| |||
 -Click for larger map-
BIG! Archives Resources News
Army Times
OpinionCNN CSPAN: Iraq CSPAN: War with Iraq Resources DEBKA Drudge Report Fox News Google News Jerusalem Post London Daily Telegraph London Times MSNBC NY Times The Guardian Washington Post Washington Times WSJ Opinion Journal
Atlantic Monthly
Defense Related/ OrientedBest of the Web Charles Krauthammer Commentary David Brooks Foreign Affairs George Will Jeff Jacoby Jewish World Review Mark Steyn Michael Kelley National Review New Criterion Robert Samuelson Salon Slate The Nation The New Republic Town Hall columnists Weekly Standard William Safire
DOD Press Office
BloggersGlobalSecurity GlobalSecurity: Order of Battle MilitaryCity: Order of Battle StrategyPage STRATFOR
Think Tanks Photo Albums |
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Military Tech Upgrades Since Desert Storm (Military.com) Below are some of the innovations and improvements the U.S. military has instituted in the past decade -- changes that could be the deciding factor in mounting a swift, decisive strategy against Iraq, with minimum casualties. Meet the new tech weapons of today's battlefields. Getting Serious: Questions for the peaceniks (Pete Dupont) Protests against war in Iraq have been raging all across America and England as well as Continental Europe. Passionate peace protests are nothing new; we saw them in 1933 when the British Oxford Union declared it would "in no circumstances fight for its King and country," against the Vietnam War in the 1970s, and in 1983 against NATO's proposal to install Pershing missiles to defend Western Europe against Soviet Russia. Friday, March 14, 2003
The French Connection (Safire)
Thursday, March 13, 2003
U.S. Military Concerned Saddam Hussein May Launch First Attack U.S. officials fear that once President Bush signals the U.S. is headed to war, Saddam Hussein will strike pre-emptively, administration sources told ABCNEWS.So we may have to preemptively attack so that Iraq won't preemptively attack our forces massing for a preemptive attack. British forces 'ready' for attack on Iraq Britain's forces, including the biggest deployment of military aircraft since the Suez crisis, are "combat ready" and could go to war in a "very, very short time frame," military sources in the Gulf said on Thursday. US Military Speeds Preparations for Iraq War Speeding preparations for a "shock and awe" war with Iraq, the Pentagon is moving B-2 stealth bombers and a dozen more missile-firing warships to the Gulf region, defense officials said on Thursday. U.S. Forces in Kuwait Inch Closer to War Some U.S. and British troops have moved to assembly areas in the Kuwaiti desert, closer to the Iraqi border. They have been issued ammunition and have said goodbye to hot meals. Contractors hired by the Kuwaiti government, meanwhile, have punched holes in an electrified fence and begun leveling earthen defenses along the border to make way for the armored columns that would head north. The case for war (Trudy Rubin) The administration's Iraq campaign could have been different - and better. - Why are we going to war? You would think the answer would be clear as the troops get ready for battle. But it's not. That should be deeply disturbing to all who worry about the outcome of an Iraq war. Call the Vote. Walk Away. (Krauthammer) Walk away, Mr. President. Walk away from the U.N. Security Council. It will not authorize the coming war. You can stand on your head and it won't change the outcome. You can convert to Islam in a Parisian mosque and it won't prevent a French veto. Thoughts on the eve of battle in Iraq (WSJ: Oriana Fallaci)
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
From Army Times "Daily News Roundup" this afternoon Plan to stay away from Paris Air Show gathers steam War and psychology (Mona Charen) "War Never Solves Anything." So say dozens of callers to C-SPAN and left-leaning radio programs (yes, there are some). The answer to this argument, if you can call it an argument, could almost fit on a bumper sticker: Apart from securing American independence, ending slavery, and defeating Nazism and communism, war has never solved anything. US already talking to Iraqis about surrender Them to us, that is. U.S. officials said Wednesday that surrender negotiations have secretly begun with key Iraqi military officials in hopes that some military units will not fight U.S. and coalition forces if there is war. The Pentagon's New Map (USNWC: Thomas P.M. Barnett) Since the end of the cold war, the United States has been trying to come up with an operating theory of the world—and a military strategy to accompany it. Now there’s a leading contender. It involves identifying the problem parts of the world and aggressively shrinking them. Since September 11, 2001, the author, a professor of warfare analysis, has been advising the Office of the Secretary of Defense and giving this briefing continually at the Pentagon and in the intelligence community... Leviathan to the Rescue (NRO: Paul Johnson) The approaching war with Iraq is essentially a 21st-century problem. Strictly speaking, it has no precedent in history, and in terms of presidential power and national sovereignty, Mr. Bush is walking into unknown territory... Our World-Historical Gamble (Tech Central Station: Lee Harris) Of the many words written for and against the coming war with Iraq, none has been more perceptive than Paul Johnson's observation in his essay "Leviathan to the Rescue" that such