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Saturday, March 22, 2003
Rockets Hit Iran, US, UK Jets Enter AirspaceIran's official news agency IRNA, citing an unnamed military commander, said on Saturday that two rockets fired by U.S. jets had fallen in southwest Iran, close to the border with Iraq.
IRNA also said that U.S. and British military jets had violated the Islamic Republic's airspace several times on Friday and Saturday during operations against targets in southern Iraq.
"In two cases, rockets from American planes hit" the area of Maniuhi, inside the Iranian border, the military commander said.
And...Stray Rockets Test Iran's Neutrality Over Iraq
posted by Matt at 6:16 PM
50 Dead in BasraAl-Jazeera television, quoting Iraqi medics, said on Saturday that 50 people had been killed in U.S. bombing around the southern Iraqi city of Basra and it aired grisly footage of dead and wounded civilians.
Among the scenes, beamed across the Arab the world by the Qatar-based satellite channel, were a child with the back of its head blown off -- it was unclear if it was a boy or a girl -- and bloodied people being treated on the floor of a hospital.
"It's a huge mass of civilians," one angry woman told al-Jazeera, standing among the wounded. "It was a massacre."
posted by Matt at 6:08 PM
About 250,000 anti-war protesters marched in London on Saturday to denounce British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government over the Iraq conflict.
posted by Matt at 6:05 PM
Bye-Bye CNNNowhere in the endless flood of repetitive verbiage passed off as commentary and analysis were the motives of the US administration questioned, or even discussed. Nor did any of the legion of talking heads on the screens attempt to conceptualize events. One marine has died: That is a breaking news story. That thousands of Iraqi men — many just adolescent boys — who have been pushed onto the front lines against their will are to be slaughtered en masse in the coming days is not worth a second thought.
Iraq has now thrown CNN out of Baghdad for acting as a crude propaganda tool of the Bush administration. It is difficult to have any sympathy for that particular news outlet, so repulsively gung-ho has it been, so preposterously shallow its coverage of anything that actually matters.
posted by Matt at 5:56 PM
This Is the Reality of War. We Bomb. They SufferDonald Rumsfeld says the American attack on Baghdad is "as targeted an air campaign as has ever existed" but he should not try telling that to five-year-old Doha Suheil. She looked at me yesterday morning, drip feed attached to her nose, a deep frown over her small face as she tried vainly to move the left side of her body. The cruise missile that exploded close to her home in the Radwaniyeh suburb of Baghdad blasted shrapnel into her tiny legs - they were bound up with gauze - and, far more seriously, into her spine. Now she has lost all movement in her left leg.
Her mother bends over the bed and straightens her right leg which the little girl thrashes around outside the blanket. Somehow, Doha's mother thinks that if her child's two legs lie straight beside each other, her daughter will recover from her paralysis. She was the first of 101 patients brought to the Al-Mustansaniya College Hospital after America's blitz on the city began on Friday night. Seven other members of her family were wounded in the same cruise missile bombardment; the youngest, a one-year-old baby, was being breastfed by her mother at the time.
posted by Matt at 5:53 PM
Of all the American TV networks broadcasting war coverage, CBS seems to be the least one-sided. They just showed an interview with Hans Blix in which he posited the following:
1. Based on evidence alone, he isn't sure whether or not Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and doesn't believe the coalition provided ample evidence.
2. He was happy with the way the inspections were going.
3. He was not surprised that Hussein has not used WMD so far in the war (if he has them) because he thinks Saddam sees himself as a great Arab, has a lot of world opinion on his side, and will not want to lose that and be remembered as a liar.
4. He thinks the UN has not been weakened as a whole, only weakened as a peacekeeping body, and he says "it's not the first time" one government's interests have caused it to overstep UN boundaries.
I haven't found a link related to this conversation, but here is CBS' war page.
posted by Matt at 11:37 AM
 Iraq's information minister says Friday night's massive bombing of Baghdad resulted in the hospitalization of 207 civilians, whom he said were mostly women and children.
posted by Matt at 10:00 AM
Errant U.S. Missile Might Have Struck IranThe U.S. military is investigating indications that a ship-launched American Tomahawk cruise missile fired against a target in Iraq went off course and perhaps landed in southwestern Iran, a defense official said on Saturday.
