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America at War
And so, on October 7, America finally
attacked as operation “Enduring Freedom” got under way. US and British forces
unleashed punishing air strikes against military targets and Osama bin Laden’s
training camps in Afghanistan. According to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield the strikes
were intended to eliminate the Taliban’s air defenses and destroy their military
aircraft. America would soon own the skies of Afghanistan just as Osama once terrorized US
airspace. And the power of America would be known throughout the Muslim world as an
example of what will happen to those who tread upon the prowess of Modern Rome.
“We will not waver, we will not
tire,” President Bush promised. “We will not falter and we will not fail.”
Even as the United States began to
systematically decimate the Taliban and al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden made a videotaped
appearance to the world in order to utter his threats: “There is America, hit by God
in one of its softest spots. Its greatest buildings were destroyed, thank God for that.
There is America, full of fear from its north to its south, from its west to its east.
Thank God for that.
“ . . I swear by God. . . neither
America nor the people who live in it will dream of security before we live it in
Palestine, and not before all the infidel armies leave the land of Muhammad, peace be upon
him.”
Knowing that there could be terrorist
retaliation the FBI said it was urging law enforcement agencies nationwide to “be at
the highest level of vigilance and be prepared to respond to any act of terrorism or
violence.”
Indeed, American fears were realized as
terrorist-propagated attacks of the deadly biological weapon, Anthrax, began to appear.
The source of the spread was ingenious as the powdered anthrax was placed in envelopes to
be mailed to specific recipients.
On October 15, it was revealed that one
of these recipients was Senator Tom Daschle. Early in the day officials announced that
aides to the Senator opened a letter in his office that preliminary tests revealed had
been laced with anthrax.
With one of his two offices closed and
under quarantine for several days the senator promised that Congress would not cower under
Osama’s threats. “The Senate and this institution will not stop,” he
declared. “We will not cease our business and we will continue our work.”
However, on October 17 House leaders
shut down operations through the weekend for extensive testing. This was a result of the
fact that 31 Senate employees had tested positive for anthrax exposure. “To ensure
safety, we thought it best to do a complete sweep, and environmental sweep,” Speaker
Dennis Hasert asserted. Long lines immediately formed as congressional employees sought
tests and the three-day supply of antibiotics distributed by health officials.
But this threat did not deter American
resolve as US jets intensified attacks on Kabul and the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
Victory was easily won, and the Taliban was driven out of power into the hills. Al-Qaida
suffered a serious blow and was now on the run. But what happened to Osama? Nobody knew.
* * *
With this victory under his belt,
President Bush turned his attention to the major player in the Axis of Evil. Saddam
Hussein had repeatedly violated the agreement he had made with the UN after George Bush
senior defeated him in “Operation Desert Storm.” He had failed to discontinue
manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological and nuclear. He had kicked
the UN inspectors, who were assigned to monitor the weapons situation, out of Iraq so that
he could continue with his evil deeds. He remained a threat to the peace, a major player
in the terrorist movement and no doubt played a significant role in the 9/11 attacks.
President Bush utilized the rationale that Saddam had repeatedly violated UN agreements to
gain support for his war against Iraq.
What would happen if Hussein developed a
nuclear bomb and placed it in the hands of Osama? What would be the result of these
terrorists getting their hands on Hussein’s biological and chemical weapons? George
W. Bush was going to make certain that this would never happen. “On my orders,
coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine
Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war,” the president announced on March 19, 2003
as the war against Iraq called “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” officially began.
One of the strikes at Baghdad included
missiles aimed specifically at the military leadership of Iraq, including Saddam Hussein.
According to two senior military officials, American forces launched a “few
dozen” Tomahawk cruise missiles from ships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf in order
to kill Saddam, his two sons, and other senior members of the Iraqi leadership. Though
Saddam was not killed, this one strike apparently killed so many senior officials that the
entire Iraqi army was left in disarray from that moment onward. The war was over even as
it began.
Saddam appeared on videotape a few hours
after the attack to say, “We promise you that Iraq, its leadership and its people
will stand up to the evil invaders, and we will take them to such limits that they will
lose their patience in achieving their plans, which are pushed by criminal Zionism.”
