General Chat / Fast Track In Iraq: The War Has Begun

Bush gives order to attack Iraq
Cruise missiles target Saddam in morning attack
Wednesday, March 19, 2003 Posted: 10:53 PM EST (0353 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush announced Wednesday night he has ordered the coalition attack on Iraq to begin.

"American and coalition forces are in the early stages of miltary operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger," Bush said.

He said the first strikes were against "selected targets of military importance," including what Pentagon officials said was a "decapitation attack" early Thursday morning to take out Iraqi President Saddam Hussein even before the planned start of the war.

Whether the mission succeeded is not known. Pentagon officials said it is very difficult to successfully target a single person on the ground in such a bombing.

Administration officials said the strike was ordered for fear the opportunity could be lost.

Two dozen cruise missiles were fired from U.S. warships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, military officials said. F117 stealth fighters, which carry two missiles apiece, also were involved in the attack.

Air raid sirens were heard in Baghdad at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday (9:30 p.m. Wednesday ET) about 90 minutes after the U.S. deadline for Saddam to step down or face a U.S.-led military attack.

In his four-minute announcement from the Oval Office, Bush said the military campaign, supported by 35 nations, would make efforts to spare Iraqi civilians. But he made it clear the U.S. military planned to use its full might in the war.

"This will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome except victory," he said.

The president's address came at 10:15 p.m., about two hours and 15 minutes after the expiration of the deadline.

The United States and Britain have massed nearly 300,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region.

Earlier, Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet, said allied forces were prepared to carry out an "unprecedented" campaign: "If we go, the plans we have are unlike anything anyone has ever seen before."

In the hours leading up to the deadline, about a dozen U.S. and coalition warplanes dropped precision munitions on nearly a dozen Iraqi artillery pieces in the southern no-fly zone that could have been in range of American troops poised to invade southern Iraq, Pentagon officials told CNN.

There was also concern some of the artillery could be capable of using chemical weapons and U.S. planes had been conducting around-the-clock reconnaissance of the sites.

Warplanes also struck Iraqi cable repeater sites and command and control sites. In addition, at least one Al Ababil surface-to-surface missile launcher was struck.

In other developments:

• Seventeen Iraqi soldiers surrendered to U.S. troops Wednesday. They were believed to be the first of their countrymen to give up -- a move the U.S. Air Force has been actively encouraging by showering the Iraqi landscape with more than 2 million leaflets in anticipation of a ground war.

• Iraq is unlikely to use chemical or biological weapons to defend itself from a U.S.-led invasion because world opinion would turn against it, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said Wednesday. "Saddam Hussein has certainly figured himself to be a sort of emperor of Mesopotamia, and the leader of the Arab world," Blix said. "So I think he very likely cares very much about his reputation."

• Pentagon officials said sandstorms in the region could be a problem for U.S. helicopters, which are expected to be a key element of an invasion. They said the Bush administration wants to launch the air campaign and ground assault almost simultaneously.

• The king of the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain offered "safe exile" to Saddam, saying he hopes the Iraqi leader "would seriously consider this offer before the onset of war," the government-run Bahrain News Agency said Wednesday.

• The Iraqi National Assembly met in "extraordinary session"; legislators backed Saddam and warned the United States that Iraqis would defend their leader. The information minister later said U.S. troops were facing "definite death" if they invade.

• Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Iraq is fully responsible for the current crisis in the Middle East, the Kuwait News Agency said.

• Chaos at the Kuwait City International Airport early Thursday led officials there to close roads into the airport and allow in only employees and ticket-holders, officials said. They also said they would not let anyone else in until the situation calmed down. Video footage of the airport terminal showed it packed with people, and crowds pushed up against ticket counters.

• Bush notified Congress on Wednesday he has made a determination that diplomacy will not work to disarm Saddam -- a condition required under a resolution approved by lawmakers in October authorizing the use of force against Iraq. (Bush's day, text of Bush letter to Congress)

• Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz stood before reporters in Baghdad Wednesday to quiet rumors he had been shot or had asked for political asylum. Aziz blamed the rumors on the U.S.-led coalition. He said people should expect more of the same in the days and months ahead. "We would like to warn you against cheap psychological rumors," Aziz said. "Don't believe them."