"A lot of these things have been used since the air war started. While they are precisely guided, nothing is perfect."
posted by Matt at 9:53 AM
 Maj David 'Bull' Gurfein, of New York City, right, with 1st Marine Expeditionnary Force, tears down a portrait of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein while Sgt Jason Lewis, 4th Reconnaisance Battalion Company, from Denver, Co., looks on, in the southern border city of Safwan, Iraq, Friday, March 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
posted by Matt at 7:24 AM
World relief groups prepare aid for IraqBig charities ready to roll into Iraq with food, blankets and medicine plan to refuse the protection of U.S.-led military forces, fearing that being spotted with an invading superpower is more dangerous than going it alone.
This unprecedented decision to shun visible connection with the military is prompted largely by anti-American sentiments in parts of the Muslim world where many groups operate, aid agencies say.
"God help us if we become identified as one of the belligerents," CARE security chief Bob McPherson, a former U.S. Marine colonel in Somalia, said by telephone from Jordan.
posted by Matt at 7:15 AM
Baghdad burns after intense bombing campaignParts of Baghdad are still burning, many hours after US and British forces rained bombs and missiles on the capital in the start of their campaign to "shock and awe" Saddam Hussein's regime into submission.
An American admiral says more than 320 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired, along with around 1,500 precision-guided bombs.
Information Minister Mohammad Saeed Al-Sahhaf says the Bush administration has been involved in what he called the criminal destruction of buildings that had nothing to do with the military.
Mr al Sahhaf says President George W Bush and his senior officials are criminals.
"Those criminals are lying to the world because they are natural criminals, shame on you, the humiliation will forever follow you," he said.
"You have tainted the reputation of the American people to the lowest or the most extreme taint. Shame on you we will defeat you, we will destroy you."
posted by Matt at 2:53 AM
Morning attack on BaghdadA huge explosion shook the center of Iraq's capital before dawn Saturday, hours after the most ferocious attack of the war left Saddam Hussein's Old Palace in flames and Baghdad shrouded in smoke.
The blast at first light shattered the eerie silence that had fallen over Baghdad after the massive missile attack Friday evening.
posted by Matt at 2:45 AM
US Air Attack In Iraq Also Targeted Al-Qaida-Linked GroupU.S. forces fired five missiles at the base of an al-Qaida linked group in the mountains of northeastern Iraq, Kurdish political and military officials said.
posted by Matt at 2:39 AM
Turkey To Send Troops Into Iraq: U.S. Fears Wider Fighting With Kurds Brushing aside U.S. objections, Turkey said yesterday it would send troops into northern Iraq to aid refugees and prevent "terrorist activity," a development that U.S. officials fear could lead to a wider war between Turkish forces and the Kurdish minority in Iraq.
The announcement, by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, came after Turkey opened its airspace to U.S. warplanes. The government in the capital of Ankara had refused for 24 hours to do so unless the United States agreed to let it send in troops.
posted by Matt at 2:37 AM
France unwilling to back `belligerents' in post-war Iraq FRENCH President Jacques Chirac said yesterday France would not go along with a new United Nations resolution that would allow the United States and Britain to administer post-war Iraq.
posted by Matt at 2:35 AM
Two UK Helicopters Collide in Gulf, 7 Crew MissingTwo Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over international waters in the Gulf region and seven crew members are missing, Britain's Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
posted by Matt at 2:33 AM
Iraqi Units Showing Little Early Resistance Iraqi military units outside Baghdad have offered less resistance than anticipated since U.S. and British forces began invading Iraq three days ago.
posted by Matt at 2:32 AM
Friday, March 21, 2003
posted by Matt at 2:45 PM
Here's an initial link to shock and awe.
posted by Matt at 2:04 PM
There aren't any news stories to link to yet, but a half an hour ago Operation Shock and Awe commenced in Baghdad. Saddam's palaces and various other places were obliterated. The reporter for MSNBC, Peter Arnett, laughed about it as it was happening. He didn't realize he was on the air. The anchor for MSNBC said something about how it was kind of unfair that Arnett didn't know he was on the air, then explained that since Arnett was in Vietnam, covering these bombings was for him like covering a small fire. Iraq has shown virtually no ability to defend itself and has not used any weapons of mass destruction. This country that we are supposed to believe was an imminent threat to our national security has been essentially conquered without resistance. The precedent has thus been set that anyone the powers that be perceive as a threat can now be invaded and obliterated even if their military is incapable of putting up a fight. A war of "self defense" against a country that can't even defend itself, that's a first for me.
My impression so far is that this isn't a war, it's an imperialist massacre. But maybe I'm just in shock and awe.
posted by Matt at 2:02 PM
Two die at U.S. embassy protest in YemenPolice clashed with anti-war demonstrators trying to storm the U.S. Embassy in Yemen on Friday, leaving a policeman and protester dead amid a barrage of bullets, rocks, water cannons and tear gas canisters.
