Is this war going according to plan?? I think not some one screwed up in pentagon.
The real wildcard(s) here are/is the Iraqi people and reaction in Islamic capitals. Iraqi civilians falling victim to a coward bully and Iraqi’s fighting to the death at Najjaf defending holy city. 10th day in the conflict and the girls did not even capture one city aside from Um Qasr every single time they capture Nasariya they are driven out. Nearly 30 marines are listed missing there US commanders acknowledge they are probably dead which would bring death toll to around ~100 unofficial it could be lot higher.
This will add enormous inspiration to the would be mujhadeen of the Iraqi "Fedayeen" inflicting losses, interrupting communication lines, stopping advances, foiling invasions of cities... The only example that comes to mind is when the mujhadeen drove 110,000 soviets out of Afghanistan.
If the war is prolonged it will have effect on other Islamic states and the pressure will be intense to send in help in the form of feyadeen/mujhadeen with or without the knowledge of govt(s) in question. Syria providing man and material support could be because of the same reason. Iran may also do the same if they have not already done so. The were unconfirmed reports of 10,000 mujahdeen crossing over from Iran.
The more this war is prolonged and the way its going I believe..
1) Saddam wants to turn this into Stalingrad
2) May use CW.
Iraqis have secretly purchased up to 1,000 Kornet anti-tank missiles
NEW YORK (AFP) Mar 30, 2003
Iraq has secretly purchased as many as 1,000 Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles, Newsweek magazine reports in its issue due out Monday.
Baghdad bought the lightweight, powerful projectiles from Ukrainian arms dealers, the magazine said, quoting unnamed Pentagon officials, and possibly “some entrepeneurial Syrian generals or the Syrian government itself.”
The Kornet antitank missiles were used to attack two US tanks, both Abrams M1A1s, the report said, “the first … ever destroyed by enemy fire in battle.”
Please see above post regarding Syria’s oil pipeline. Looks like it was just special forces, not bombed! Syrian economy is gonna suck!
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
ABU DHABI — U.S. special operations forces are said to have blown up an Iraqi pipeline that delivered more than 200,000 barrels of oil a day to Syria.
The Kuwaiti Al Rai Al Aam daily reported on Wednesday that U.S. forces sabotaged the Iraqi oil pipeline to Syria last week in an operation in northwestern Iraq. The newspaper quoted U.S. sources as saying the forces also blew up a railroad link between Iraq and Syria.
Until the start of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, Syria obtained 250,000 barrels of oil per day through two pipelines that stemmed from the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, Middle East Newsline reported. One pipeline reached the Syrian port of Banyas for export. The other provided oil directly to the Syrian national energy grid.
The U.S. sources said the destruction of the main pipeline came amid a warning by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for a halt to Syrian military supplies to the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The newspaper reported that on Monday the pumping station on the Iraqi side of the pipeline had broken down.
The Kuwaiti report was not immediately confirmed by other sources. A Western intelligence source said on Wednesday that the Iraqi-Syrian pipeline was not blown up. The source would not elaborate. http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/front_2.html
*Washington - The CIA has no credible evidence that the government of Syria has had a role in the shipment of night-vision goggles and other military equipment to Iraq, according to an administration official familiar with U.S. intelligence in the region.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last Friday suggested that Syria was responsible for the shipment to Iraq of defense-related goods, including the goggles, and warned that the United States considered “such trafficking as hostile acts and would hold the Syrian government accountable.” Syria quickly denied the accusation*