However, when was this videotaped made, and who was actually on the videotape Saddam or
one of his many doubles? Nobody knew for sure, but most supposed that Saddam was lying
injured in a hospital by then.
That was the beginning of the air
campaign. Then the next day, on March 20, the ground campaign began. As parts of Baghdad
burned through the night, US and British Marines entered Iraq from Kuwait in what was to
become the most successful and quickest military ground punch in the history of the world.
An American cavalry unit mounted its relentless charge across the dessert towards
Hussein’s capitol city.
Saddam appeared grim-faced on TV leading
to suspicions with regards to whether it was he or a double. According to Bush spokesman
Ari Fleischer, “We have reached no conclusion about that videotape as to whether that
is or is not Saddam Hussein or what time that may or may not have been prerecorded.”
But there were not any doubles posing as the president of the United States who was
determined to take out this menace.
Even as the ground assault began, a
second wave of air attacks pounded Baghdad with all the devastating power that modern
high-technology warfare could bring. The military promised that the world would witness an
air campaign that had never been witnessed before in human history. This strategy, dubbed
“shock and awe” was designed to demoralize the Iraqi people into ultimate
submission.
But that was only the beginning. On
March 21, the blasts from the “shock and awe” campaign jolted the city of 5
million to its core. The Pentagon said that more than 1,5000 missiles and bombs rained
down. “I’d like to put my name on one of them,” declared a crewmember of
the USS Harry S. Truman.
In every other air attack in history, an
air campaign meant decimating an entire city, including its citizenry. Not so with modern
technology! For the first time in history the fire rained down from heaven only to hit
specific targets while, for the most part, leaving innocent citizens, their homes and
businesses and lives alone. The American attack left much of central Baghdad’s
governmental center – including Hussein’s presidential palace – ablaze
while the rest of the city was left in peace. Indeed, the goal of “shock and
awe” was to destroy the leadership of Iraq, thus disorganizing the enemy’s
defenses to leave the US military just to come in and sweep up.
On the ground, in the mean time, an
entire division of Iraqi soldiers – at least 6,000 of them – surrendered in Southern
Iraq. Two Marines were killed.
Indeed, in spite of America’s
military might, there would be dangers to face. On March 22 the radical Muslims lived up
to their terrorist reputation. The killer was an American who threw grenades and fired
shots into a tent, killing one soldier and injuring 13 others. The murderer was a sergeant
attached to an engineering unit, American citizen and a Muslim convert.
In the mean time, the advancing US army
was already halfway to Baghdad. As the military rolled within 150 miles of the capital
city allies boasted that “the instruments of tyranny are collapsing.”
However, President Bush was cautious in
his assessment: “A campaign on harsh terrain in a vast country could be longer and
more difficult that some have predicted. Helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free
country will require our sustained commitment.”
Buildings in Baghdad, such as
Saddam’s huge new palace, once symbols of his tyrannical regime, were left
inhabitable as a result of the continued bombings. Nonetheless, senior Iraqi officials
remained defiant.
In spite of these early successes, on
March 23, President Bush remained cautious: “It is evident that it’s going to
take a while to achieve our objective. I can assure the American people we’re making
good progress and I can also assure them that this is just the beginning of a tough
fight.”
His comments came after the allies were
surprised by the resilient Iraqis who killed up to nine Marines in the southern city of An
Naririyah. Iraqis faked a surrender then surprised American forces by opening fire on
them. About 40 were wounded in the trick assault. Another ambush that left 12 soldiers
missing in an incident also near An Nasiriya that may also have involved a surrender
situation. No trick was beyond the enemy’s reach.
“It was a tough day of fighting for
the coalition,” Brig. General Vincent Brooks admitted.
“Clearly they are not a beaten
force,” added Gen. Richard Myers. “This is going to get a lot harder.
While coalition forces pressed within
100 miles of Baghdad, Hussein remained defiant while vowing “victory will be ours
soon. Iraq will strike the neck (of the enemy) as God has commanded you. Strike them, and
strike evil so that evil will be defeated.”
