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Pastimes : The New Qualcomm - write what you like thread. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: foundation who wrote (6045)	3/26/2003 10:20:00 PM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12246

Even as Aid Arrives, Iraqi Town Curses U.S. Troops Mixed Blessing By Mike Von Fremd SAFWAN, Iraq, March 26 — As a convoy of trucks filled with humanitarian aid pulled into the small border town of Safwan, a large group of Iraqis swarmed the trucks cheering. But this was no welcome. "With our blood we sacrifice ourselves to you Saddam Hussein!" they chanted. British and U.S. troops tried to help the Red Crescent humanitarian workers distribute the five meals for each person who lives there. But they were quickly overwhelmed by a frenzied mob, desperate to grab the boxes filled with water, bread and cheese. Residents stormed the trucks, climbing over each other to grab what they could and throw them out to the desperate crowds. Some were bloodied in the mayhem, which lasted for almost two hours. Others tried to hide their faces, embarrassed to be seen fighting for a handout. But even as these residents hungrily grabbed at the humanitarian aid which they clearly needed, they also had a very strong message for the United States. "You brought us chaos," said one mother covered in a black burqa. "People are sick and hungry." "Woman and children have been killed," a man said. "It is all because of U.S. greed for Iraqi oil." The scene was a stark contrast from last week, when residents of this small town just across the border from Kuwait greeted U.S. Marines with smiles and embraces, allowing allied forces to occupy the town without firing a single shot. Residents even looked on with approval as a Marine major pulled down a poster of Saddam Hussein, shouting at him, "You are a man!" But while many of the people in this town expressed joy less than a week ago at the sight of U.S. and British troops, one man said he was not grateful to be liberated from the regime of Saddam Hussein. "No. No. No. We are not happy," he said. "You have humiliated us more than our enemies." Another camera shy-Iraqi pulled us aside and said, "We do not all love Saddam, but we do not love the United States either." abcnews.go.com

To: foundation who wrote (6045)	3/27/2003 11:08:26 AM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12246

Warplanes Back in Sky After Sandstorm Coalition Warplanes Back in Sky Near Karbala After Sandstorm; Iraqi Forces Test U.S. Defenses The Associated Press NEAR KARBALA, Iraq March 27 — The ferocious sandstorm that halted the U.S. drive on Baghdad lifted Thursday and coalition warplanes were back in the sky in force, blasting Iraqi armor that probed American lines as troops resumed their advance 50 miles south of the capital. Troops awoke to bright sunshine after a night when temperatures dipped into the 30s. Small groups of Iraqi armored personnel carriers ranging from three to six vehicles tested U.S. defenses in the north. When the Iraqis closed within 10 miles, they were blasted by coalition warplanes that again ranged the skies above all of Iraq as the weather front blew east into Iran after creating one of the biggest sandstorms in recent memory. The bad weather, with near zero visibility, had dramatically slowed the coalition drive toward the Iraqi capital. The soldiers cheered as they watched the planes destroy two APCs on the horizon to the north. Similar explosions from bombing runs farther north could be heard but not seen. A squad of tanks was sent to check results of the strike and found a damaged pipeline spilling an estimated 1,000 gallons of what was believed to be diesel fuel each second. Army engineers worked to stanch the flow. The Marines were covered with powdery sand after the storm. AP Correspondent Ravi Nessman said many Marines had been sleeping on vehicle seats for four nights running and emerged into the clear morning stiff and unrested. They tried cleaning themselves with wet wipes and shaved in the cold morning air. Many said they were frustrated by the slow movement of their convoy because of the intense storm. Wednesday afternoon, mortars fell on both sides of the road in the distance. The troops also came under small arms fire from a cluster of buildings and what appeared to be a silo about 150 yards off the road. Marines responded with almost every weapon in their arsenal, firing .50 caliber machine guns mounted on humvees, using their M16s and a few even shooting off 9 mm pistols. The Marines launched two wire-guided TOW missiles, missing with the first one. The second slammed into the buildings. Someone yelled "good shot!" Associated Press Correspondent Denis Gray reported the first American aircraft, a C-130 cargo plane, landed Thursday at Iraq's second largest airport, Tallil airbase, just outside Nasariyah. Tallil is expected to be a major resupply base for American forces. Tallil is the second largest airport in Iraq after Saddam International Airport at Baghdad. It was covered by the U.S.-British enforced no-fly zones and has not been used since the 1991 Gulf War. The no-fly zones were set up to protect Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims in the south of the country and the Kurds in the north. Several American units already are operating at Tallil, where troops put up a sign saying "Bush International Airport." North of Najaf, southeast of the deepest advance to around Karbala, Lt. Col. B.P. McCoy, commanding officer of Marine 3rd Battery, 4th Regiment said this regiment was engaged in fighting Wednesday but had not met significant Iraqi resistance Thursday. AP Correspondent Ellen Knickmeyer reported that McCoy said his troops were still moving toward Baghdad and expect to meet regular Iraqi military. The Marines have been running into people taking potshots at them, but had not encountered concentrations of Republican Guards. The troops had slowed considerably, and made only 6 miles on Wednesday as they searched roadsides to clear guerrilla attackers. "Our job now is killing," McCoy said, referring to Iraqi resistance. The British reported crushing an attempted armored column breakout in Basra, saying 14 Iraqi tanks were destroyed trying to leave Iraq's second largest city Thursday morning. British officials said the attack on the tank column represented one of the largest losses suffered by Iraqi armor in a single engagement. Group Capt. Al Lockwood said British Army tanks of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards engaged the tanks in a swift battle and destroyed all of them. Iraqi forces have made at least three attempts to break out of Basra since Tuesday, according to British military officials. Lockwood said the latest column came out of the city overnight, possibly to engage coalition forces. He said the columns were manned by Iraqi soldiers being forced to fight by Saddam Hussein's loyalists holding Basra. Lockwood said Baath party militia were "threatening families of Iraqi soldiers to force them to drive these military vehicles out of Basra." North of Basra in Nasiriyah, Marines were reported to have fought house-to-house battles. A reporter for WTVD in Durham, N.C., attached to the Camp Lejeune Marines, said at least 25 Marines had been injured. He said Marines were using flares to light areas so they could see their enemy. abcnews.go.com