Today's Early Bird Brief

General: A Longer War Likely Ground Commander Describes Obstacles

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] Lt. Gen. William Wallace, the Army’s senior ground commander in Iraq, said that overextended supply lines and a combative Iraqi adversary using unconventional tactics have stalled the coalition’s advance toward Baghdad, increasing the likelihood of a longer war.

Iraqi Defense Chief Vows Fight, Predicting Baghdad Clash In Days

[New York Times, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] Iraqi Defense Minister Gen. Sultan Hashim said U.S. forces could encircle Baghdad in as little as 5 to 10 days. The resulting battle could go on for a couple of months, perhaps longer, with paramilitary groups loyal to Saddam Hussein joining regular troops in a street-by-street defense of the city.

Iraqis Abandon Post And Kurds Advance

[New York Times, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] The first crack in Iraq’s once formidable northern defense line showed when soldiers and Iraqi border guards deserted a checkpoint they had manned since 1991. Kurdish fighters and civilians surged into the vacated area, beginning what appears to be an advance on Kirkuk, one of the war’s ultimate political and economic prizes.

War To Keep Going Until Regime Ends, Bush And Blair Say

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] President Bush and Prime Minister Blair stood together and promised the war in Iraq would continue until Saddam Hussein’s regime is finished.

IRAQ

Rumsfeld: Baghdad Must First Be Isolated Secretary Hints at Aid From Shiite Muslims

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 35] DoD Secretary Rumsfeld suggested that U.S. forces would isolate Baghdad from it Republican Guard defenders, then wait to see if the city’s substantial Shiite Muslim population will rise up against Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated government.

Plan’s Defect: No Defectors The U.S. has failed to pry Iraqi leaders away from Saddam Hussein. The miscalculated effort could prolong the war, some officials say.

[Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] An American campaign to persuade Iraqi military and civilian leaders to give up has failed to produce any significant defections.

Constant Iraqi Attacks Are Holding Up The Allied Forces Trying To Reach Baghdad

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] U.S. Marines and other allied units moving toward Baghdad have to contend with nearly constant harassment and ambush by small bands of irregular Iraqi fighters and army unit remnants they bypassed. Officers fear the resistance will only get worse as they close on the capital city.

Iraq’s ‘Outside-In’ Strategy More Effective Than Anticipated

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 32] Iraq’s military is dispersed along key roads and is engaging allied forces in as many towns and cities as possible, with regular army elements fighting harder and more effectively than some Pentagon officials anticipated.

U.S. Troops Bypass Cities To Avoid Urban Warfare

[Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2003] U.S. commanders are sticking to their strategy of avoiding cities and the kind of urban warfare casualties the Marines suffered earlier this week.

New Reality, Hard Choices

[New York Times, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] The U.S. military faces a series of difficult options in its plans for ending Saddam Hussein’s regime. They include advancing quickly to Baghdad outskirts and destroying the Republican Guard troops guarding the city and then take over the capital. This would cut off the power source for the fedayeen and other paramilitary forces. Another plan would be to slow the rush to Baghdad and focus on ridding Iraqi cities in south of fedayeen fighters. That would ease supply line problems and could encourage southern Iraq Shiites to rise up against Saddam’s regime.

U.S. Gains Ground In West Of Iraq Operation Creates A Buffer Zone Against Attacks

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 25] U.S. Special Operations forces have broken the Iraqi government’s hold on a broad stretch of territory in western Iraq. Much of the area is lightly populated desert, but it includes several airfields and countless hiding places that U.S. officials have worried could be used to launch the enemy’s drone aircraft of Scud missiles.

U.S. Reinforces Northern Front More Troops Move Into Kurdish Areas, Link Up With Militia Groups

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 26] U.S. military aircraft carrying troops and tons of war equipment landed at Bashur Airfield, reinforcing a northern front established by the 173rd Airborne Brigades.

Allied Officials: Iraqi Troops Coerced To Fight

[USA Today, March 28, 2003, Pg. 4] Some Iraqis taken captive by coalition forces say they and their families were threatened with death if they did not help defend Saddam Hussein’s regime.

A ‘Turkey Shoot,’ But With Marines As The Targets

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] Marines trying to keep critical supply lines open to forward units run a gantlet through the strategic crossroads city of Nasiriyah---over a bridge, up a few miles to cross another bridge. If they make it without getting shot at, they are lucky.

Seals Clear Mines In Vital Harbor

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] Navy Special Warfare forces say they have secured the waterways surrounding Iraq’s lone deep-water port at Umm Qsar, paving they way for a British cargo ship to deliver humanitarian aid as early as Friday.