As Baghdad was pounded with the heaviest
air strikes since Friday, the Hollywood elite was busily enjoying the Academy Awards. Far
be it for Hollywood to be patriotic. And so, while Americans were dying on the battlefield
to rid the world of a tyrant and free the Iraqi people from slavery, filmmaker Michael
Moore protested the war in true peacenik fashion while declaring to his audience,
“Shame on you, Mr. Bush.” Some of the Hollywood nuts booed. Others cheered.
“We live in the time where we have
fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president,” the ultra-liberal
declared. “We live in a time where we have a man who’s sending us to war for
fictitious reasons, whether it’s the fiction duct tape or the fiction of orange
alerts.” As the orchestra played a cue for the traitor to leave the stage he shouted,
“We are against the war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you.”
Even as the Hollywood elite continued in
their treasonous ranting, US Marines, on March 25, fought warily against an enemy that
would do anything to take a life. Residents in the border town, Safwan, stoned US forces.
“It felt great when we came in,
with the crowds waiting and smiling. Now you wonder what’s behind those smiles –
and what lies beneath those crowds,” revealed Lt. Colonel Michael Belcher.
“It’s tough to win over their hearts and minds now, when you have to hold them
at arm’s length.
Yet US revenge was certain as warplanes
and helicopters attacked the Republican Guard defending Baghdad even as troops advanced
within 50 miles. However, Iraqi resistance remained strong preventing both American and
British forces from capturing the southern cities of Basra and An Nasiriyah. They also
thwarted efforts to put out the oil fires set by Iraqis. Saddam remained defiant: “Be
patient, brothers, because God’s victory will be ours soon.”
But, as Baghdad fell under renewed air
attacks Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal assured, “Coalition forces are closing in on Baghdad.”
Yet fear was on Saddam’s side as he
posted his most trusted militia, the Fedayeen Saddam to proceed behind Iraqi regulars with
guns at their back. They told the regulars “fight or be shot in the back.” In
addition, there were three Republican Guard divisions posted, believed to have numbered as
many as 80,000 troops.
Baghdad was predicted to be messy. On
March 25 advancing US forces were left virtually stalled in the worst sandstorm in years.
“They’re driving across the desert, with huge clouds of dust and sand being
kicked up into the air behind them,” said retired brigadier general Mitchell Zais.
“If you’re not in the lead vehicle, you’re just sucking down huge amounts
of dirt and sand.”
“When you’re in a
sandstorm,” added Patrick Garrnett of GlobalSecurity.org, “You don’t have
air operations. Murphy’s law reigns supreme.”
Nonetheless, while in the swirling storm
150 elite Iraqi soldiers were killed 100 miles south of the capital in the biggest battle
of the war thus far.
The British were still having problems
in the southern city of Basra (the second-largest Iraqi city), but popular uprisings
against the regime were beginning to fester. ‘We Don’t’ know what has
spurred them,” declared Maj. Gen. Peter Wall. “We don’t know where it will
take us.”
In the mean time, Iraqis were busy
executing American prisoners. A few American units had taken a wrong turn in Nasiriya and
were captured and killed before the towns people. A videotape of the dead soldiers was
shown on TV revealing American heroes with bullet wounds to the head.
President Bush remained cautious but
optimistic: “We cannot know the duration of this war. Yet we know its outcome. We
will prevail.”
March 27 brought the president’s
words even closer to reality as Baghdad was barraged. US forces bombed the city, battering
communications and command facilities in the nation’s capital. “Coalition air
forces and Tomahawk missiles took out a communications and command and control facilities
in the capital city during the night,” Lt. Cmdr. Charles Owens revealed.
According to Capt. Thomas A. Parker of
the USS Kitty Hawk combat aircraft dropped bombs “just about as fast as we (could)
load them.”
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield
suggested that the US might just lay siege on the city if the regime remained defiant. And
indeed the Iraqi crew did continue to spout off as Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed
declared, “The enemy must come inside Baghdad, and that will be its grave.”
Perhaps the crazy Iraqi was right. Lt.
Gen. William Wallace, in face of strong resistance was asked whether the fighting during
the recent days increased the chances of a longer war than forecast. He replied,
“It’s beginning to look that way.”
And so the House approved a resolution
calling for a national day of humility, prayer and fasting in time of war and terrorism.
The resolution stated that Americans should use the day of prayer “to seek
guidance from God to achieve a greater understanding of our own failings and to learn how
we can do better in our everyday activities, and gain resolve in meeting the challenges
that confront our nation.”
