21 March 2003
General Franks Praises Allied Troops as Combat Operations Begin
(Central Command Report, March 21: Iraq Operational Update) (820) GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS TELLS TROOPS OBJECTIVE IS CLEAR Army General Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told the U.S.-led coalition March 21 that President Bush has ordered the initiation of combat operations and "our objectives are clear." Speaking from CENTCOM's forward headquarters at Camp As Sayliyah, near Doha, Qatar, Franks told the nearly 250,000 air, land and sea forces arrayed against the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein that they will disarm Iraq and remove the current ruling regime. Franks is also the commander in charge of military operations in Iraq. "We will disarm Iraq and remove the regime that has refused to disarm peacefully. We will liberate the Iraqi people from a dictator who uses torture, murder, hunger, and terror as tools of oppression," Franks said in a prepared statement. "We will bring food, medicines, and other humanitarian assistance to Iraqis in need. We will take care to protect innocent civilians and the infrastructure that supports them, and we will help the Iraqi people start anew to build a future of their own with a government of their choice." Franks told the troops he has the highest personal confidence in them, as doesPresident Bush. "You are now in harm's way. Our task will not be easy, but we are fighting for a just cause and the outcome is not in doubt. I am proud of you -- all that you have done and all you will achieve in the days ahead," Franks said. The U.S. Senate, by a 99-0 vote, approved a resolution praising U.S. military forces and their families, as well as President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair "for their courageous and steadfast support." The U.S. House of Representatives approved a similar resolution by a vote of 392-11 with 22 members voting "present" early March 21. Senator Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat and minority whip in the Senate, said, "our troops will have everything they need and a little bit more." U.S., BRITISH NAVY FIRE MORE TOMAHAWKS Three U.S. Navy warships and two British submarines, part of the Coalition Forces Maritime Component, launched Tomahawk cruise missiles during nighttime operations into Iraq, the U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters announced March 21 from Bahrain. "The ships included the Aegis guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain in the Persian Gulf and two Los Angeles-class submarines, USS Columbia and USS Providence," the naval headquarters said in a prepared statement. "The Royal Navy submarines which launched Tomahawks include the Trafalgar-class HMS Turbulent and Swiftsure class HMS Splendid." MARINE HELICOPTER CRASHES IN KUWAIT A U.S. Marine Corps Sea Knight helicopter, carrying both U.S. and British personnel, crashed early March 21 just south of Umm Qasr, near Highway 801 in Kuwait, U.S. Central Command announced, and the 12 personnel aboard died. The accident occurred about 3 a.m. local time (0001 GMT, 7 p.m. EDT), according to a Central Command (CENTCOM) statement. The accident is under investigation, but it did not crash during hostile fire, the command said. PLANNING FOR IRAQI FLOODING UNDER CONSIDERATION U.S. Department of Defense planners are considering ways to respond to possible flooding by Iraqi military forces to slow down the advance of U.S.-led coalition land forces advancing rapidly across the Iraqi desert, the Pentagon said March 21. "If the Iraqi military releases water into the Tigris River from upstream reservoirs, extensive flooding between Baghdad and Al Kut could occur," the Pentagon said in a statement. "Thousands of Iraqis could be displaced, adding to congestion on roads and requiring extensive humanitarian support." During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Iraq often created water obstacles to blunt advances by the Iranian Army. "Iraq's strategy could include releasing small amounts of water from major dams and canals to interrupt maneuvering units," the Pentagon said. "Iraq could cause catastrophic flooding of portions of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, either by releasing large amounts of water from dams or by destroying them. The latter could cause major humanitarian crises in parts of Iraq, though Baghdad would experience minimal damage." IRAQI SCUD MISSILES STRIKE THREE TIMES IN KUWAIT At Camp Commando, a staging base in Kuwait, an Iraqi Scud missile struck about 10:28 a.m. local time (0728 GMT, 2:28 a.m. EDT), but there were no casualties, according to a CENTCOM report. Both U.S. Marines and British Army soldiers saw the gray missile land just outside the compound, the report said. Again at 12:24 p.m. (0924 GMT, 4:24 a.m. EDT) and at 1:30 p.m. (1030 GMT, 5:30 a.m. EDT), two more tactical ballistic missiles were destroyed by U.S. Patriot interceptor missiles, CENTCOM said. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