a war "has no precedent in history" and that "in terms of presidential power and national sovereignty, Mr. Bush is walking into unknown territory. By comparison, the Gulf War of the 1990's was a straightforward, conventional case of unprovoked aggression, like Germany's invasion of Belgium in 1914 and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor." The implications of this remark - like the implications of the war with Iraq - are profound. The war with Iraq will constitute one of those momentous turning points of history in which one nation under the guidance of a strong-willed, self-confident leader undertakes to alter the fundamental state of the world. It is, to use the language of Hegel, an event that is world-historical in its significance and scope. And it will be world-historical, no matter what the outcome may be... Paying Iraqi Bureaucrats Is Part Of U.S. Plan to Rebuild Country (WaPo) ...The U.S. plans cover the first stages of an ambitious Bush administration effort to replace Hussein's dictatorship with a representative government open to the West. The designs contemplate Americans overseeing all sectors of Iraq's government at first, guided in part by Iraqis who fled the country and now live in exile, the officials said... Bush in Lilliput (WSJ Editorial) Delaying action in Iraq is endangering American lives. "The Bush Administration is putting a special focus on winning the support of Guinea . . ."--page A3, yesterday's Wall Street Journal. We've never visited Guinea, which is perhaps our loss. But the spectacle of the U.S. government begging that African nation for permission to sacrifice American blood and treasure to save the world from Saddam Hussein exposes the farce that the U.N. Security Council's Iraq debate has become. Every day of delay in starting the war matters little to Guinea but it puts more Americans at mortal risk... Saddam ready to kill Iraqis (Washington Times) Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is planning attacks on his own people in the event of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and his top operative, a general nicknamed "Chemical Ali," has been put in charge of southern Iraq to quell any civilian uprisings, U.S. officials say. The Pentagon is communicating with Iraqi military commanders, both through leaflet drops and private e-mails, to discourage them from carrying out Saddam's orders. The Iraqis also will be given instructions on how to surrender... Rumsfeld says Britain might not fight (Washington Times) Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday suggested for the first time that Britain might not join the United States in a war against Iraq. But both allies, reacting to press reports of Mr. Rumsfeld's comments, quickly issued statements insisting that they remained steadfast in the campaign to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein... For Unusual Task Force, an Unprecedented Mission (WaPo) ...the little-known 75th Exploitation Task Force is preparing for a crucial mission: flying into Iraq on helicopters close behind advancing allied troops to document suspected weapons of mass destruction those troops encounter. The unit's specialists will take samples and whisk them away for evaluation... The Right War for the Right Reasons (NYT Op-ed: Sen. John McCain) WASHINGTON — American and British armed forces will likely soon begin to disarm Iraq by destroying the regime of Saddam Hussein. We do not know whether they will have the explicit authorization of veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council. But either way, the men and women ordered to undertake this mission can take pride in the justice of their cause... The U.S. Battle Plan: Make Friends and War (NYT) CAMP DOHA, KUWAIT - If the invasion of Iraq proceeds as expected, some of the most important battles will be the ones that are never fought. Unlike the 1991 Persian Gulf war, the American and British militaries are not looking to pummel its adversary into submission. This time, allied forces have a complicated, two-edged task. They are trying to defeat the Iraqi army without utterly destroying it. They are also trying to win over the Iraqi people.The political rationale for this strategy is clear... Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Europe seeks ephemeral peace at all costs - By John Leo ... Bringing the United Nations along and coaxing it to live up to its 17 resolutions on Iraq would have been useful. But the notion that the U.N.'s "moral" approval was somehow necessary is ludicrous, particularly since U.N. morality includes turning over its human rights committee to Libya and repeatedly branding as racist the only Middle East democracy, Israel. ... Resources Iraq War Map, Combat Units Available, War Plans, Daily Coverage of Iraq, Discussion Boards Iraq, Iraq Timeline, Iraq Dissident Areas, Iraqi Missile Range Map... Order Of Battle About 220,000 U.S. troops are in the Middle East, preparing for war with Iraq. [This] map provides a detailed look at U.S. forces in the region, and where they are...MilitaryCity.com will continue to update this map as troops are given orders, deployed or moved. Monday, March 10, 2003
