*IRAQ: latest news and developments

[joe dick]

British troops find missile, other weapons arsenal near Basra -

some of the boxes were marked with the names of british manufacturers, D'OH!

http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4608278&action=article

 

[jaded_youth]

Fighting breaks out between iraq army defectors and non-defectors on northern frontline witnessed by kurdish army.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2876855.stm

 

[whiterose]

Seems like cluster bombs were used in Basra
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/bodycount.htm#total

 

[Golem]

Originally posted by whiterose
Seems like cluster bombs were used in Basra
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/bodycount.htm#total

It's all very well providing agencies as the sources of these figures, but these agencies tend to get their information from the same source, namely the Iraqi Information Ministry. So, I would question the validity of this exercise, other than being Iraqi propoganda. Having said that, the numbers weren't so over the top after 3 days of war. But, it doesn't say how many were civilian and how many were military/government/Baath party.

 

[joe dick]

i believe that the point is is that a lot of people are dying. despite the bland republican prognostications of light casualties, mass surrenders, and cheering welcomers.

please do not derail this thread. if you want to argue about this - let's start another. i'll be happy to argue there.

golem - sorry. i didn't mean to sound so harsh

 

[joe dick]

'rallies for america'

this pro-war rally is sponsored by:

clear channel communications.


About 5,500 Gather To Cheer For Forces In Iraq

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0303/80153.html


a poll on this site shows that 84% of respondents believe that the war will last longer than 1 week.

 

[joe dick]

Rumsfeld said various ploys used by the Iraqis won't work, such as writing messages on the roofs of some buildings saying that civilian "human shields" were inside.

(what a dastardly trick!)


Tougher Days Ahead, U.S. Leaders Warn


http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/columnists/5459109.htm

 

[Miss Caphat]

uh oh.

because, supposedly, Iraqis are "pretending to surrender", "pretending to be civilians" (but are actually armed), etc.....does this mean we are now going to shoot all Iraqis indiscriminantly?

 

[bi0boy]

very vague report of some Iraq troops carying some type of chemical weapons.
www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=243015

 

[whiterose]

Golem - try and pay attention - the link is about civilian deaths - just in one incident when air strikes were called in at least 100 Iraqi soldiers were killed in a warehouse - did you really imagine only a maximum of 68 civilians and soldiers had been killed since the start of this war!

 

[whiterose]

Iraqis 'without power and water'
Water and electricity supplies have been cut off in the southern Iraqi city of Basra for more than two days, threatening a humanitarian disaster, warns the Red Cross.
Neither source has been available since Friday, potentially crippling hospitals and services in the area.
Electricity cables powering the major Wafa al-Quaid water station - which supplies two million people and is the biggest source in the region - have been destroyed.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_763912.html?menu=news.wariniraq

 

[joe dick]

canadian television is reporting that ITN journalist Terry Lloyd was killed in a friendly fire incident

 

[Lock&Light]

Originally posted by joe dick
canadian television is reporting that ITN journalist Terry Lloyd was killed in a friendly fire incident

That sad news was confirmed some hours ago. Do they still use semaphore in Canada?

 

[sub]

Originally posted by Lock&Light
That sad news was confirmed some hours ago. Do they still use semaphore in Canada?

hmmm..can't see where this was posted before!!!!

DO NOT, NOW OR EVER, SLAM CANADA IN ANY WAY,SHAPE OR FORM!!!

 

[joe dick]

gee whiz, sub - you practicing to be an american patriot?


hey thanks! actually that's a good idea - i've been using smoke signals.

not news and shouldn't surprise anyone except perhaps the bushbots -


Muslim rage takes on stronger religious tone as U.S. strikes Iraq

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-23-war-islam_x.htm

 

[Lock&Light]

Originally posted by sub
hmmm..can't see where this was posted before!!!!

DO NOT, NOW OR EVER, SLAM CANADA IN ANY WAY,SHAPE OR FORM!!!

I meant it's been on many news channels. I don't know if it's been mentioned on here.

Is Canada quite nice, then?

 

[joe dick]

it's kinda like new zealand - except bigger.