Near Basra, British Purvey Juice, Milk And Artillery Troops Call Reports of Uprising ‘Largely Exaggerated’

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 25] The Baath leadership in Basra is finished and the new power in southern Iraq is the British military. Even as fighting continued around them, British troops were out delivering boxes of water, milk, juice, baby food and other staples to hungry residents of the region. Reports of a general uprising against the Baath rulers are exaggerated, with most Iraqis still not convinced that the 30-year rule of terror they have endured is actually coming to an end.

Blair And Annan Confer On U.N. Role In Getting Food And Water To Iraqis

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] Prime Minister Blair and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan met to discuss getting aid to those Iraqis in need of food, water, shelter and medial aid.

Army Reports Iraq Is Moving Toxic Arms To Its Troops

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] U.S. Army officials said that comments made by Iraqi POWs and electronic eavesdropping on Baghdad’s communications indicate that Saddam Hussein has provided chemical weapons to the Republican Guard’s Medina Division.

Iraqis Most At Risk In Chemical Attack

[Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 27, 2003] Thousands of civilians could die and tens of thousands more injured if Saddam Hussein orders the use of chemical weapons against coalition forces. U.S. officials doubt such an attack would harm many coalition troops, who are equipped with protection against such a possibility.

Iraq’s WMD: How Big A Threat? A U.N. inspector assesses the danger posed by Baghdad’s biological and chemical weapons and ponders where they may be hidden.

[Time.com, March 27, 2003] A bio-chem weapons expert believes coalition forces won’t find any facilities for making weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He said those sites have been shut down and the bio-chem weapons they produced “are most likely now in the field and being moved around the country.”

Casualties, Expectation Might Collide Experts Warn of Rising Losses as Factor in Support of War

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 25] U.S. casualties in Iraq are steadily rising. Military experts warn that Americans could be facing carnage they haven’t encountered since the Vietnam War.

Diplomatic Missteps With Turkey Prove Costly Miscalculations on Both Sides Denied U.S. a Strong Northern Thrust Toward Baghdad

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] The administration’s inability to win Turkey’s approval to launch an Iraqi northern front from Turkish territory has become an important turning point for the war. Clumsy diplomacy and mutual misunderstanding are blamed for the impasse that kept U.S. forces off Turkish soil and probably lengthened the conflict.

France Holds Out A Tentative Olive Branch, With Thorns, To The U.S.

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin offered an olive branch to the U.S., but refused to say exactly whom he hoped would win the war in Iraq.

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

A New War Brings New Role For Women

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] The pictures of a captured U.S. servicewoman evoke different feelings among her peers. Some can’t stomach the idea of a woman being held by the enemy, while others urge her to show the world that she can handle the situation as well as any man.

Pentagon Adviser Is Stepping Down

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] Richard Perle has resigned as chairman of an influential Pentagon advisory board. He quit as the result of disclosures regarding business ties the apparently conflict with his chairmanship of Defense Policy Board. Perle will remain on the board.

War Chief’s Four Stars On A Blue Collar Franks: The gruff but steady U.S. general is known for his ability to connect with superiors and sergeants alike.

[Baltimore Sun, March 25, 2003] Gen. Tommy Franks, who is running the war in Iraq, has little regard for flash and glamour. Born in Oklahoma, the gruff artilleryman is a four-star general who is fiercely devoted to his troops and their needs. Franks also is adept at dealing with his formidable boss, Donald Rumsfeld.

ARMY

After Weeks On Standby, An Army Division Will Finally Join The War

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] The Army’s Fourth Infantry Division, 16,500-strong, has been in limbo for several weeks. Caught up in the dispute between the U.S. and Turkey, the Fourth has been stranded in stateside bases while their equipment bobbed on the high seas. It has been 66 days since the unit got its shipping orders to go to Turkey. Those orders have since changed and the Fourth is now headed for Kuwait.

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM

U.S. Lands In Middle Of Afghan Feuding Despite Stated Policy, Force Reluctantly Being Used to Subdue Local Conflicts

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 16] U.S. forces in Afghanistan are reluctant to interfere in local conflicts between Afghan leaders. But there is mounting evidence that American troops have unintentionally become party to many of the feuds and armed disputes in Afghanistan, which remains a serious obstacle to establishing peace and central government rule.

CONGRESS

Rumsfeld Lobbies For War Money Defense Secretary Asks Congress for $75 Billion

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 35] Secretary Rumsfeld and other administration officials lobbied Congress to quickly appropriate $75 billion to fund the war in Iraq.

Rumsfeld Sees War Costs Topping Bush’s Budget

[Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2003] Secretary Rumsfeld told Congress that Iraq war costs will exceed President Bush’s new $74.7 billion budget request, and the Pentagon could need money within months.

Senate Cuts Taxes For Troops

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 15] The Senate approved a measure to ease tax burdens for military personnel and their families.

MIDEAST

Qatar’s Security Chief Suspected Of Having Ties To Al Qaeda Interior minister reportedly sheltered terrorists, including 9/11 plotter. U.S. military campaign’s headquarters are in the gulf nation’s capital.

[Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2003] U.S. counterterrorism officials expressed concern that Qatar’s state security chief is an Al Qaeda sympathizer.

Patriots Give Sense Of Safety To Kuwait System Scores Success in Intercepting Iraqi Missiles After Failures in 1991 War

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 28] The Patriot missiles, which were proved largely useless during the 1991 Gulf War, have had admirable success this time around.

NORTH KOREA

North Korea Said To Seek Dialogue On Nuclear Policy

[Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2003] Diplomats and academics who have met with North Korean officials during recent weeks say the Pyongyang government continues efforts to open channels for dialogue with the Bush administration.

U.S. Offers N. Korea Multilateral Talks

[Washington Times, March 28, 2003, Pg. 1] The U.S. has formally proposed to North Korea a multilateral summit to settle the nuclear standoff and is preparing a U.N. Security Council measure calling on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

ASIA/PACIFIC

Japan Launching Spy Satellite Despite North Korean Threats

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] Japan ignored North Korean threats of “disastrous consequences” and launched a rocket carrying two military spy satellites.

CIA

CIA Warned Pentagon Of Guerrilla Tactics [New York Times, March 28, 2003] Intelligence analysts warned the Pentagon before the war that Iraqi paramilitary units would fight back and could pose a substantial threat to coalition forces.

MEDIA

U.S. Military Expels Journalist For Pinpoint Reporting

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. C1] Phil Smucker, a Christian Science Monitor reporter, was kicked out of Iraq by the U.S. military for revealing sensitive information about coalition forces in broadcast interviews.

BUSINESS

U.S. To Buy 20 More Raptors From Lockheed

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. E3] The Pentagon approved plans to buy 20 more F/A-22 Raptor fighters for $3 billion for Lockheed Martin Corp. That brings the number of planes ordered so far to 43.

France’s Eutelsat Hits Jackpot With U.S. Satellite Contracts Rival PanAmSat Complains About Deal Providing Service for Military Operations

[Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2003] Eutelsat SA of Paris has gotten upwards of $40 million in new business from DoD and U.S. security agencies since last fall. PanAmSat Corp., 81 percent owned by General Motors Corp. unit Hughes Electronics Corp., is complaining to government officials about the deals that put some U.S. military communications in foreign hands.

OPINION

No Lens Is Wide Enough To Show The Big Picture We are winning, but you wouldn’t know it from some of the television reports Geoff Hoon

[London Times, March 28, 2003] Startling real-time pictures from Iraq show war as most people have never seen it. Viewers must be careful not to let segmented war reports be considered representative of the whole war. We are winning the war, and it’s just a matter of time before Saddam Hussein’s regime is done.

Iraqis Eating Into Coalition ‘Cakewalk’ Robert Novak

[Chicago Sun-Times, March 27, 2003] The war in Iraq is not the cakewalk many U.S. officials thought it would be going in. Army offices would like to have seen more ground troops committed to the conflict. The limited number of soldiers deployed to Iraq means airstrikes will have to be more intensive and widespread.

Impelled By Fear David Ignatius

[Washington Post, March 28, 2003, Pg. 23] No doubt, the U.S.-led force in Iraq is in for a long battle. Pentagon planners failed to consider that fedayeen and Baath Party officials would coerce Iraqis into fighting coalition invaders. The very brutality of Saddam Hussein has created a bizarre mystique---fear and adulation make him some kind of vengeful god who won’t forgive those reluctant to give their all for the leader.

Heart And Minds Nicholas D. Kristof

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] President Bush’s request for $2.45 billion to finance Iraqi short-term relief and reconstruction is not enough. Also, even though U.S. troops try hard to avoid civilian casualties, having to duck bullets fired by thugs hiding among women and children can only increase the probability that civilians will be killed. It’s hard to win hearts and minds with these issues holding sway.

And Now, The Good News Michael O’Hanlon

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] Despite this week’s dispatches proving that war is not always easy, that coalition invasion is going well. The allies won’t enter Baghdad in a plodding fashion, then take it block by block. U.S.-led forces will gradually learn where Iraqi troops are located, then will destroy them or seize them in nighttime raid akin to an urban blitzkreig. The administration could have done a better job preparing the country for what lies ahead. But the war will be won, and won decisively.

EDITORIAL

The Vulnerable Supply Lines

[New York Times, March 28, 2003] U.S. forces face potential problems because harassing Iraqi units threaten to disrupt critical supply lines.

Respect Military Women

[USA Today, March 28, 2003, Pg. 14] One female soldier is MIA, another is a POW. Other women are likely among those wounded. On the domestic front, the Air Force is scrambling to get a handle on sexual assault charges brought by current and former female cadets at the Air Force Academy. Women deserve maximum respect while they are being trained to fight for our security.

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