Winds of War: 2003-03-20

by Joe Katzman at March 20, 2003 8:04 AM

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...

  • Reports that Basra have been liberated. Looks like the (U.S. and Royal) Marines have landed!

  • "Shaock & Awe" on hold. The USA is noticing that the Iraqi forces don't seem to have any cohesion to their reactions, and want to test the concept that maybe they achieved their objective of severing command and control with their "hurry up" surprise strike and scattered follow-ups.

  • Tony Blair's Address to his nation

  • The San Jose Mercury, whose excellent 9/11 blog inspired me to get started, has a new "War Watch" blog up and running. It's very good.

  • 1:23pm ET: 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is across the border and rolling to their objectives. Recall the send-off letter from yesterday, and see this combat update.

  • 1:12pm ET: Lots of booms over Baghdad. Series of selected targets. Not the main event.

  • Rumsfeld's press conference referred to Iraqis who would help the allies liberate Iraq. These may be the folks he's talking about.

  • 12:11pm ET: The ground attack is underway, with artillery and MLRS rocket launchers firing and troops moving. Let's Roll!

  • 10:45am ET: FOX reports that some Iraqi oilfields are burning south and west of Basra. Here's a detailed map of exactly where Iraq's oilfields are located.

  • Transcript of President Bush's remarks.

  • And also Saddam's... if that was really him. Some officials think they got him with last night's stike. (Hat Tip: reader G. Haubold)

  • As the attack commenced, Trent had ongoing updates last night. Blogs of War is also doing a fine job.

  • Stay safe, "Salam Pax". But it's way, way past time that stuff like this came to an end. (Warning: Amnesty International Report - not pleasant reading, but necessary).

  • 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.

  • List of US forces in the region, incl. map. You can also find a more detailed list here as of Feb. 26, plus updates.

  • List of British forces in region and en route.

  • The Agonist's guess re: Iraqi forces. I suspect many of these are "phantom units" that exist on paper, but aren't even close to fully staffed.

  • U.S. forces may have dominance in space, but they're not alone. Could other countries be sharing satellite data with Saddam? Very possibly.

  • Amir Taheri on Saddam's battle plan. Is he right? We'll see.

  • Repeat after me: sandstorms are a good thing. By the way, forget what the media say - so is a full moon.

  • 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.

  • On a related topic, Cato the Youngest offers a pocket guide to smart bombs.

  • How to tell if we're winning in Iraq.

  • Gotta love those Seminole war dances. Go, Alpha Company!

  • Report from Kurdistan. On to Kirkuk? Turks would be very unhappy, so probably not. I could definitely see a siege, though.

  • Iraqi human rights luminary Kanan Makiya has a daily war diary! (Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan)

  • William Safire on "French Connection II" and what we'll find in Iraq. (Hat Tip: Vodkapundit)

  • No wonder Tony Blair seems so tired lately.

  • Speaking of people a conservative never thought he'd cheer for, how about a gay leftist in San Francisco?

  • More Democrats drinking the political Kool-Aid cyanide right on the eve of war. This time it's that old KKK alumnus Robert Byrd. Oh, and San Francisco Bay area quisling Democrat Pete Stark. What the hell is wrong with these people?

  • For the record, there are quisling conservatives too.

  • For today's humour, we have anti-war Darwin candidates. One tries to hang a banner on the Golden Gate Bridge, doesn't use a safety line, and declares "no blood for {splash}!" (Hat Tip: Zogby Blog) Another chains himself to the wrong building.
    ...AND BEYOND!

  • This Salon article "See No Evil" is unbelievably good - worth clicking on the day pass to read. Another leftist who sees the moral destruction of his movement, and is willing to ask very healthy questions from a leftist perspective. The long term course of this war, and Western Civilization, will be partly determined by how many people ask these questions.

  • Henry Kissinger on North Korea. (Hat Tip: Marmot's Hole - who needs to work on permalinks)

  • Dear Osama... This is good.

  • Dear Osama and cave-buddies... 1,000 troops of the 82nd Airborne on the offensive in southern Afghanistan. Trent Telenko notes that the operation is called "Operation Valiant Strike".

  • Firefight #2 in Afghanistan. Italian Alpine troops stand and fight. Hardened mujahideen of Afghanistan beat feet. So much for stereotypes.


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