World Hot Spots

Iraqis Threatening New Suicide Strikes Against U.S. Forces

[New York Times, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] Iraqi Vice President Ramadan warned that U.S. forces can expect to see more suicide bombers, like the one who killed four Americans near Najaf.

Push Toward Baghdad Is Reaffirmed Bush Back War Plan of Rumsfeld, Generals

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] President Bush encouraged his military leaders to keep their eyes focused on Baghdad despite unexpectedly stiff resistance that plagues allied forces south of the Iraqi capital.

Wars Take Some Nasty Turns On City Streets

[Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] U.S. and British forces might face the worst of all wartime nightmares if they move into Baghdad---fighting door-to-door is the most dangerous type of warfare.

Americans Support Bush’s War Strategy

[Washington Times, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] About 75 percent of Americans surveyed believe President Bush’s military plan to disarm Saddam Hussein is well conceived. Half say they would support the U.S.-led coalition’s campaign for more than a year if necessary.

War’s Military, Political Goals Begin To Diverge

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] The political imperative of waging a short war in Iraq is becoming more at odds with military realities that indicate a longer war than expected.

IRAQ

Rumsfeld Faulted For Troop Dilution Military Officers; Forces in Iraq Are Inadequate

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 19] Current and former U.S. military officers said Secretary Rumsfeld and his aides failed to put adequate numbers of U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq. That has created significant risks for an invasion force that is too small, strung out, underprotected, undersupplied and waiting for tens of thousands of replacements who won’t arrive for weeks.

U.S.-Led Covert Searches Yield No Banned Weapons

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 19] Covert operations conducted by U.S., British and Australian commandos have failed to unearth any weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq.

U.S. Failures Inform Iraq’s War Strategy

[Philadelphia Inquirer, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] Iraq’s military appears to have studied every war lost by the U.S. and Britain. They have taken lessons from those studies and used them to harry and harass coalition forces similar to what occurred in Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia and Northern Ireland.

Standoff At Basra Hints At Tough Time In Baghdad Allies Have Yet To Face Iraq’s Most Elite Troops

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 22] Basra remains under siege by coalition forces. As that stalemate goes on, questions are being raised about how Baghdad can be conquered considering it is much larger than Basra, which so far has not surrendered.

Allied Air And Ground Units Try To Weaken Baath Party’s Grip

[New York Times, March 30, 2003] British armored units sneaked into Basra as part of a plan to turn residents of the city against the governing Baath Party. U.S. F-15s also used laser-guided bombs to demolish an office building during a Friday night meeting of some 200 Baath officials.

British Officers Fear Chemical Attack Martin Bentham, with the 7th Armored Brigade outside Basra, hears worrying intelligence from the besieged city.

[London Sunday Telegraph, March 30, 2003] British intelligence is checking reports that mortars with chemical rounds attached had been tested by Iraqi troops in Basra.

Deception, Stealth Figure In Strategies

[Philadelphia Inquirer, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] Gen. Tommy Franks won’t start his ground assault against Baghdad’s Republican Guard until after U.S. air power has ground Saddam Hussein’s elite units to less than half-strength. The problem is that it could be hard to find out when of if that goal is achieved. Saddam has managed to preserve many of his best forces by moving, dispersing and sheltering them, and by using decoys to U.S. supplies of precision weapons.

Tactics Turn Unconventional Commanders Draw Lessons of Belfast in Countering Attacks

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 23] U.S. military strategists plan to mount unconventional attacks in southern Iraqi towns where irregular militia units have conducted hit-and-run attacks against U.S. supply lines.

For 82nd, A Skirmish Over Major Supply Route Airborne Troops Clash With Militia Fighters

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 24] Troops of the 82nd Airborne Division fought Iraqi paramilitary units in south-central Iraq---the first skirmish of a mission aimed at securing a major U.S. supply route by entering a city and rooting out militia membbers who attack convoys. The Americans killed 14 guerrillas, captured three and seized about 100 cases of Russian-made rocket-propelled grenades. No U.S. casualties were reported.

Militants Gone, Caves In North Lie Abandoned

[New York Times, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] The battle against Ansar al-Islam extremists in northern Iraq is about over. The caves that Ansar al-Islam fighters retreated to when faced with U.S. air power, Special Operations forces and Kurdish troops are empty. U.S.-Backed Kurds Advance In The North Forces are closing in on Kirkuk after Hussein’s troops abandon front-line positions amid heavy airstrikes.

[Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003] Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq pushed on toward the oil-rich city of Kirkuk as Saddam Hussein’s troops abandoned their front-line positions to escape heavy airstrikes by coalition warplanes.

