MERGED --> Dead Line Passed! + War Has Started??? + it's official + The War Has Begun

[bono_man2002]

my first post in this forum had to be in a sad thread didnt it!!!



some guy on the news over here in australia said they might have killed saddam....to good to be true this early though....

 

[Basstrap]

All these still pictures of Bagdad keep showing these phallic shaped buildings.

They need new architects when we rebuild.

I don't think the purpose is to destory their culture

 

[Screaming Flower]

apparently there are now 1000 troops on a raid in afghanistan hunting out al qaeda tonight too.

 

[elfyx]

According to this Delta force is in Iraq and trying to take out Saddam immediately.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-617223,00.html

Hi Dread, I remember when we got into this discussion a few weeks ago... about my hesitency of using the 'shock-and-awe' vs. a focused tactical extraction strategies.

You brought up many good points about the possibility of needing a full-scale war in regards to troops loyal to Saddam. It looks like you and me both hope to God it won't come to that. I don't think it will be necessary, but we'll see I guess. They will have a tough time, because Saddam has deployed about a dozen 'body-doubles' that look, sound, and act like him.

Let us hope our special forces are successful. Our troops need our support right now, no matter how each of us feels about the war.

peace

 

[Screaming Flower]

i am hoping and praying for the same thing. if somehow we miraculously got saddam so quickly it will be an amazing thing.

 

[MSU2mike]

i am hoping and praying for the same thing. if somehow we miraculously got saddam so quickly it will be an amazing thing.

Indeed it would. Seems unlikely, but who knows. Impressive intelligence either way.

And with the raid on Al Qaeda in Afghanistan now...Saddam & Osama in the same night? Nah, couldn't be.

Hey, maybe we should wipe out that North Korean nuke site while no one's watching.

 

[Lilly]

mike - there was a report this morning that al-quaeda was in the final stages of planning an attack. only seems logical they'd be trying to quel that.

 

[Screaming Flower]

msnbc is reporting that saddam hussein is supposed to address his people soon.

damn.

 

[MSU2mike]

mike - there was a report this morning that al-quaeda was in the final stages of planning an attack. only seems logical they'd be trying to quel that.

Really? Can't believe I missed that, but I'll take your word for it. Seems like a pretty good reason to break up their party.

As for Saddam addressing his people, we'll see. Could just be propaganda on their end or he may have survived the attack. We'll just have to wait to see if he shows up in front of a camera (perhaps that could lead to further intel on his current locale).

What I'm interested in is seeing if Saddam shows up with sunglasses on and two young, lame white guys under each arm.

 

[Gickies Gageeze]

ya, theres no way hes dead. its not like he didnt have time to build a few half decent bunkers.

how is saddam supposed to say anything to anyone when his radio is cut out?

i have a feeling his words will be extremely graphic.

 

[Lilly]

Really? Can't believe I missed that, but I'll take your word for it. Seems like a pretty good reason to break up their party.

the news leaked sometime around 10 eastern time this morning.

 

[brettig]

His words were extremely vague.

 

[bonoman]

This is scary. I have thought about what would happen whent he war started and i pray that it ends quick but something tells me that the US is going to see some dark days ahead. Al Quada looks poised to attack right when it will hurt the most.

I am at a loss for words too much info from too many people. Please let this be a bloodless war for civilaians!!

God bless.

 

[oktobergirl]

i feel sick.

 

[Gickies Gageeze]

His words were extremely vague.

wow, was i ever off. i would have thought it would have raised some fire in his belly, but it didnt really do anything.

 

[mad1]

Yea, have to share!

Woke up this morning 7am my time and it was so sunny out and I immediately put the telly on, to hear that they had started.

But that it was not in the 'big-blast bombardment' everyone was expecting.

And that the British were not involved. And even our Prime Minister did not know.

And the first thing they showed on TV was Baghdad, in the darkness (throught that special night-google vision lens or something), and hearing the air-raid warnings....and then hearing the bombs drop........really really freaked me out....the whole scenerio was extremely eerie to me, that 'silence'.....that 'numb silence'......like the aftermath of a bomb here in Belfast when they happened. You would hear it and there was like, no noise for a while after.....then u would try to find out where it happened....usually in City Centre, 5 mins from me.

It was awful. I just kept flicking thru channels to find out diff/new stories........its weird how the first strike happened.

Obviously they never got Saddam, but now Im pretty sure he will be able to avoid being hit..........now that its startled him

Obviously, as mum said, they were best to show 'surprise', instead of doing it the way it was planned. No war should go by how its planned.

And the at around 7.45am, a live link to South Kuwait, I think, showed the reporter dive to the ground, there was a 2nd 'Chemical Attack' alert..........and it was happening live.

This is bad.

Had to leave for work after and right now, dont know any new stories.

Didnt want to go to work.

But I tell u this, watching Baghdad at dawn under attack by bombs, I was soooo close to crying.

It just hit me I was seeing a town being destroyed.....a town where innocent pple worked...........

Towns which would be happier towns if Saddam never ever existed.


thats my report.

