Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused. The "topic segregation" approach will last as long as battle in Iraq does. So will our Ultimate Idiotarian Contest - though we may have to extend it to give it adequate time.
If you find something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". Welcome!
TO IRAQ...
For my analysis of Saddam's chemical and biological options on the battlefield, and an honest look at both allied weaknesses and potential responses, see "Devils in the Details" at Techcentralstation.com.
"No, no, no, you idiots! I said, let's all have a SIT IN!" You've got to read this one to believe it.
Xavier Basora notes that Iraq's 51st Division (regular army, part of II Corps) has apparently surrendered. Confirmed now by CNN.
The mechanics and procedure of taking prisoners involves the 5-S approach: search, silence, segregate, speed and safeguard.
Students in Iran are encouraged by developments in Iraq. So is Winds of Change.NET contributor Iraniangirl.
Why I've changed my mind and decided that the whole human shields program in Iraq was a good thing.
Problems with Turkish airspace approval are affecting military operations, though they haven't stopped any. What many people don't know is that Turkey is in Argentina-class trouble with the IMF. I'm thinking that maybe throwing good money after bad isn't such a great idea for the USA next time Turkey comes asking. Let their friends in France and Germany help.
Heavy attacks on Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk. Guess they decided there were signs of life in the Iraqi high command after all.
CNN ordered "out of Iraq"? Well, out of Baghdad anyway. They have a lot of embedded journalists with allied units, all of whom are definitely in Iraq.
Allied troops seizing airfields, oil fields, Basra; about 30 oil wells ablaze. Meanwhile, cavalry units are rolling for Baghdad. Reports from the north strangely quiet, though Turks still not giving formal approval for use of their airspace because of disputes over Turkish troops in northern Iraq.
Pentagon making plans just in case Iraq decides to flood the Tigris basin as a "slow-down" defense. They did it against Iran.
Lileks. Now. (Hat Tip: Instapundit)
Montreal fans boo U.S. anthem prior to hockey game. N.Y. Islanders then proceed to thrash them 6-3. I'm always happy to see the Montreal Canadiens lose; after all, I live in Toronto. Never happier than last night.
Cox and Forkum's cartoon today decisively answers the idiotarian question "don't you care about the innocent victims?"
One of the things that has evolved with the beginning of the war is the quality of the resources available. CNN's ideology sometimes irritates, but their on-line resources rule. First, start with interactive maps of everything from basic geography to deployed military forces to WMD sites.
Here's a detailed map of exactly where Iraq's oilfields are located. CNN? No, University of Texas.
These terms baffle a lot of people: Squad, Brigade, Division, Company - just how many people is that anyway? Here's your definitive answer... at least, as definitive as we can make it.
Back to CNN. Need profiles of the allied coalition's units and a list of who's involved? Right here.
How about the same for Iraqi forces?
Or Details concerning the weapons on both sides, including unconventional weapons and defenses.
Amidst all the news hype, however, Steven Den Beste's reminder to "take a deep breath" when hearing a lot of war news is well taken.
Worth repeating: The use of air power to create strategic paralysis. From the School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Air University, U.S. Air Force. See also: Rapid Dominance Doctrine.
You think Tony Blair is a fine speaker? Meet British Lt. Col. Tim Collins, whose speech to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish deserves to become a classic. (Hat Tip: SV War Watch)
Meanwhile, Scottish papers have noticed the presence of U.S. General William Wallace. No doubt he will destroy the Iraqis with fire from his eyes, and lightning bolts from his arse...
Marines in and around Basra, mostly from Kuwait but also via some amphibious landings. Some firefights and explosions. Radio reports Basra has been captured, no web confirmation yet.
Also reports of explosions around Mosul. Watch the north carefully, the role played by the Kurds will tell us a lot about the future shape of the region.
Donald Sensing discusses the experience of being in combat.
First casualties for the allies, a Marine Ch-46 Sea Knight helicopter with 16 U.S. and British troops. Radio report is that all are dead. Went down in Kuwait, which means mechanical malfunction.
China is upset by the war in Iraq. Michael Totten has a 2-sentence reply.
I'm upset by an unguarded nuclear plant less than 30 miles from New York City. Helloooooo!!!
Also by Lone Dissenter's report of the Gulf War II "teach-in" at her San Francisco area high school. Mandatory attendance, stunning bias, little contribution to real education, no surprise. Anyone out there still wondering why the Maine Teachers Incidents hit such a nerve? It's because we see crap like this all the time. Bring on real school choice!
Contrast this with a real teacher, teaching real critical thinking skills and making her students think about this conflict in a genuinely challenging way by asking them what separates warriors from al-Qaeda - and adding an important twist. But then, Ms. French teaches at a real educational institution. (Hat Tip: Oxblog)
We always try to end on a more humourous note. The USA is sending Optimus Prime to the Mideast. For real. Wow, him and William Wallace. Note to Saddam - surrender now. (Hat Tip: The Command Post)
...AND BEYOND!
Matt Welch does us all a great service by examining the former U.S. ambassasdors to Saudi Arabia and the policies that they push. "Who has been leading the charge against Prince Bandar, King Fahd and the perfidious House of Saud? Certainly, many of the leading figures come from the neo-conservative Right. Who has been leading the charge against the “cabal” of government neo-cons... Could it be the Saudis and their apologists?" (Hat Tip: Amygdala)
Joe:
You can take down the Iraqi 51st Mech Div. According to reports from the New York time, the unit might've fallen apart and its general surrendered.
Guess we'll have to wait 'til tommorrow
Turkey's scuttling of a northern Iraq front for the U.S. may finally provide the opportunity to American policy makers to -- really, truly -- discover what Turkey is all about: a vast liability, with the potential to cause critical trouble and armed conflict in the Middle East and the Eastern Med. The unfolding incursion of Turkish troops into northern Iraq, despite unequivocal U.S. warnings "to stay the hell out," is indeed a sign of things to come re. America's "strategic" Turkish "ally."
I was watching CNN's live feed as Walter Rodgers embedded with the Marines rolled into Southern Iraq. At some point they broke away for a news conference by the Iraqi information Minister, who (in his parallel universe) said that reports of US Marines in Iraq were false. Rodgers I presumed, had no idea about the press conference. When it ended, Jim Clancy, the CNN anchor related to Rodgers what the Iraqi Minister had said. I thought Rodgers was a bit miffed and he said(I'm paraphrasing here), that he Rodgers would his integrity against that of the Iraqi Minister's any day. I'm not surprised therefore that they were booted out. Earlier Nick Robertson had told another anchor that he (Nick)was not allowed to name specific locations of bomb targets. This was also after Nick had remarked that he thought one of the burning buildings was in the vicinity of Tariq Aziz' offces.