On March 26 the US turned its attention
to northern Iraq as airborne forces parachuted seizing an airfield to pose a new front
against Hussein. Yet as swirling sand storms continued to pound coalition troops President
Bush warned, “The war is far from over. There will be a day of reckoning for the
Iraqi regime, and that day is drawing near. . . we are prepared for the battle ahead. We
cannot predict the final day of the Iraqi regime, but I can assure you – and I assure
the long-suffering people of Iraq – there will be a day of reckoning for the Iraqi
regime, and that day is drawing near.”
But American troops now had to face
Iraqi civilian suicide attacks. American military men watched as fighters attempted to
drive a civilian bus, with passengers aboard, into a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. They
destroyed the bus leaving the road littered with dead innocent bodies. “They have
decided on suicide missions to get at us,’ said Capt. Jason Conroy. “We need to
be really careful about any civilian vehicles approaching us.” So far the 7th cavalry
had lost two Abrams tanks to attacks by civilian fuel tankers. “They are just running
the trucks into the tanks and exploding them. They could do the same with cars loaded with
(munitions).” In addition, Saddam outfitted many of his troops with American and
British uniforms either to confuse invading forces or stage atrocities against innocent
civilians that could be blamed on coalition troops.
Yet, in spite of the madness of the
Iraqi regime, Americans pressed on successfully with their plans. The insane Hussein set
fire of his own oilfields. But by March 26 the oil fields and pipelines in southern Iraq
were basically intact. Thus the world’s second-largest proven crude reserves were in
safe hands.
On May 28, while President Bush was
cautioning of “further sacrifice” ahead,” the military was making sure that
those sacrifices would be minimal. American forces dropped 1,000-pound bombs on the
Republican Guard that were ringing Baghdad with their protective cover. So much for the
danger of the famed Republican Guard.
But the Iraqi defense minister, Sutan
Hasim Amed declared that the real fight would be with the Iraqi people: “The enemy
must come inside Baghdad, and that will be its grave. We feel that this war must be
prolonged so the enemy pays a high price.”
Syria was creating a bit of a problem.
Their efforts to supply Iraq with night vision goggles and other military equipment drew a
shark rebuke as the US considered such trafficking as hostile acts. America declared that
it would hold the Syrian government accountable for its actions.
The war for the British remained tough
in Basra. As civilians attempted to flee the war-torn city, Iraqi militias opened fire on
them sending the panicked crowds into retreat. British Colonel Chris Vernon detailed,
“Here perhaps are the first pieces of evidence of Iraqi people trying to break free
from the Ba’ath Party regime and the militia. And clearly the militia don’t want
that. They want to keep their population in there, and they fired on them to force them
back in.”
Then, on March 29 the Iraqi leadership
issued more threats even as a new suicide attack targeted Americans. A man drove his taxi
into a US checkpoint in south-central Iraq and waved for help. When soldiers approached,
the car exploded and four Americans died. One soldier commented that “now we’re
going to have to treat every civilian vehicle like it is hostile.”
Iraq did not stop there. They upped
their bid when they threatened to kill Americans on US soil as well. This obviously tied
them to international terrorism. “It looks and feels like terrorism,” Maj. Gen.
Stanley McChrystal assured.
But the terrorism did not stop with
threats against the US. “They have deployed death squads into Iraqi cities to
terrorize civilians and to try to prevent them from welcoming coalition forces, to try to
compel the regular army to fight by putting guns to their heads, because they know
that’s the only way to force them to fight for Saddam Hussein,” Donald Rumsfeld
divulged.
According to Gen. McCorkle,
“They’ve copied a lot of the tactics of Vietnam, in pretending to be your friend
and then shooting at you, or pretending to give up and then shooting at you, or trying to
hit your weak spot.”
Indeed, Iraq’s vice president
assured that such terrorist attacks would be “routine military policy.”
With his eye on the destruction of the
Republican Guard President Bush revealed, “We are now fighting the most desperate
units of the dictator’s army.”
And the US military refused to slow
down, capturing or killing 150 paramilitary fighters in the south and seizing two-dozen
Republican Guards near Baghdad on March 30. “We have the power to be patient in this,
and we’re not going to do anything before we’re ready,” General Richard
Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured.
