |
Spam Saddam, Almost Like Real Saddam?
Much debate about whether it was Saddam or not. Also, was it live or was it Memorex?
We bunker busted something, and with any luck at all, got some big shots, maybe even Saddam. My guess is that if it were really Saddam, he would have appeared with soot and blood stains to proclaim "I have survived." The near escape has mythic qualities to Arabs and to Moslems in general, dating from some their prophet had early on. If it were him, live, how could he resist the drama?
Sunset in Iraq is about 10:14 EST, and good hunting to our guys!
Chuck Simmins
One question/suggestion: looks like the author field on each post is linking to our email addresses. Are we anti-spamming those in any way? If not, I need to switch mine to a dummy (as will most folks want to, I think).
I'd actually suggest making those links our URLs instead (easy enough to do with a template change I think)...
I've changed the template to take out the email address ... will work on putting in the URL. If I can't get Blogger to do that, append your URL to your post.
Also, I've set up a blogroll, and will be blogrolling people throughout the day (as work permits).
Great idea, folks. I was actually kinda wishing we had something like this last night when the bombs were (not) falling and there were obviously many bloggers online. Well, this or a deck of cards.
The obvious first question to throw out would be: predictions for the day?
I'm going to go on record as saying that I have absolutely no clue what's going to happen, but don't let that stop anybody else...
... to the Warblog Corner of the blog circle. If you'd like to be added to those with posting rights, email me at avocare at comcast dot net. Tip to Michele for the idea ...