 

[Anthony]

I was in contact with my family in Kuwait a few hours ago, and I was relieved that everything was pretty much the same. It is purely selfish of me, but they are who I am most worried about. However, I can not help but feel the war hasn't entered its main phase yet. Yes, a few missiles have been launched, but the media are making a lot bigger deal out of it than it really is.

The worst is yet to come.

Ant.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

May your family be safe, Anthony.

The repurcussions of this war are not pretty to think about. What if Saddam decides to unleash his chemical weapons, for instance?

EDIT: Assuming, of course, he has chemical weapons.

 

[verte76]

This is so sad.

 

[Screaming Flower]

apparently the shock and awe campaign has started...

 

[Screaming Flower]

ok maybe not. just larger explosions. i should not be watching msnbc right now. they keep confusing me.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

all i know is that i was up all night watching the news and fell asleep for a few hrs on the couch only to have nightmares. i am confused and glad i am not home right now watching the news.

 

[tiny dancer]

A Military Analysis:

Saddam Hussein plans to use his own people as a primary weapon to defend himself against the assaults launched by the US and its allies. He will use civilians to slow coalitions troops & to keep aircraft from bombing critical military targets.
He would hope to slow the coalition advance by clogging the roads leading to Baghdad with thousands of refugees.. He's hoping that if any Iraqis are killed, international calumny will fall upon the US, and not upon him.

 

[Scarletwine]

That can also be used by the Administration to excuse a large quantity of civilian deaths.

Either way it is extremely sad.

 

[nbcrusader]

That can also be used by the Administration to excuse a large quantity of civilian deaths.

True, but what does the track record of each leader tell you? No matter how much one may dislike GWB, he has not killed thousands upon thousands of civilians. And I've not seen anything that would suggest that he wants to.

 

[deep]

Some of you may remember that a while back Rumsfeld told the American people they reserved the right to plant false stories and lie in their "war on terror".

There was an uproar from the American people.

Rumsfeld then said they reconsidered, and it was no longer part of the plan.

Well, I am more inclined to believe him the first time.

 

[kobayashi]

during war time journalism can become a very difficult and easily falsified task. governments occupy control of information pertinent to the war. this is done for various reasons: safety of journalists, security of military information and pure economics-this is cheap information for the networks and there are plenty of viewers.

right now for instance cnn is quite proud to state how many 'embeds' it has. these are reporters who are 'embedded' within a military section and given exclusive access to their actions. im sure the other us networks also have them, but have not seen any.

the media use this information out of neccessity-it is, in most cases, the only resource available regarding issues of grave importance to the nation.

while this is a great resource put forth by a government during war time, we must also remember the powers of control which governments therefore come to occupy.

we will see statements like the one you posted tiny dancer, which i'm guessing you retrieved from some sort of western media resource. we will also see reports from iraqi media about how many civilians have been killed.

both of these are, like all reports at this time, to be taken with a great deal of scepticism. whether its al jazeera, iraqi tv, cnn or ap.

 

[foray]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2866555.stm

Iraq latest: At-a-glance

BBC News Online charts the latest developments in the Iraq conflict. [All times GMT and approximate]
Thursday 20 March


2120 US announces it is to freeze all non-diplomatic Iraqi Government funds in the United States and asks other governments to do the same.


2030 Iraqi television says four soldiers have died in the latest fighting. At least 27 surrendered to US-led forces.

2005 Former office of Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in Baghdad ripped apart.

1859 British forces engage in the conflict for the first time.

1809 Central Baghdad comes under bombardment.

1733 More than 35 nations have joine US-led "coalition of the willing," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says.

1710 Artillery attacks in southern Iraq appear to signal the start of a sustained ground assault.


1628 Reports say a number of oil wells may have been set on fire in southern Iraq.

1615 US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the military action that was coming to Iraq would be of a scope and scale beyond whatever has seen before.

1600 The Turkish parliament approves overflight rights for US planes involved in Iraq war.

1550 The Red Cross confirms that one person died and 14 were injured in overnight attacks on Baghdad.

and so on.


foray

 

[Dreadsox]

That can also be used by the Administration to excuse a large quantity of civilian deaths.

Either way it is extremely sad.

I am sorry, but this is offensive to me having served in the military.

I also want to note, that the administration has been holding back and has clearly taken immense steps, against conventional wisdom about how to fight this war, to save Iraqi lives.

Where is the shock and awe? On the shelf because we hope to knock out Saddam.

Why has the ground war started without the massive air campaign?

They are trying to save Iraqi civilian casualties. By the way, this puts our soldiers at risk.

"EXCUSE LARGE QUANTITIES OF CIVILIAN DEATHS" The man's entire strategy throughout containment, throughout gulf one, is to create a civilian crisis for PR purposes. I am really saddened by this post.

 

[nbcrusader]

apparently the shock and awe campaign has started...

Not yet. It is apparently on hold while the US determines the status of Iraqi leadership and due to reported large scale surrender by Iraqi divisions.