Dozens more people were injured, and three protesters were hospitalized in serious condition. A crowd of about 30,000 protesters chanted "Death to America!" as outrage over the U.S.-led attacks on Iraq spilled into the streets for a second day Friday.
posted by Matt at 11:46 AM
San Francisco protesters stage a 'vomit in' In a unique form of opposition, some protesters at the Federal Building staged a "vomit in,'' by heaving on the sidewalks and plaza areas in the back and front of the building to show that the war in Iraq made them sick, according to a spokesman
posted by K-Dawg at 11:46 AM
Saddam seeks mass carnage--among IraqisThe great paradox of the escalating Iraq War is that the attacking allies want fewer Iraqi casualties than does Saddam Hussein.
Saddam knows he can't win a straight military shoot-out. His only hope is to delay the outcome as long as possible, while imposing as many casualties both on Americans and in particular on Iraqis. If he can show off enough destruction and carnage long enough for the TV cameras, perhaps he can induce world and especially American opinion to cause President Bush to halt the war.
The hope of a bloody replay would explain the fact that many Iraqi divisions, including the Republican Guard, have already withdrawn into defensive positions around Baghdad. Many are said to be dispersed among the civilian population. It would also explain yesterday's reports that Saddam had already begun setting oil wells ablaze, this time his own. And it renders credible reports that Saddam has outfitted some Iraqi soldiers with American and British uniforms, and is planning atrocities against his own people that he hopes to blame on coalition forces.
posted by K-Dawg at 11:43 AM
Steady U.S. Support - Public Backs PresidentBush's approval rating for handling the situation with Iraq is 65 percent; his father's comparable rating at the start of the Gulf War was 80 percent. And Bush's overall job approval, 67 percent, is up just five points from early this month. His father's overall rating, by contrast, jumped 16 points after the 1991 war began, to 79 percent.
Some other basic measures of support, while high, are also lower than they were the last time around. Sixty-seven percent of Americans say the United States did enough to seek a diplomatic solution before attacking; it was 77 percent at the start of the Gulf War. And on timing, 62 percent say it was right for the United States to attack now — compared to 75 percent on Jan. 16, 1991, the night the Gulf War began.
posted by K-Dawg at 11:08 AM
Witnesses Reportedly Saw Saddam Carried Out on a Stretcher After U.S. AirstrikeWitnesses at the site of a Baghdad suburban residential complex have told U.S. intelligence officials that Saddam was observed being taken from the bombed complex on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask over his face on Thursday before dawn local time.
U.S. intelligence sources also said there had been a significant lack of communication from the Iraqi leader to his government and military structure since the bombing.
posted by K-Dawg at 11:05 AM
Iraqi forces in disarrayIntelligence reports indicated that Iraq's forces were in disarray after a strike aimed at killing President Saddam Hussein, U.S. officials said Thursday. There was no evidence that Hussein, or anyone else, was in overall command of Iraq's security or military operations, they said.
posted by K-Dawg at 11:01 AM
Colonel Neal Peckham -God rest his soul.A United States marine died in action, becoming the first allied combat casualty of the Iraq war, as American forces pushed through the Iraqi desert and heavy bombers took off from Britain to press the air campaign.
Military officials said Lieutenant Colonel Neal Peckham died in the advance on the Rumeila oil field.
posted by K-Dawg at 10:53 AM
Nash not backpedaling from anti-war stanceSteve Nash, the Mavericks' All-Star guard and perhaps the NBA's most outspoken anti-war lobbyist, said Thursday that he has no plans to modify his stance.
"I'm not embarrassed by America," Nash said. "I'm embarrassed by humanity. More than embarrassed, I think it's really unfortunate in the year 2003 that we're still using violence as a means of conflict resolution. That's what I'm speaking out against."
posted by Matt at 10:53 AM
Stocks are up, oil prices are down.
posted by Matt at 10:50 AM
Battle for Iraq not the pushover it appearsTelevision images of U.S. tanks tearing across desert sands make the invasion of Iraq look as easy as punching through a soggy paper bag, but the toughest battles of this war are yet to come.
"We have not yet seen a major engagement between large groups of troops," said Tim Ripley of the Defence Studies Centre at Britain's Lancaster University. "Until you see that you just can't judge the willingness of the Iraqis to fight."
Stars and Stripes flies over Iraqi port
US marines lowered the Iraqi flag over the new port area of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq yesterday and hoisted the Stars and Stripes in its place.