U.S. Moves To Increase Firepower In The North

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 25] U.S. forces in northern Iraq hurried to boost combat power for operations that could include sending troops north, to keep a large Turkish force from entering Kurdish-controlled Iraq, or south and west toward Iraqi forces.

U.S. Tightens Grip On Nassiriyah Marine seized after Iraqis jump convoy

[Miami Herald, March 30, 2003] U.S. troops swarmed around a key Euphrates River crossing near Nassiriyah, newly cautious after learning that a Marine was captured by Iraqis amid heavy fighting to the north.

Iraqi Ultralights Spotted Over U.S. Troops

[ArmyTimes.com, March 29, 2003] Some two dozen Iraqi ultralights flew over thousands of U.S. troops and several command and control facilities. The appearance of enemy aircraft over U.S positions is worrisome because the military believes ultralights could be used to spread bio-chem agents.

U.S. Mounts House-To-House Sweeps To Wary Marines, Innocent-Looking Home Can Harbor Big Threat

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] Marines near Nasiriyah are conducting regular foot patrols to investigate suspicious conveyances and other situations. That could mean searching village homes to assure they aren’t housing irregular Iraqi forces or their equipment.

Food-Aid Effort Again Turns Into Melee Tanks and armored vehicles were brought in for support, but soldiers were unable to control desperate villagers.

[Philadelphia Inquirer, March 30, 2003] Desperate Iraqis swarmed over a truck filled with food and water in a chaotic scene that had U.S. troops shoving villagers and British tanks leveling guns on women and children to try and restore order.

U.S. Hopes Aid, Selective Favors Will Help Win Political Allies

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 22] A U.S. campaign to win political allies in southern Iraq by bestowing selective favors is underway.

America’s Real Enemy May Be Time The U.S. is trying to beat the clock of politics, knowing that the longer a war lasts, the more complicated its effects at home and abroad.

[Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] The Bush administration, digging in for a longer war than expected, faces a sobering prospect---a longer, tougher war will create a ripple effect of problems reaching from the battlefield to the rest of the world.

U.S. Hospital Showcases Treatment Of Iraqi Victims

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 25] A U.S. Army field hospital in south-central Iraq works to aid those wounded in battle. Most of the hospital’s patients have been Iraqi civilians or POWs bloodied in battles near Nasiriyah and other nearby towns.

Images Of Death, Ruin Inflict Setback in Propaganda War U.S. Officials Hope for Eventual Success in Swaying Opinion in Iraq, Rest of Arab World.

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 26] The Bush administration has been aggressively courting Arab media, dispatching senior officials to drive home the message that the war is about “liberation, not occupation.” Any advantage that might have been gained was largely lost when Arab news outlets exploded with pictures of civilian allegedly killed by a U.S. bomb in Baghdad.

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

The Not-So-Quiet American Tactful or not, Donald Rumsfeld is the face of America at war

[Economist, March 29-April 4, 2003] Secretary Rumsfeld is the most important head of DoD since Robert McNamara. He has already one a war in Afghanistan, and has committed U.S. forces to settle issues with Saddam Hussein’s regime. Rumsfeld’s influence with the White House is ideological---he is “one of us” in a way the Secretary of State Colin Powell can never be.

The Doctrine Of Digital War How high tech is shaping America’s military strategy: the pros and cons

[Business Week, April 7, 2003, Pg. 30] Secretary Rumsfeld has become a devotee of the new theory for warfare that places enormous stress on air power, computer communications and small, agile ground forces. That’s why his war plan for Iraq is a marvel of technological prowess.

Rumsfeld’s Imperious Style Turns Combative

[New York Times, March 30, 2003] Secretary Rumsfeld’s press briefings have become more combative in recent days as he expresses his indignation about reporters’ questions that often edge on the absurd.

Dissent Rounds On Rumsfeld The U.S Defense Secretary is emerging as the fall guy amid accusations of ignored intelligence and poor tactics

[London Daily Telegraph, March 30, 203, Pg. 1] Secretary Rumsfeld has become the lightening rod for all things bad connected with how the war in Iraq is developing.

Military Mirrors Working-Class America

[New York Times, March 30, 2003, Pg. 1] The soldier, sailors, airmen and Marines that make up the U.S. military are representative of a broad part of America. However, those from well-to-do families are less represented in the armed forces.

Military Worry: Are We Spread Too Thin?

[Miami Herald, March 30, 2003] Military leaders are beginning to wonder whether another major emergency, along with what’s going on in Iraq, could stretch U.S. military forces to near breaking point.