Parliament, the government and Iraq: where they stand

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2351501a6220,00.html

 

[Lock&Light]

Another Iraqi missile has been intercepted by a Patriot in Nth Kuwait, says a Kuwaiti government minister. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be another Tornado.

 

[Lock&Light]

Now the Pentagon is claiming that a chemical weapons factory has been found.

 

[joe dick]

i wish they all could be kuwaiti girls

nice place as long as you're a women who doesn't want to vote:


When it comes to women's social status, Kuwait seems a highly conflicted place. Women work as diplomats and stock traders, and they make up 70 percent of the graduates from Kuwait University. Yet they lack the right to vote, and a law passed last summer bans college classes that would mix them with men.

.....

A bank manager, Dalia al-Ghanim, said she is going to work because she has no children to look after while school is canceled. Though most Kuwaiti families have maids or nannies, she said, mothers should be home with their children in a time of war.

"A mother can't leave her kids, it's normal in animals and human beings," al-Ghanim said. "A man is a man, and a mother is a mother, let's be honest."


http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=0...&objectid=47BD2119-2F0C-4BF9-A9489D5109DBE97E


a regime you can admire.

 

[joe dick]

ANKARA, Turkey, Mar 23, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- The United States has agreed that Turkey will establish a corridor 9 miles inside Northern Iraq to prevent an influx of refugees and safeguard Turkey's security, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.
He said Turkey is committed to maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq and distributing the wealth of the oil-rich Turkomans and others.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=0...&objectid=47BD2119-2F0C-4BF9-A9489D5109DBE97E


On Sunday, the top Turkish daily, Hurriyet, said Turkey had agreed to Washington's conditions not to enter northern Iraq "immediately," and not go more than 20 miles inside.


9 miles, 20 miles - who cares ?

.....


Bush warns Turkey off Iraq


Turkey has denied multiple reports that its troops crossed the Iraqi border
US President George W Bush has issued a "very clear" warning to Turkey not to send troops into northern Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2879299.stm


don't bother george - he's had a busy day.

 

[Lock&Light]

The US troops claim to have captured the general in charge of the alleged chemical weapons factory.

 

[joe dick]

A senior pentagon official confirms has told Fox News on Sunday that coalition forces have discovered a "huge" chemical weapons factory near the Iraqi city of An Najaf, which is situated some 225 miles South of Baghdad.

a chemical weapons factory

 

[Lock&Light]

Originally posted by joe dick
A senior pentagon official confirms has told Fox News on Sunday that coalition forces have discovered a "huge" chemical weapons factory near the Iraqi city of An Najaf, which is situated some 225 miles South of Baghdad.

a chemical weapons factory

Thanks for letting us know, joe.

 

[Lock&Light]

The reports about the factory come from an embedded correspondant from the Jerusalem Post.

From the Jerusalem Post website:

EXCLUSIVE: US TROOPS CAPTURE CHEMICAL PLANT
(23:33) US Central Command could not deny a report by the Post's Caroline Glick, on the road to Baghdad with the US 3rd Infantry, that it has captured what could be the first chemical weapons plant uncovered since the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

[ajk]

I'm not saying this is bullshit, but do they say how they know it's a chemical weapons plant rather than a fertilizer factory or something similarly benign? The same chemicals and processes are involved in both, which is why it's notoriously difficult to identify chemical warfare factories.

Are there big missiles lying around everywhere marked "Sarin - Do Not Eat"?

 

[Lock&Light]

The reports say the building was heavily disguised.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Fox News story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81935,00.html

No information from anyone except the US military. Hopefully, some reporters will get in there at some point - of course, it might be a question of "safety".

 

[the scouser]

Heavy bombing of Baghdad goes on for forth night.

The International Red Cross warns of a humanitarian emergency in Basra. A spokesman tells the BBC that water and electricity supplies to the city have been cut off

Repeated confirmations and denials regarding Basra being captured, now we find it out it's just 'contained'


(edited cos i fucked up and said Afghanistan instead of Baghdad)

 

[ajk]

I was unaware there were still air operations underway in Afghanistan. Source?