The US wants to use the modern port on the southern fringes of Iraq as an entry point for humanitarian aid. The old port of Umm Qasr, one-and-a-half kilometres away, has not yet been taken.
posted by K-Dawg at 10:50 AM
Pentagon said to conduct stealth negotiation with Republican Guard to eliminate SaddamLess than 24 hours after the attack on Iraq began, the Pentagon was reportedly in secret surrender discussions with Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard.
NBC News reports that U.S. forces have actually held back on launching the major "shock and awe" campaign which military planners had vowed to unleash in recent weeks as the negotiations continue.
Web users make war, not love
War has toppled sex as the most popular search term among Web users as the conflict in Iraq captures the attention and apparently lowers libidos of online Britons, top Internet service Freeserve says.
posted by K-Dawg at 10:38 AM
"Dead bodies are everywhere," a US officer reported by radio.Marine Cobra helicopter gunships firing Hellfire missiles swept in low from the south. Then the marine howitzers, with a range of 30 kilometres, opened a sustained barrage over the next eight hours. They were supported by US Navy aircraft which dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives and napalm, a US officer told the Herald.
posted by Matt at 8:46 AM
Members of the Coalition of the Willing, aka List Of Countries Whose People Don't Generally Support The War But Whose Leaders Don't Want To Upset George W Bush And Mess Up Trade Relations.
posted by Matt at 8:12 AM
posted by Matt at 7:49 AM
posted by Matt at 7:33 AM
posted by Matt at 7:27 AM
All Iraqi forces can do is wait The allies are expected to make rapid progress northward in the early stages, after crossing the start line. The advance may be hindered, however, as they near Baghdad, for two reasons. The first is that Saddam has apparently kept his more reliable and efficient troops, the Republican Guard, in and around the capital. The other is that the allies will have to cross the Euphrates, the permanent bridges over which the Iraqis will blow, if they have not already done so.
posted by Matt at 6:44 AM
Worldwide protests denounce war in IraqProtests swelled around the world from Stockholm to Srinagar and San Francisco on Thursday as the United States and Britain launched military action in Iraq.
Virtually all the protests were directed against President George W. Bush and the United States rather than the Iraqi regime...
Among the biggest demonstrations were those in Athens and Cairo, each of which attracted between 150,000 and 200,000 protesters.
"If we are going to bomb all the tyrants, let's start with the Texan," one banner read. Another said: "Who sows war, reaps terrorism."
posted by Matt at 6:30 AM
This is no game, says nervous North KoreaNorth Korea accused the United States on Friday of preparing a pre-emptive strike on its nuclear facilities to coincide with the war on Iraq.
posted by Matt at 6:25 AM
Montreal fans boo Star-Spangled Banner
posted by Matt at 2:11 AM
Land, Sea, and Air AssualtIn Baghdad, huge explosions shook the city centre and illuminated the suburbs. US defence officials said that the barrage came almost exclusively from cruise missiles, to minimise the threat to coalition pilots. They said the missiles had been aimed at "leadership targets", like yesterday morning's cruise missile attack, which had been intended to kill Saddam Hussein.
However Pentagon officials said the most formidable barrage, the long-predicted "shock and awe" to be inflicted on Iraq, was yet to come. Yesterday the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, promised action of "a force and scope and scale beyond what has been seen before."
posted by Matt at 1:48 AM
Democrats Slam Republicans on War Costs, BudgetDemocrats voiced long-held suspicions the Bush administration was deliberately delaying an emergency defense spending request -- expected to total $75 billion or more -- in order to avoid stoking opposition to the tax cuts at a time of rising federal budget deficits.
"I've heard it could be up to $100 billion," Reid said in a speech on the Senate floor. "And yet we're marching through with these tax cuts to satisfy the wealthy of this country. That's what this budget thing is all about."
posted by Matt at 1:43 AM
Sixteen coalition troops died when a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter crashed early today in Kuwait, military officials said.
posted by Matt at 1:41 AM
Police arrested more than 1,000 people in San Francisco on Thursday -- the most taken into custody on a single day in the city in decades -- as tens of thousands protested across America against the U.S. war in Iraq.
posted by Matt at 1:40 AM
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Gorbachev expresses opposition to Iraq war"It seems that the United States considers the world is its own province. But that is nothing but an illusion. I doubt the leadership of the United States. True leadership is far away from today's action. I say the United States would be exercising leadership if it announced ratification of Kyoto Protocol or the abolition of its nuclear weapons."
posted by Matt at 4:48 PM
Could U.S. be at war for years?"The war in Iraq is just the beginning...Problems of the first magnitude can be expected therafter, as well: Iran, North Korea, and Libya.
