Fierce U.S. Bombing, over Thousand Missiles

On March 22, three days into Operation Iraqi Freedom, allied forces consisting of troops from the U.S., Britain and Australia continue their bombing of Baghdad and other major cities. The allied ground forces have captured most of southern Iraq and have advanced to an area, 300km south of Baghdad.

The Iraqi Armed Forces are on verge of collapse. Today 8,000 troops from the 51st Division of the Iraqi Army, at the southern key city of Basra surrendered en masse. The Iraqi Air Defense network has been shattered. There are even broadcasts of secret negotiations for surrender and exile of President Saddam Hussein between the U.S. and Iraqi command group.

At this rate, U.S. forces will surround Baghdad within two to three days guarded by the Republican Guard, an Iraqi elite unit. Within this week according to best estimates, the war will either conclude to a short end or will extend longer.

On March 21 at 8:00 p.m. (Iraq time), after 38 hours of limited aerial bombardment since the beginning of the war, U.S. forces have launched full scale bombardment of cities and targets. Even now, at noon on Saturday, the bombardment continues. The U.S. has poured more than a thousand cruise missiles into Iraq.

Literally following the operation concept of ‘Shock and Awe’, the American and British fighter-bombers have launched more than a thousand sorties. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea are launching missiles around the clock.

Due to the bombardment, the Presidential Palace took at least five direct missiles hits. Many government buildings in Baghdad were also bombarded. Basra, which is surrounded by Joint British-American ground forces for the last couple of days, Mosul, a northern oil field, Kirkuk, Tikrit, hometown of President Hussein, located north of Baghdad and other major cities were bombed.

ABC News broadcasts have announced the death of Ali Hassan Majid or “Chemical Ali”, who was responsible for suppressing the Kurdish rebellion in the 1980s with chemical weapons and three key members of the Iraqi command staff during bombing according to an American CIA source.

Donald Rumsfeld, U.S secretary of defense, claims that ‘Iraqi leadership is losing control”.

U.S. forces’ headquarters has announced a 160 to 200km advance from the Iraqi-Kuwait border by British-American forces after 38 hours of the start of operations. According to The Washington Post, the vanguard ground force of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division is currently assaulting Tallil Iraqi airbase, located 160km north of Baghdad. This means that Allied forces have advanced half the distance (about 600km) between Baghdad and the southern Iraqi border.

Due to the latest skirmish today, one U.S. troop was killed and two British helicopters collided over the sea adding seven deaths bringing the total to 21 casualties for allied forces. The Iraqi government claims 207 civilian casualties but military casualties are not estimated.

sechepa@donga.com