• A Kuwaiti patrol boat fired at an Iraqi dhow overnight, killing at least one person aboard, according to the commander of the USS Constellation battle group.

• Kurds in northern Iraq were fleeing towns and retreating to mountain areas in anticipation of war, and in the southern region dozens of Iraqi dhows were moving through the Straits of Hormuz and out of the Persian Gulf. Baghdad residents have started fleeing the capital. (Mood in Baghdad)

• Turkey's parliament is expected to vote Thursday on the government's request to allow U.S. warplanes to fly over Turkey. But the government will not seek a vote on a U.S. request to use Turkish bases for about 62,000 troops to move against Iraq from the north.

• Blix met with U.N. Security Council member nations to discuss how remaining unresolved issues in Iraq could be settled peacefully. Absent from the meeting were U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio.

• The United States and Britain pledged millions of dollars in humanitarian aid Wednesday to ease the impact of a looming war with Iraq but faced criticism for abandoning diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan estimated the immediate cost of humanitarian aid in the event of war at $123.5 million.

• Both houses of Italy's parliament Wednesday authorized the government to offer the U.S.-led coalition use of Italian air space and military bases in a conflict with Iraq, but the approval did not include allowing departure points for direct attacks.

• Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Cabinet ministers that the "chance Israel will be hit" during an Iraqi war "is very small, but we have taken all necessary precautions as if we were in genuine danger."

Live From CNN.com

U don't really have to post this here, We all know anywyas cuz all the station are reporting it.

this is what i think is going to happen if iraq has any strength is going to attack canada to get back at usa in my point of veiw croime cpital of the world

That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Please. Shut the Hell up. For the remainder of your life.

this is what i think is going to happen if iraq has any strength is going to attack canada to get back at usa in my point of veiw croime cpital of the world

You don't just pretend to be a moron, you are one, aren't you?

this is what i think is going to happen if iraq has any strength is going to attack canada to get back at usa in my point of veiw croime cpital of the world

As a Canadian and due to your intelligent, well thought out and presented opinion I am truly scared now. I may not sleep tonight worried about this. Maybe I'll have to move someplace safer.

Oh wait...What the fuck are you talking about!

this is what i think is going to happen if iraq has any strength is going to attack canada to get back at usa in my point of veiw croime cpital of the world

Can someone please translate for me?
Seriously.
I have absolutley no idea what he is trying to say. That has to be the most incoherent thing I have ever tried to read.

Punctuation is your friend, buddy. And so is spelling, grammar, and all that other stuff.

That has to be the most incoherent thing I have ever tried to read.

No, I have read MUCH more incoherent things than this. Much much more incoherent. Yeah, theres this guy at Danimation......... and stuff.........



Actually, I would laugh my ass off if Fatkat turned out to be right about this, and end up defying all of you heartless ignorants


Actually, when you think about it, that statement isnt totally impossible. After all, Iraq did launch a couple of SCUD missles towards Kuwait this morning. Of course, Canada doesent have many oil fields either, so whatever.


I guess its pretty pointless to advise you people to respect others opinions?

Can someone please translate for me?

Translation: 'Iraq is going to launch an attack on Canada in retaliation for the United States (imo, the crime capital of the world)'s present war on Iraq.'

Or so it would seem... of course it is a load of bullshit, but I think you already knew that. If I screwed it up though, somebody please tell me.

Actually, when you think about it, that statement isnt totally impossible.

I doubt Iraq has the capability to attack Canada directly, and seeing as Canada is firmly against this war, it would seem highly unlikely for them to want to do so.

Can someone please translate for me?

Sure. He meant

This is what I think is going to happen: If Iraq has enough strength, they are going to attack Canada to get back at the US which is, in my point of view,  the crime capital of the world.

Jesus. Makes me wonder if some of these people flunked the third grade....

BTW, CG, I think you did screw it up.