"The problem is, can you simply abandon the world to dictators, to weapons of mass destruction?"
posted by Matt at 3:29 PM
posted by Matt at 3:05 PM
Iraqi Military Says U.S. Helicopter Shot DownAn Iraqi military spokesman said on Thursday that a U.S. helicopter had been shot down as U.S. and British forces mounted a major offensive against the country, Iraqi state television said.
"An American aircraft of the Sikorsky type used in carrying troops and equipment was downed as it was trying to infiltrate Iraqi airspace to carry out aggressive operations. Long live Iraq," the spokesman said in a statement read on television.
US Air Force helicopter down in southern Iraq
US military spokesman says Air Force MH 53 helicopter not shot down, crew rescued as cause not yet know. A US Air Force helicopter went down without serious casualties during operations over southern Iraq late Wednesday, a US military spokesman said here, adding that it was not targeted by hostile fire.
posted by K-Dawg at 2:27 PM
US leaflets explain how to surrender"To avoid destruction," the leaflets advised, Iraqi soldiers should abandon their tanks and vehicles and gather in unarmed groups at least one kilometre away.
posted by K-Dawg at 2:21 PM
Did Saddam’s doppelganger give the televised speech?It has been widely reported that the Iraqi leader has a number of look-alikes who stand in for him from time to time at public events.
But U.S. officials analyzing the tape said they've made no decision on whether the latest TV appearance was made by Hussein or a double. The taped message mentioned Thursday's date and appeared on Iraqi television after the U.S. strikes.
posted by K-Dawg at 12:42 PM
U.S. Forces Fire Heavy Artillery at Southern Iraq : The U.S. 3rd Infantry Division's artillery opened fire Thursday night on Iraqi troops in southern Iraq, using Paladin self-propelled howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems in the first stage of the ground war.
The Pentagon has confirmed that Iraqi forces have set at least two oil wells ablaze southwest of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there were reports that "as many as three or four" oil wells were on fire.
posted by K-Dawg at 12:40 PM
World Leaders react to military operations in IRAQ.
posted by K-Dawg at 12:32 PM
Turkey, the only Muslim country in NATO, votes to allow U.S. access to its airspace. There is overwhelming opposition to a war in Iraq, but Turkish leaders feared that denying the U.S. airspace rights could harm the country's relationship with Washington.
posted by Matt at 12:10 PM
One dead, 14 wounded in last night's mini-attack. (Civilians.)
posted by Matt at 11:48 AM
Reporter's Log: At War in IraqOn street corners almost everywhere you do see defensive position manned by middle-aged and older men, wearing an assortment of uniforms, carrying an assortment of weapons, using Kalashnikovs and they seemed quite happy, waving the victory sign, giving us broad smiles and saying that they supported their president.
posted by Matt at 10:48 AM
DEBKAfile - a good source for war news from the Middle East. Site includes news stories and a war diary.
posted by K-Dawg at 8:30 AM
(It's bad for their economy.)
posted by Matt at 6:15 AM
Iraqis living in America have mixed reactions to the invasion.
posted by Matt at 5:25 AM
China stresses out over the war.
posted by Matt at 5:11 AM
Donald Rumsfeld gave his spin on things to Al-Jazeera back in February.
posted by Matt at 4:58 AM
The Iraqi News Agency website is currently down. Maybe their server was hit...
posted by Matt at 4:44 AM
A few hours after the US carried out an attempt to "decapitate" Iraqi forces by firing million-dollar missiles into a place they believed Saddam Hussein to be dwelling, Saddam appeared on Iraqi TV looking mighty studious.
Saddam said:
"Let the unbelievers go to hell...you will be victorious, Iraqi people."
While waiting for Saddam to hit the airwaves, CNN inadvertently showed some commercials being displayed on Iraqi TV. The people in the ads looked just as obnoxious as the people in our ads. But they were certainly more interesting than Aaron Brown.
posted by Matt at 4:38 AM
To recap, after Saddam Hussein scoffed at Bush's demand that he leave within 48 hours, the U.S. fired some cruise missiles last night but did not start an all-out campaign. They don't want to kick things off during the daytime for strategic reasons. Bush said:
"On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign."
posted by Matt at 4:26 AM
I created this blog in hopes it would be a better news source than this guy.
posted by Matt at 3:55 AM
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