Meanwhile in Basra, Iraqi troops
continued to fire on their own citizens as they attempted to flee the city. This triggered
a shootout with the British. The British were caught in a guerrilla campaign.
“Without a doubt,” said Capt. Sam Debbit. “Civilians caught in the middle
is a scenario we’re certainly going to see more often.”
“It’s impossible to identify
who is the normal citizen,” sighed Maj. Peter MacMullen. “The person I want to
stop is the lunatic who will go to our rear areas and shoot us up.” Indeed, the
British had their work cut out for them as more than 1,000 Iraqi fighters remained in the
city.
The Republican Guard around Baghdad was
being decimated to half its size. US warplanes continued to pound leadership positions in
the city. In the mean time, coalition ground forces were closing in on the country’s
capital from the south, west and north. Hussein was hemmed in and bombed out.
On March 31 US ground forces began their
encounter with Iraqi troops 50 miles south of Baghdad. “There are maneuvers going
(on) to try to destroy those divisions that stand in our way,” Maj. Gen. Stanley
McChrystal revealed.
“Day by day we are moving closer to
Baghdad. Day by day we are moving closer to victory,” President Bush reveled. “.
. . The dying regime in Iraq may try to bring terror to our shores. Other parts of the
global terror network may view this as a moment to strike, thinking that we’re
distracted. They’re wrong.”
However, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji
Sabri stated, “Every day that passes, the United States and Britain are sinking
deeper in the mud of defeat. . . We shall turn the desert into a big graveyard for
American and British troops.”
On April 1, in a daring show of the
potency of American strength, special ops forces went right into an Iraqi stronghold to
rescue Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held captive since March 23 after her 15-member
maintenance unit took a wrong turn in the desert separating them from the rest of the
company. All America cheered the successful mission as it became more-and-more apparent
that American forces had the power to do as they willed.
And soon that mighty power would be
displayed. As army ground forces pushed toward Karbala after attacking Republican Guard
units near the strategically-located holy city, it became evident that coalition forces
were gearing up for their long-awaited assault on Baghdad.
“What you’re seeing today on
the battlefield in Iraq is a continuation of prepping the battlefield for a major
encounter with the Republican Guard,” revealed Navy Capt. Frank Thorp.
“Some of them have been degraded to
pretty low percentages of combat capability, below 50 percent in. . . at least two cases,
and we continue to work on them,” Gen. Richard Myers added.
Down south in Basra, the British fought
on. Warplanes dropped laser-guided bombs on an intelligence complex in order to dislodge
the diehard defenders who continued to keep the British at bay.
Even as the bombs continued to drop on Baghdad,
Saddam summoned his country to a “jihad” or holy war, against the invaders.
Saddam had always insisted on a secular government. Now, out of nowhere, he was becoming
surprisingly religious.
Apparently Saddam’s call for jihad
was effective with some. Arabs throughout the region were eager to join the dictator. One
senior figure or another boasted daily that another 1,000 Arab volunteers had entered into
Iraq to help. According to Vice president Taha Yassin, the count stood at 6,000, with half
of them willing to commit suicide for the cause. Indeed Syria’s top Muslim authority,
Sheikh Ahmad Kaftaro encouraged suicide bombing in Iraq when he said, “I call on all
Muslims everywhere to use all means possible to thwart the aggression, including martyr
operations against the belligerent American, British and Zionist invaders.”
“The prophet Mohammed warned that
there would be no judgment day until the Muslims fight the Jews,” Abu Shinaf said.
“We see no difference between the Americans and the Jews and, God willing, we Arabs
can settle all our accounts with the Americans and the British. Damn America.”
Libyan volunteer Abu Shinaf declared,
“I will stay there until the last infidel leaves the land of Iraq.
“Iraq sees those volunteers in
order to make it into an pan-Arab war and eventually a pan-Islamic war,” retired
Syrian diplomat and general Haitham Kailani revealed. “They want to change it from an
Iraqi war against America and its allies into an Islamic war.”
