Reply
Mon 3 Mar, 2003 11:35 am
Quote:Senior officials at the Pentagon say US and British forces have been attacking Iraqi military installations in an aggressive shift in strategy in the no-fly zones over the country.
The strikes, which are being seen as a further stage in the preparation for war, have focused on rocket launchers and other weapons in the south which could be used against Allied troops if an invasion were to take place.
The no-fly zones - which have never been sanctioned by the United Nations - were imposed by the US, Britain and France after the 1991 Gulf War, in what was described as a humanitarian effort to protect Shia Muslims in the south and Kurds in the north.
BBC online
The airplanes also attacked surface-to-surface missile systems and multiple launch rockets. IMHO this means the war already has begun. How can u justify such attacks as a defensive action? Have u ever seen an airplane hit by a s-t-s missile?
Airplanes cannot be shot down by the STS missiles. But these may be used against ground forces. U.S. and UK armies do their best to minimize their possible casualties in course of the ground operation. What is wrong with this?
An internal United Nations document obtained by the BBC says UN observers working in the border area between Iraq and Kuwait have discovered three large gaps cut in an electric fence that separates the two countries.
According to the observers, the gaps in the fence were discovered earlier this month, shortly after plain-clothed US marines were seen driving through the demilitarised zone between Iraq and Kuwait in unmarked vehicles.
The UN report concludes that the three gaps in the electric fence are positioned on what is a likely access for any military advance through the demilitarised zone.
The UN document describes an unauthorised incursion into the sensitive demilitarised zone between Iraq and Kuwait earlier this week.
UN observers monitoring the area discovered 15 men wearing civilian clothes and travelling in unmarked cars.
When approached by UN observers, they said they were US marines and had permission from the Kuwaiti authorities to work in the area.
According to the document, all had military haircuts and three were carrying pistols in shoulder holsters.
The UN report says that shortly after the incursion was discovered, three large gaps were found in the electric fence that marks the border between Iraq and Kuwait.
The report says that where the fence had been breached, the cabling had been laid beneath the ground, presumably to preserve the continuity of the electric charge in the fence.
It says all three gaps are identical in size, about 25 metres wide, and positioned on what the UN observer mission in Kuwait judges is a likely access for any military advance through the demilitarised zone.
Sure the preliminary work is underway. Nothing short of an injection of brains to Bush will change it now.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace