US: Iraq Set To Use Chemical Weapons :

U.S officials tell CBS News Correspondent David Martin that the Iraqis have drawn a red line on the map around Baghdad, and once American troops cross it, the Republican Guards are authorized to use chemical weapons. The Iraqi Republican Guard controls the bulk of Iraq's chemical weaponry, most of which can be fired from artillery guns or short-range rocket launchers, according to U.S. officials
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Family Members of POWs Cope With News of Captures in Iraq :
Feelings of uncertainty quickly changed to desperation and fear for American military families who discovered their loved ones had become prisoners of war.

U.S. Believes Russians in Baghdad Are Aiding Iraq :

The United States believes Russian private sector technicians are in Baghdad helping train Iraqis to use electronic jamming systems that could endanger U.S. forces fighting Iraq, U.S. officials said on Monday.

Nine Marines Killed, 12 Soldiers Missing :

AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq — U.S.-led forces suffered their worst casualties of the war Sunday in two bloody battles near An Nasiriyah that raged for hours before Iraqi resistance was vanquished. Marines, tense and sobered after the fight, were moving around the city rather than through it on the road to Baghdad.

Saddam video a farse :

Did you see the latest video of Saddam meeting with his military advisors?
If Saddam was alive don't you think that Iraq would make that clear? Look carefully at that video when the networks rerun it. Look at what's not shown. There are no maps of the country on the wall or on the desk. No reports, no big stacks of papers, nothing that would indicate a real war council meeting to discuss the current situation or defense of the country.

Soldier Held in Attack :

B A G H D A D, Iraq, March 22 — A U.S. soldier is being held in connection with a grenade attack on leadership tents at the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait that wounded at least 13 soldiers.

U.S.: No Sign of Iraq Bio-Weapons Yet :

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. special operations troops combing Iraq for Scud missiles and chemical or biological weapons have found none so far, a senior American military officer said Saturday.

Baghdad Ablaze :

B A G H D A D, Iraq, March 22 — Thick black plumes of smoke billowed into the skies around Baghdad from what appeared to be deliberately set fires, as the U.S. military today gave up on Turkey allowing coalition ground forces to launch a ground offensive into northern Iraq from its territory.


Coalition captures key river crossing :

INSIDE SOUTHERN IRAQ (CNN) -- U.S.-led forces driving toward Baghdad on Saturday captured the southern Iraqi town of Nasiriya, a key river crossing, and the commander of the U.S.-led war on Iraq said that Saddam Hussein had chosen unwisely in not giving up weapons of mass destruction.

Images from the war scene

    
    

Saddam Hit  ???
U.S. intelligence sources say Saddam Hussein was seen being wheeled out of a Baghdad residential complex on a stretcher after the complex was struck in "decapitation attacks" by the United States.

Secret Surrender Plan,France Said to Be Working on Saddam Exile Deal
American officials have told ABCNEWS that even with today's bombing, secret talks have continued behind the scenes about a Saddam Hussein surrender and exile to, among other places, the country of Mauritania in west Africa.

US forces within 10 kilometres of Basra :
American forces were within 10 kilometres of Basra early today, a strategic target which coalition commanders hoped would fall during the night. The city was being subjected to a massive air bombardment.

US-Led Forces Sweep Toward Defiant Baghdad
US armored columns raced toward Baghdad on Friday, but US Marines met unexpected resistance when they attacked a key southern Iraqi port

Invasion force surges into Iraq
American and British troops have advanced deep into Iraqi territory on the second day of the military campaign to topple President Saddam Hussein.

US in Full Control of Key Iraqi Port - Washington Post


US Marines are in full control of the strategic port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq, a British military spokeswoman said Friday.

U.S. Confirms Saddam Hussein in Video :

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. intelligence officials said Friday it was almost certainly Saddam Hussein, not a look-alike, who appeared in a video recording on Iraqi television a few hours after he was targeted by an American air strike.

Iraqis Kill Marine Near Iraq Oil Field :

One U.S. Marine died Friday in fighting as troops advanced on an oil field in southern Iraq, the military said. Separately, 12 coalition soldiers were killed as their helicopter crashed in the first hours of the ground war.

Troops Advance; Some 200 Iraqis Surrender :

SOUTHERN IRAQ (AP) - U.S. troops advanced through the deserts of southern Iraq in armored convoys Friday, met by surrendering soldiers, and Marines punched through Iraqi resistance blocking the main road to the key city of Basra.

Cruise Missiles Hit Saddam Palace in Baghdad:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. cruise missiles slammed into President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s main Baghdad palace on Thursday night during an attack that set buildings ablaze in the city and caused massive explosions.Missiles flew in at low altitude and hit a string of targets across the Iraqi capital in a second wave of missile attacks after a dawn raid.

U.S.: Patriots down Iraqi missiles:

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (CNN) -- U.S. Patriot missiles knocked two Iraqi missiles out of the sky on Thursday, hours after two others landed without injury near the U.S. forces' main logistics center in the Kuwaiti desert, the military said.
Iraq to enlist allies at U.N :

New York -- In its first statement since military action began, Iraq’s mission to the United Nations said it would ask the U.N. Security Council to condemn the United States for acting like a “terrorist state” by launching a war in violation of international law. The move comes amid heavy international criticism of the U.S.-led military action.



Pentagon has reports Iraqi oil wells ablaze :

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday that the Pentagon has received reports that Iraqi forces have set "as many as three or four" oil wells ablaze in southern Iraq, near the Kuwaiti border.

U.S. May Use 'E-Bomb' in Iraq Invasion :

U.S. forces may use a new "e-bomb" during the expected invasion of Iraq as part of a 21st century blitzkrieg designed to render Saddam Hussein forces blind, deaf, dumb and incapable of retaliation.The highly classified bomb creates a brief pulse of microwaves powerful enough to fry computers, blind radar, silence radios, trigger crippling power outages and disable the electronic ignitions in vehicles and aircraft.
"They would be useful against any adversary that is dependent on electronic systems" said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute. Click here    to read the whole article .

BAGHDAD, Iraq -   Saddam Hussain appears on television

Saddam appeared on television, wearing a military uniform, vowing that "Iraq will be victorious" about two hours after U.S. cruise missiles hit targets in and around Baghdad.

From today onwards this blog is going to cover the Iraq war which started 1 hour ago.
U.S. Launches Strike Against Iraq
President George W. Bush announced the start of military action against Iraq at 10.15pm in Washington on WednesdayHe described the action as the opening salvo in an operation to "disarm Iraq and to free its people."

Time Over For Iraq

The United States last night said that it will soon abandon efforts to win a second United Nations resolution.War seems inevitable now.But what could be the real reason for this war.One can say that US wants to avenge Sept 11.But there are no evidence that Iraq had its hand in the attack.There could be more reasons then this.  OIL  . The daily consumption of oil in America is 19.5 million barrels a day i.e.28 percent of daily global oil consumption.America wants to tap the oil reserves lying below tonnes of sand.Another real reason could be POWER .But what ever the reason.Is the WAR JUSTIFIED !!! Besides the army personnels many civilians willl lose their lives.There is a photogallery by Peter Turnley which brings out the horror of 1991 Gulf War.

ENTER THE UNSEEN GULF WAR - PETER TURNLEY