However, those loyal fundamentalists
would have to fight a whole lot of American soldiers who were, by April 2, only 20 miles
out of Baghdad after crippling or destroying two divisions of Republican Guards that stood
in their way. There were no reports of ground casualties as the vastly superior US ground
forces cut through and routed disorganized Iraqi forces. However, Hussein was collapsing
most of his powerful defenses into the capital in order to increase his chances of success
where he thought American firepower and technology could be less decisive. “It amazes
me that you would not have your armored units meet us,” said Maj. Michael J. Johnson.
Down south in Najaf, throngs of Iraqi
citizens greeted US troops in a grand show of enthusiasm. This was the first town of any
size that Americans had fought for and taken control of. “Democracy!” said one
man.
In Bashira American warplanes unleashed
a ferocious attack on Iraqi lines. “Bombs came down like rain. Bombs came down like
fire,” lamented an Iraqi soldier.
Yet, in Karbala an American Black Hawk
helicopter and in southern Iraq a US Navy F/A-18C Hornet were shot down. This clearly
demonstrated how dangerous the war remained.
Even as American troops pressed towards
victory, another desert obstacle loomed ahead. A sustained heat wave was slowly building.
Though US military officials indicated that troops had trained for those conditions and
that they had plenty of water, the risk of heat-related illnesses loomed as a real
possibility.
On April 3 Allied forces entered Saddam
International Airport 10 miles from the center of the city and captured a portion of it as
well. Special forces were turning up the heat all throughout Baghdad. According to a
Colonel who would only call himself Randy, “Special Forces are everywhere.
They’re going to put pressure on from just about every direction.”
President Bush was elated with the
progress of the war commenting, “Moving a massive force over 200 miles of enemy
territory in a matter of days is a superb achievement. . . Having traveled hundreds of
miles, we will now go the last 200 yards. . . We will remove weapons of mass destruction
from the hands of mass murderers. . . Overcoming evil is the noblest cause and the hardest
work. And the liberation of millions is the fulfillment of America’s founding
promises.
‘”. . . A vise is closing. Our
destination is Baghdad, and we will accept nothing less than complete and final
victory.”
Indeed, the president was right. On
April 4, US forces fought their way to the center of Baghdad while columns of armored
vehicles began to encircle the besieged metropolis. American troops simply moved right
through Republican Guard divisions in their onslaught of the city. “We have
substantial forces now moving into the city,” Navy Capt. Frank Thorp assured.
“They’re pretty much cut off
in all directions,” Air Force Capt. Dani Burrows concurred. “Pretty much what
you’ve got here is a chokehold around Baghdad.”
Searches for the alleged banned weapons
were now going on. But nothing had been found yet.
About 35 miles south in Suwayrah, Army
soldiers rolled over the Republican Guard and easily captured the entire base. Though
Saddam urged his country to “strike them forcefully,” US Marines reported the
surrender of about 2,500 members of Saddam’s fighting elite. So much for the
celebrated Republican Guard!
“We are almost in control of their
country, and we’ll be in complete control soon,” Secretary of State Colin Powell
promised.
Indeed, on April 7 US troops strolled
right into Saddam’s illustrious New Presidential Palace to make themselves at home.
Among the ruins they found gold-painted faux French furniture, fabulous views of the Tigris
River and a television in every room.
US troops also toppled a 40-foot statue
of Saddam in a demonstration of the end of the regime. In the mean time US forces pressed
into the city from two sides.
But dangers still loomed. According to
Col. David Perkins: “We had a lot of suicide attackers today. These guys are going to
die in droves. . . They keep trying to ram the tanks with car bombs.”
Nonetheless, according to army commander
Perkins, “We can basically go wherever we want, even if Saddam is still alive.”
In spite of the fact that American
troops filled the city, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf remained in
denial while claiming, “There is no presence of American infidels in the city of Baghdad
at all.” Apparently the Iraqi leadership did not get it.
American intelligence had also learned
of a high-level meeting in Baghdad between senior Iraqi intelligence and, possibly, Saddam
and his two sons, Qusai and Odai. As a result the US sent massive bombs at the restaurant
that hosted the event leaving a huge hole where the building once sat. Precision-guided
2,000 pound munitions left a smoking crater 60-feet deep. Though Iraqi’s ambassador
to the UN later insisted that Saddam had escaped the attack, no one knew from that point
on what happened to the dictator, because no one saw him from that point on.