U.S. Says U.N. Could Repeat Errors of 90's The White House declared today that the United Nations Security Council's failure to act against Iraq would not only compound mistakes it made in the 1990's but would also encourage North Korea and Iran as they race to build nuclear arsenals... Growing Number in U.S. Back War, Survey Finds Americans are growing impatient with the United Nations and say they would support military action against Iraq even if the Security Council refuses to support an invasion, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. LETTER TO MOM I strongly believe in what we are doing and wish you were here to see for yourselves the honor and privilege that American soldiers aboard this ship are feeling, knowing that we are going to be a part of something so strong and so meaningful to the safety of our loved ones. Then you would know what this potential war is about.They still make them like they used to. The Peacenik Top 10 A look at the ten most popular objections to war and some common-sense responses to them. by Fred Barnes From Joe Gilbreth Blix 'hid smoking gun' from Britain and US Britain and the United States will today press the chief UN weapons inspector to admit that he has found a “smoking gun” in Iraq...The British and US ambassadors plan to demand that Hans Blix reveals more details of a huge undeclared Iraqi unmanned aircraft, the discovery of which he failed to mention in his oral report to Security Council foreign ministers on Friday. Its existence was only disclosed in a declassified 173-page document circulated by the inspectors at the end of the meeting — an apparent attempt by Dr Blix to hide the revelation to avoid triggering a war. Soldier's Chilling Warning ...The 26-year-old [Iraqi] soldier defected 10 days ago near the city of Sulaymaniyah in Northern Iraq..."A chemical attack is guaranteed," he warned... An Arab House, Openly Divided ...the massing of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf waters and states, poised to impose a change of regime in Baghdad, has created paralysis in the Arab world by dividing it into those who support U.S.-led action against Iraq and those who reject it... Would it be moral to inflict pain on this beast? What will history say about people who hold Harry Truman to be a moral hero for dropping atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but recoil in horror from painfully extracting the truth out of one mass murderer to stop the almost certain slaughter of their own people? Here is the reasoning. The morality of any act depends not only on its character, but on the circumstances and motive. Stealing is wrong and illegal, but stealing food for one's starving family is a moral act. Even killing is not always wrong. If a U.S. soldier had shot Muhammad to save 50 hostages, he would be an American hero. But if it is permissible to take Muhammad's life to save lives, why is it impermissible to inflict pain on him to save lives? Mama, are you going to die? According to the Pentagon, the number of single moms and dads in the military has nearly doubled since the last gulf war from 47,685 in 1992 to almost 90,000 today. While there are no hard data to explain the jump, its clear that jobs in todays much smaller forces are more demanding than in the past. Between 1992 and 2002, the military shrank from about 1.8 million to 1.4 million active-service members; those who remain have seen their burdens increase. Certainly, frequent deployments and long separations are challenging for marriages, says Shelley MacDermid, a professor and co-director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University. One hypothesis is that as the tempo has gone up, its been harder to stay married. Iraqis make final preparations An audio report from the Guardian, a British newspaper. Describing the mood of the Iraqi people, and activity in Iraq. Sunday, March 09, 2003
Mohammed Hid in Unknown Location Khalid Sheik Mohammed Carried Al Qaeda's Hope for Revenge, Renewal. Mohammed, who is now in U.S. custody at an undisclosed location, is believed to have knowledge of most current al Qaeda operations and of the cells it has scattered around the globe. His interrogation could lead to the arrest of al Qaeda operatives in Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, Europe and perhaps the United States. In short, it could break the back of al Qaeda. Turkish back gate open? One never knows with this DEBKA site, but this should prove out one way or the other quickly. Are the 4ID trains outbound for he border with troops behind in three day transits? Would mean Powell has broken the log jam. If so, the embedded reporters should start spinning satphone stories. Battle Plans in British Paper? This is interesting! Think it's disinformation? Paratroopers from 250 feet? Lot of detail here in the map blowup. Even to showing LZ locations. Would bother me a bit if I were scheduled to drop into one of those. Victor Davis Hanson on Postmodern War U.S. Central Command, Baghdad, April 15, 2003 Secretary Rumsfeld: I will take your questions now... Iraqi drone 'could drop chemicals on troops' ...US officials were outraged that Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, did not inform the Security Council about the drone, or remotely piloted vehicle, in his oral presentation to Foreign Ministers and tried to bury it in a 173-page single-spaced report distributed later in the day. The omission raised serious questions about Dr Blix’s objectivity... Probe sought of French parts sales ...U.S. officials told The Times that American intelligence had detected a French company selling aircraft and helicopter parts to Iraq for its French-made Mirage jets and Gazelle attack helicopters. The sales have been carried out since at least January... |
||
