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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (68920)	3/21/2003 4:12:03 AM
From: StanX Long	Respond to of 70976

Hundreds Surrender to Allied Forces 32 minutes ago story.news.yahoo.com By DAVID CRARY, Associated Press Writer American and British forces advanced Friday through southern Iraq (news - web sites), some racing unimpeded across the desert, others meeting hostile fire. Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers surrendered and U.S. officials said Iraq's command structure appeared to have disintegrated. No combat casualties were reported by the allies, but they suffered their first losses when a Marine helicopter crashed and burned in Kuwait, killing eight British soldiers and four Marines. Officials said the crash was not caused by hostile fire. Hoping the regime might capitulate, U.S. military commanders held back-channel negotiations with Iraqi commanders and refrained from all-out bombardment. Instead, U.S. missiles and bombs struck specific targets — including the main presidential palace in Baghdad and strongholds of the Iraqi army's elite Special Republican Guard. U.S. officials said Iraqi forces appeared cut off from their leadership after the initial missile attack on a Baghdad compound. It was struck because of intelligence reports that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was inside. The officials said there was no definitive word on whether Saddam was caught in the attack, but they indicated that medical workers were summoned to the compound after it was hit. Saddam appeared on Iraqi television Thursday a few hours after the attack; U.S. intelligence experts are analyzing the footage to determine if it was taped before the air strike. The Iraqi military said four soldiers were killed and six others wounded in Thursday's air strikes, but gave no figures for losses in ground combat. On the home front, thousands of anti-war activists protested, blocking streets, boycotting classes and chaining themselves together. More than 1,500 people were arrested, mostly at a raucous demonstration in San Francisco. In the war zone, one convoy from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force was targeted by Iraqi rockets and small-arms fire just after it crossed over the border from Kuwait, according to a BBC reporter with the unit. Another Marine unit, the 7th Infantry's 3rd Battalion, had to delay its foray into Iraq after it was reported that numerous tanks were sighted unexpectedly on the Iraqi side of the border. The unit took small-arms and artillery fire Thursday night, and at one point a U.S. Cobra helicopter accidentally fired a missile at an American tank, injuring one soldier and forcing abandonment of the smoldering tank. But overall, resistance to the allies was limited. Within a few hours of crossing into southern Iraq, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit encountered 200 or more Iraqi troops seeking to surrender. One group of 40 Iraqis marched down a two-lane road toward the Americans and gave up. They were told to lie face down on the ground, then were searched by Marines. Soldiers from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division also crossed into Iraq and encountered several Iraqi armored personnel carriers, destroying at least three, troops reported by radio. British troops moved on the strategic al-Faw peninsula — Iraq's access point to the Persian Gulf and the site of major oil facilities. Still waiting back in Kuwait was the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. Sgt. Jose Rivera, 24, of Hartford, Conn., slept in the bed of his truck, then awoke to get ready for a push into Iraq. "With all the training in the rear, I feel prepared," said Rivera, who has a 3-year-old daughter. "I'm nervous, but not scared." Allied officials were trying to determined the cause of the deadly helicopter crash in northern Kuwait but said it was an accident. The CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. With the start of the war, members of Congress moved away from debating President Bush (news - web sites)'s stance. The Senate unanimously approved a resolution in support of U.S. forces, and House leaders prepared a similar measure. But divisions over the war were stark in numerous cities across the country, anti-war protesters took to the streets and in some cases were confronted by counter-demonstrators. "Support the U.S. or keep your mouth shut," said one sign in Mississippi. More than 1,300 people were arrested in San Francisco, and one protester died after falling from the Golden Gate Bridge. "America is different today," said Jason Mark, a San Francisco activist. "We've just launched an unprovoked, unjust war." Large anti-war protests also took place in many cities abroad. Demonstrators marched in Manila, Philippines; Beijing; Rome; Berlin; Stockholm, Sweden; and the West Bank. More than 100,000 protesters rallied in Athens.