And finally, after a two-week siege, the
British finally took control over Basra. Hundreds of civilians poured onto the streets to
welcome the victors.
“The hostilities phase is coming to
a conclusion,” Collin Powell revealed.
Therefore, on April 8 US forces battled
the tattered remnants of Hussein’s vanquished armed forces, taking control of
downtown Baghdad and seizing a military airport. Now in the capital to stay, Army units in
the north routed Iraqi fighters from a Republican guard headquarters setting it ablaze.
From the east, marines successfully battled snipers as they moved deeper and deeper into
the city. State run Iraqi propaganda television was knocked off the air. Outside the
capital, US jets bombed Iraqi positions in the northern city of Kirkuk. This was still a
Saddam stronghold.
Captain Frank Thorp related, “We
are continuing to maintain our ability to conduct operations around and in Baghdad, and
remove them from regime control.”
And Saddam was yet to be found. “I
don’t know if he survived,” the bombing attack, Bush related. “The only
thing I know is that he’s losing power.”
On April 9 jubilation filled the streets
of Baghdad as the US finally and officially brought Saddams rule to an end. The sounds of
freedom were in the air as Iraqis beheaded a toppled statue of Saddam in downtown Baghdad
while embracing American troops as liberators. Decades of pent-up fury were unleashed as US
forces solidified their grip on the city. “I’m 49, but I never lived a single
day,” a happy Yussuf Abed Kazim said. “Only now will I start living.”
“We are not seeing any organized
resistance,” Captain Frank Thorp declared. “The Iraqi military is unable to
fight as an organized fighting force.”
Iraqi’s UN ambassador, Mohammed
Al-Douri’s finally relented that “the game is over, and I hope peace will
prevail.”
All-in-all 101 American troops and 30
British troops had been killed in the campaign to date. And though Saddam’s
whereabouts continued to remain a mystery, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld declared that Saddam
“is taking his rightful place” along side such dictators of the past as Adolf
Hitler, Josef Stalin and Vladimir Lenin.
Despite these remarkable and historical
gains, on April 10 one more Marine was killed and 22 injured in a seven-hour battle in the
Iraqi capital. “Baghdad’s still an ugly place,” Maj. Gen. Gene Renuart
admitted.
Indeed there was still much to be done
to bring the entire nation under US control. In the north US and Kurdish troops easily
captured oil-rich Kirkuk without even a fight. A second city was well within their grasp.
On April 10 joint addresses from
president Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair assured the Iraqi people, “Your
nation will soon be free.”
Air Force Secretary James Roche stated,
“We effectively have won the conflict. The regime is gone.”
Locals in Baghdad, however, claimed
Saddam sightings. Some said that he paid a visit to the Imam al-Adham Mosque, stood on the
roof of his car and greeted a throng of supporters. “Saddam was here, and I kissed
him,” said one man. “People were kissing his feet. They were cheering. There
were 200 people there.”
“My brother went up to Saddam and
kissed his feet,” claimed another.
So what was the truth after all? Was
Saddam dead or alive? Perhaps the Iraqi people were thinking that there was a second
resurrection.
Not only was Saddam gone, but also so
was his fortune. Estimates of his wealth ranged from $2 billion to $40 billion. Apparently
all of it had been effectively hidden from sight in countries from Latin America to Asia.
The Bush administration had already seized $1.6 billion of it, but US Treasury Secretary
wanted all of the money: “The world must find, freeze and return Iraqi money for the
Iraqi people and their future.” Perhaps Saddam had slipped out of the country and was
now living in South America as a wealthy refugee.
On April 11 American troops took the
northern city of Mosul without a fight. With the war looking like it was nearly won
President Bush proclaimed, “I know he’s (Saddam) no longer in power.”
General Tommy Franks, the commanding
general, detailed that Saddam and his sons were “either dead or they’re running
like hell.”
About 55 of Saddam’s top people
were on the run to be exact, because the US military issued a most-wanted list in the form
of a deck of cards. They were distributed to thousands of US troops in the field with
pictures of the criminals printed on them to help find the culprits. According to Brig.
