An Iraqi grand ayatollah in Najaf urges Shiites "not to resist" the invasion. Why not before? A pundit interviewed on NPR reckons that -- aside from fear of a repeat of the 1991 massacres -- Shi'ites feared retaliation or just being accused of being pro-US fifth columnists by Sunnis (although Shiites are the majority in Iraq). Haven't seen this online yet.
Are US victories south of Baghdad partly due to NSA intercepts?
The decision to strike on Tuesday may have been influenced by a spy tip. The National Security Agency, the government's eavesdropping and code-breaking organization, intercepted communications between Baghdad and the Iraqi Republican Guard divisions south of the capital ordering the divisions to pull back from their forward positions and move closer to the capital, according to American intelligence officials.
...US forces were able to move and close in on the Iraqi divisions before they pulled back, catching them away from defensive positions [emphasis mine] closer to Baghdad. "We were able to get inside their decision," an official familiar with the intelligence said.
So intelligence plus total air superiority overrode the need for the 4th Division's M1 tanks.
The German government is writing off Saddam: could the French be next? Meanwhile Downing Street has repeatedly insisted that Iraqis must be in charge in post-war Iraq (not a popular position in Washington). Moreover, according to UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the UK won't be party to any US adventures against either Syria or Iran.
Gotta love the headline:
Poodle Blair Turns Into Terrier; Denies attacks on Iran, Syria are coming
Similar anti-expansion comments have been coming out of German government.
More on Shi'ite/Sunni issue here. Basically Shia clerics fear that explicitly supporting the coalition would cause a schism throughout the Islamic world resulting in their persecution.
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Are US victories south of Baghdad partly due to NSA intercepts? So intelligence plus total air superiority overrode the need for the 4th Division's M1 tanks.
The German government is writing off Saddam: could the French be next? Meanwhile Downing Street has repeatedly insisted that Iraqis must be in charge in post-war Iraq (not a popular position in Washington). Moreover, according to UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the UK won't be party to any US adventures against either Syria or Iran.
- bruno 4-03-2003 8:48 pm
Gotta love the headline:
Poodle Blair Turns Into Terrier; Denies attacks on Iran, Syria are coming
Similar anti-expansion comments have been coming out of German government.
- mark 4-03-2003 10:31 pm
More on Shi'ite/Sunni issue here. Basically Shia clerics fear that explicitly supporting the coalition would cause a schism throughout the Islamic world resulting in their persecution.
- bruno 4-05-2003 4:58 pm