Daily Update: War Edition
An online roundup of a second Gulf War.
updated 3:00 a.m. ET/12:00 a.m. PT March 21, 2003.
Troops: 12 troops killed in copter crash
Baghdad: Is Saddam Hussein alive?
Kuwait: Sources disagree if missiles scuds or not
12 troops killed in copter crash
MSNBC reports that 12 US and British troops were
believed to have been killed when a US Marine helicopter went down inside Kuwait at 7:40 p.m. Kuwait time. Details of the crash were sketchy, but the officials said the helicopter was a CH-46 Sea Knight medium-lift craft that did not come under hostile fire. Officials are also saying that the helicopter was not on a training mission. The helicopter carried 12 personnel ��� a US air crew and British commandos. The
BBC is reporting that there were
8 British commandos and four US Marines on board.
The
CBC reports that two other US military helicopters
made crash landings along the Kuwait-Iraq border. One was later destroyed by American warplanes. Pentagon officials said the action was taken to prevent the helicopter from falling into Iraqi hands.
Is Saddam Hussein alive?
Ever since the US started the war with Iraq with a
quick attack on a site believed to be the hiding place of Saddam Hussein, there has been much speculation about whether Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is still alive.
The Washington Post reports that US intelligence officials believe that
Saddam Hussein and both or one of his sons were in the bunker in southern Baghdad early yesterday when it was struck by a barrage of US bombs and cruise missiles.
"The preponderance of the evidence is he was there when the building blew up," said one senior US official with access to sensitive intelligence. The official added that Hussein's sons, Qusay and Uday, may also have been at the compound. "He didn't get out" beforehand, another senior official said of the Iraqi president. But senior Bush administration officials said intelligence officials were not certain if Hussein was killed or injured or escaped the attack. The
San Jose Mercury reports the war-opening strike certainly appears to have
significantly shaken the Baghdad regime.
CBS notes that for several hours that there was an
ongoing debate within the Bush administration over whether this was actually the man himself or "just a darn good imposter." Iraqi defectors have long insisted that Hussein uses doubles to throw off his enemies and maintain an air of secrecy. But
The Age of Melbourne says that the US now believes that the person in the video
was Saddam Hussein but that they cannot say for certain when the tape was made.
MSNBC reports that while the Iraqi president mentioned the date ��� March 20 ��� in his speech as he read from a notepad, US officials said the message
does not conclusively prove Saddam, who often uses is alive. US intelligence agencies were conducting a voice analysis to confirm his identity, the officials said. But even if the Thursday morning strike in Baghdad missed Hussein,
CNN reports that officials believe that the strikes may have
killed several members of the senior leadership. The International Herald Tribune quotes an adminstration officials who says, "It may take days to sift through it all."
Meanwhile
MSNBC is reporting that "serious cracks" have appeared in the Iraqi leadership and that secret talks are under way with some senior Iraqi military leaders, including some leaders of the Republican Guard, about
a possible surrender.
Sources not sure if missiles scuds or not
Kuwait says Iraq fired six Scud missiles earlier today at site in Northern Kuwait, two of which were intercepted by Patriot missiles, reports
Agence France Presse. But
Iraq later denied that the missiles used were Scuds. The question is important because Iraq was forbidden to use or own any Scud missiles under terms of the surrender from the first Gulf War.
Reuters carried reports that the missiles were Scuds. But several Israeli media said that they weren't.
Ha'aretz reports that the missiles were those
code-named by NATO as "Frog" (Free Rocket Over Ground), with a range of not more than 70 kilometers. And the
Virtual Jerusalem website reported
the same thing.
updated 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT March 20, 2003.
Baghdad: Second series of strikes hits
UN: Keep civilians safe, Annan pleads
Israel: Anti-missile system on high alert
Bombs over Baghdad, troops cross border
Shortly after nightfall in Baghdad, bomb blasts echoed through the streets.
CNN reports that seven aircraft from the USS Abraham Lincoln dropped bombs over Iraqi targets at 9 p.m. Thursday (1 p.m. EST) in what is the second series of strikes following the early morning "decapitation attempt" aimed at Saddam Hussein. According to
CNN, the
strikes hit at least two buildings, "including one that houses the offices of Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and other government officials."
MSNBC reports that a senior US official said
targets included "strongholds of the Republican Guard, Iraq's special security organization run by Saddam Hussein's son Qusay."
CNN cites US officials as saying that the strikes will pave the way for a full-fledged attack and ground invasion.
MSNBC cites Maj. Gen. Bufourd Blount, the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, as saying that the
artillery barrage would signal the first phase of the ground war. Hours before the strikes, the US 3rd Infantry Division fired Paladin self-propelled howitzers and multiple-launch rocket systems across the Kuwaiti border into southern Iraq.
Annan urges both sides to protect civilians
As TV viewers worldwide watched bombs light up the minarets on the Baghdad skyline, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged both sides in the Iraq conflict to
prevent civilian death. He said: "I hope that all parties will scrupulously observe the requirements of international humanitarian law and will do everything in their power to shield the civilian population from the grim consequences of war." Annan seized the opportunity to take what the
CBC calls "a diplomatic swipe" at the US and Britain. Annan said that UN diplomacy could have prevented the current military action. If diplomacy failed to solve the crisis, Mr. Annan said that "the world could have taken action to solve this problem by a collective decision, endowing it with greater legitimacy, and therefore commanding wider support, than is now the case." Chief UN weapons inspector
Hans Blix said that the US "lost patience some time at the end of January or the beginning of February." According to the
BBC, he also "suggested Washington had little interest in peaceful disarmament from the outset."
Israelis, have your gas masks ready
After being pounded by 39 Iraqi Scud missiles in the first Gulf War, Israel is bracing for another attack. Israel's Home Front Command told the public to open their protective kits,
practice putting on their gas masks, and carry them at all times, according to the Israeli daily
Ha'aretz. Also, a false alarm prompted Israel's
Arrow anti-missile to go into high alert Thursday. According to
Ha'aretz, "the Arrow is designed to intercept an Iraqi missile ... at such a high altitude that if the warhead contained chemical or biological agents they would dissipate in the atmosphere and not harm anyone on the ground."
Meanwhile, the
BBC reports that
Israel says the US has offered $10 billion - $1 billion in military aid and $9 billion in loan guarantees - to help it out of "the worst economic crisis in its history." The package still needs congressional approval, but Israel says US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice pledged the aid to Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.
Also...
•
America's image further erodes, Europeans want weaker ties (
The Pew Research Center)
•
NSC Official's Departure Is Abrupt (
The Washington Post)
•
Bush gives Dixie Chicks 48 hours to flee US (
Skewpoint, (humor) )
•
Resignations in US govt. over Bush's Iraq policy (
The Times of India)
•
USA lied about Iraq's weapons (
Aftenposten), Norway
•
US exaggerates relative size of Iraq alliance (
Reuters)
• Feedback appreciated. E-mail
Matthew Clark.
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