ARMY

Pentagon Questions Shinseki On Report Army chief of staff asked about war-plan warning

[Baltimore Sun, March 30, 2003] Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki was questioned by the Pentagon about a report that he had warned President Bush that the plan for invading Iraq lacked sufficient ground troops.

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM

2 Americans Killed In Ambush In Afghanistan Attack Could Signal Resurgence of Violence Against U.S. [Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 15] Two Americans were killed and one wounded when four gunmen on motorcycles ambushed a U.S. military reconnaissance unit in southern Afghanistan.

MIDEAST

Pentagon Says Some Missiles Strayed Saudi, Turkish Routes Shut Down

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 23] Recent disclosures that U.S. cruise missiles have gone astray prompted Saudi Arabia and Turkey to shut down U.S. firing lanes. There is also concern that two devastating blasts in Baghdad civilian areas last week might have resulted from American errors.

Rumsfeld’s Charge Of Role In Iraq Denied

[Washington Times, March 30, 2003] Iran dismissed “baseless” charges from Secretary Rumsfeld that it is meddling in the war on Iraq and insisted it won’t permit Iraqi opposition in Iran to cross the border.

Syria Sees Threat Of Force Behind Rumsfeld Remark

[Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003] Secretary Rumsfeld’s threat to hold Syria accountable for shipping military equipment to Saddam Hussein’s regime increased unease about American intentions in the region, with some worrying that Syria could be Washington’s next target.

NORTH KOREA

Citing Iraq, N. Korea Signals Hard Line On Weapons Issues

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. 30] North Korea appears to have learned a lesson from Iraq—Pyongyang doesn’t intend to disarm and won’t submit to international arms inspectors.

OPINION

The War In Iraq Turns Ugly. That’s What Wars Do. James Webb

[New York Times, March 30, 2003] War is hell, it always has been, and always will be. No matter how many pre-war plans are developed, one can be assured that none of them can do much more than point forces in the right direction. Then, there’s always post-war occupation. We can rest assured that groups with grudges against America will do their utmost to prevent us from installing a democratic government.

Persuasion: It Will Take More Than A Victory In Baghdad Michael Dobbs

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. B1] The ongoing military conflict in Iraq is merely a small slice of an even longer, more unpredictable political war. There is a definite risk that America could win the military battle and come up short in the effort to win hearts and minds, especially in the Middle East.

Limited War, So Far Michael Kelly

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. B7] U.S. front-line officers and GIs are saddened to learn that some of Iraqis they were forced to kill didn’t want to be there. They were forced to fight because Baath Party goons and other Saddam Hussein thugs threatened to kill their families if they refused. Americans are learning what it means for a principled nation to go to war against an unprincipled one.

Sparing Civilians Buildings And Even The Enemy Max Boot

[New York Times, March 30, 2003] The military has to struggle with the deadly calculus of how many casualties it is willing to take in order to save civilian lives. Gen. Curtis LeMay had a good idea for dealing with this issue---use sufficient force immediately because not doing so prolongs the war and ultimately causes more deaths for all concerned..

Too Little Shock, Not Enough Awe William M. Arkin

[Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003] Plan A has not produced what the Pentagon wanted. Saddam Hussein is partly to blame for this---his resilience is surprising. American overconfidence is also to blame---“shock and awe” became a catch phrase that promissed much and delivered less. Post-war analysis will decide whether shock and awe promises caused a more deadly and destructive end game.

NATO’s New Front Thomas L. Friedman

[New York Times, March 30, 2003] The Bush team is correct---the U.N. can’t rebuild Iraq. It can’t be done by committee. A credible peacekeeping multilateral force is needed, and thatt’s where NATO comes in. That could also mean a NATO partnership with some Arab and Muslim armies.

EDITORIAL

Digital War: The Rumsfeld Doctrine

[Business Week, April 7, 2003] Donald Rumsfeld is certainly not the most gifted of diplomats. But the DoD chief’s effort to remake America’s military so it can deal with post-Cold War realities is laudable.

The Weapons We Need Now

[New York Times, March 30, 2003] The lessons learned from this war should be that the military needs fewer bells and whistles and more down-to-earth equipment, like C-17 transport aircraft that can take large numbers of troops to far off battlefields.

Perseverance

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. B6] No matter how long the conflict in Iraq goes on, and even if it requires tens of thousands more troops, the U.S. cannot afford to back away.

Taking Rape Seriously

[Washington Post, March 30, 2003, Pg. B6] The sexual assault scandal at the Air Force Academy demonstrates that school officials failed to comprehend the difference between rape and fooling around after drinking too much.