Gen. Vincent Brooks, “the key list has 55 individuals who may be pursued, killed or
captured, and the list does not exclude leaders who may have already been killed or
captured. The intent here is to help the coalition gain information from the Iraqi people
so that they also know exactly who it is we seek.”
Even the French, who had stood in tough
resistance to the war had to admit that America was right. “The Americans have won
the war - in only three weeks,” Le Figaro newspaper wrote in an editorial.
“It’s a victory for George Bush.”
According to Francois Gere, director of
the Paris-based Diplomatic and Defense Institute, “The French are seeing the truth
– that the coalition was efficient.” Before the fighting began nay Sayers all
over the world and in America had seen the United States and Britain as
“invaders” opposed by the Iraqi people. “Instead we see pictures of Iraqi
people celebrating – not only the arrival of British and US forces, but celebrating
the end of a regime,” Gere detailed.
However, even as the world suddenly
became convinced of the unfailing truthfulness of President Bush and the rightness of his
cause, treason breathed its stench from the mouth of liberal America. The putrid belch of
indignation for one’s country reached its climax in the deeds of the Benedict Arnold
of the 21st century. Peter Arnett, while reporting from Baghdad on March 31 aided and
abetted the enemy when he sided with Saddam to proclaim, “For 12 years I have been
coming here, and I’ve met unfailing courtesy and cooperation.
“. . . This is clearly a city that
is disciplined. The population is responsive to the government’s requirements of
discipline.
“. . . It is clear that within the US
there is a growing challenge to President Bush about the conduct of the war and also
opposition to the war. So our reports about civilian casualties here, about the resistance
of the Iraqi forces are going back to the US, and it helps those who oppose the war.”
(emphasis added)
The specific purpose of these comments
was to energize Saddam loyalists who fought against the United States of America by
picturing as America as a house divided. Arnett lost his job in the affair and wandered
over to the liberal media in Europe where he belonged. He should have been hanged.
About the Author
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About the Author
Don Wigton
is a graduate of the prestigious music department at CSULB where he studied under Frank
Pooler, lyricist of Merry Christmas Darling, and sang in Pooler’s world renown
University Choir alongside Karen and Richard Carpenter. During this time Don was also the
lead composer of the band, Clovis Putney, that won the celebrated Hollywood Battle of the
Bands. After giving his life to God, Don began attending Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa to
study under some of the most prominent early Maranatha! musicians. Subsequently he toured
the Western United States with Jedidiah in association with Myrrh Records.
Eventually
Don served as a pastor at Calvary Chapel Bakersfield to witness thousands of salvations
through that ministry. As the music/concert director, Don worked for seven years with most
major Christian artist of that time while producing evangelical concerts attended by
thousands of young people seeking after God. Don’s Calvary Chapel Praise Choir
released the album Let All Who Hath Breath Praise the Lord on the Maranatha! label.
The next
years of Don’s life were spent as the praise leader of First Baptist Church in Bakersfield
during a time of unprecedented church renewal. Don teamed with the leadership to
successfully meld the old with the new through a period of tremendous church growth.
During this exciting time, Don’s praise team, Selah, produced the CD Stop and
Think About It.
Today Don is
the leading force behind Wigtune Company. This
webbased project located at www.praisesong.net has provided several million downloads of
Don’s music and hymn arrangements to tens of thousands of Christian organizations
throughout the world. More music can be found at Don's Southern
Cross Band website at www.socrossband.com.
The book Holy
Wars represents Don’s most recent effort to bless the church with biblical
instruction and direction in praise and worship. This heartfelt volume is an offering not
only to God’s people, but also to God Himself.
Connect With Don Online
Facebook - Southern Cross
Band
Facebook - Wigtune Company
Wigtune Blog
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was formed as a service to the body of Christ to encourage scriptural
worship. To accomplish this goal Wigtune Company offers free contemporary Christian praise
and worship music, contemporary Christian rock and hymn mp3 and chart material along with
a free on-line worship study book for personal devotions, Bible study groups, Sunday
schools, pastors, music ministers and ministry training. In order to bridge the gap
between the old and the new the worship study book gives solid theological and
historical support to the use of traditional Christian hymn-singing in conjunction with
praise chorus singing. 
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Wigtune Story 
Check out this powerful Southern Cross song! 
