Allies' Push To Baghdad Intensifies; U.S. Forces Clash With Republican Guard As

Orlando Sentinel (Florida) April 02, 2003

Allies' Push To Baghdad Intensifies

U.S. Forces Clash With Republican Guard As Bombings Cover Large Arc South Of Capital

DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. forces battle Republican Guard troops late Tuesday around the holy city of Karbala, the first major ground fighting with Saddam Hussein's top forces.

American troops on Tuesday rescue Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held as a prisoner of war in Iraq since she and other members of her unit were ambushed March 23, the Defense Department announces.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw calls for a U.N.-sponsored international conference to choose Iraq's new leaders, and says reconstruction of the country is likely to take years.

U.S.-led forces battle and bomb Iraqi troops across a large arc south of Baghdad in anticipation of a move against the capital.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says 2 Iraqi Republican Guard units are at less than half their original strength.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denies the United States is negotiating an end to war with Iraq.

On national television, the Iraqi information minister, reading a statement he says is from Saddam Hussein, calls for a jihad, or holy war, against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

UPCOMING EVENT

President Bush plans to visit Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Thursday to pay tribute to U.S. Marines killed in Iraq and to give a progress report on the war. Of the 46 American troops killed so far in the war as of Tuesday, 30 were Marines. At least 12 of them were Camp Lejeune Marines.

Bush will meet with families of the fallen Marines and eat lunch with personnel at the base. He also will give a speech on the mission in Iraq and its progress.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

'You could take out the Republican Guard divisions and if somebody still has got a gun to their head, they're darn well not going to, very likely, decide that it's time to have an uprising.'
Donald Rumsfeld, DEFENSE SECRETARY

'The aggression that the aggressors are carrying out against the stronghold of faith is an aggression on the religion, the wealth, the honor and the soul and an aggression on the land of Islam.'
Iraq's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf reading a statement said to be from President Saddam Hussein on television

'Mr. Saddam Hussein has asked his people to sacrifice for their country, and if the only thing that keeps the conflict going is his presence, then he should listen to his own advice.'
Saud al Faisal, a member of Saudi Arabia's ruling family

DEATH TOLL

Allies: At least 46 Americans; at least 26 Britons (figures include combat and noncombat deaths and may include some coalition troops listed as missing)

Iraqi military: No reliable estimate available

Civilians: More than 400, according to Iraqi officials -- a figure that cannot be confirmed

Journalists: 2

A CLOSER LOOK

9,000
precision-guided munitions have been dropped on Iraq since the war began

600
oil wells and 3 oil refineries are under coalition control

2
oil-well fires remain burning in the Rumeila South oil field

14,000
pieces of combat equipment to be delivered to the Persian Gulf within the next month

5,000
4th Infantry Division troops in Kuwait, with more arriving hourly from Fort Hood, Texas

13,000
101st Airborne Division's troops -- including its headquarters -- now in key areas of south-central Iraq

$80 BILLION
approved Tuesday by House and Senate Appropriations committees to begin paying for war with Iraq and meet other security needs

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: READY TO STRIKE
In eastern Mediterranean. An aircraft launch-crew member watches an F-14 Tomcat launch Tuesday from the USS Theodore Roosevelt as the conflict heats up.

RICHARD VOGEL/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOX: IRAQ'S STRONGEST FORCES To get into Baghdad, coalition troops first will have to get past the Republican Guard. Saddam Hussein's protection consists of 3 units that are increasingly loyal as they get closer to him.

Republican Guard
Total: About 80,000
Main purpose: The premier conventional military force in Iraq; provides defense around Baghdad
Organization: 2 corps made up of 6 divisions

Special Republican Guard
Total: About 25,000
Main purpose: The garrison of Baghdad; protects presidential sites and escorts Saddam on trips within Iraq
Organization: 4 infantry/motorized brigades with 14 battalions and an air- defense command, largely within Baghdad

Special Security Organization
Total:1,000 to 5,000
Main purpose: Responsible for Saddam's personal security; monitors other units for signs of disloyalty. Reportedly in charge of security of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Runs Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary group
Organization: Recruited from tribes around Tikrit, Saddam's hometown

SOURCES: Ken Pollack of Saban Center at Brookings Institution, Center for Defense Information, Center for Strategic and International Studies, GlobalSecurity.org, Periscope, staff reports

MAP: KEY EVENTS

Northern Iraq
In daytime bombing runs, B-52 bombers and F-16 jets pound Kirkuk, the center of Iraq's oil industry.
5 Iraqi army recruits surrender, telling allied soldiers that there were others who wanted to flee, but government execution squads had orders to kill all deserters.

Central Iraq and Baghdad
U.S. Army launches attacks near Hillah, Karbala and Samawah, capturing an Iraqi general and seizing an airfield and paramilitary training camp.
Allied forces begin to target communication facilities, including 8 telephone exchanges, TV and radio transmitters and government media offices.
Iraq's information minister appears on TV and reads a statement he said came from Saddam Hussein, urging Iraqi defenders to keep fighting. Iraqi TV said Saddam would appear, but the president never did.

Southern Iraq
About 100 Iraqi tribesmen join the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in attacks north of Nasiriyah. Enemy forces are taken prisoner, weapons are seized and explosives are removed from a bridge. No allied casualties are reported.
U.S. special-operations aircraft destroy numerous vehicles and 5 buildings in Nasiriyah, including the Iraqi director of general security headquarters.

Kuwait
An Iraqi missile is intercepted by a Patriot missile battery manned by members of the Kuwait military.