Iraqi's Minister of Information today announced that Americans troops in Baghdad had fallen right into the trap Iraqi defense forces had laid for them, that the Amercians were "right where we wanted them," and would soon be slaughtered by the long-threatened "unconventional" tactics of the Ba'athist regime.
The Minister gave his statement outside the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, while U.S. Marines carted him and his podium out of the hotel lobby to a waiting transport.
Meanwhile, American military commanders at this morning's briefing expressed concern that the seige of Baghdad was not going as smoothly as planned.
A spokesman said, "Our first plan was to isolate the city from the surrounding countryside, but the mass exodous of refugees from the city made it impossible for us to compete our ring around the city. Our plan was flexible enough to accommodate that development, however, and we tried our new tactic of sending probing forces into the city to determine the location and strength of enemy troops."
That tactic also met with failure, said the spokesman, beccause enemy troops were so few and far between that the probing forces couldn't find them. Finally, military commandes launched a last-ditch desperation tactic - roll masses of grounds troops, backed up by armored vehicles, into the city in a display of strength. That final backup plan, according to troops on the front, also met with failure.
"We couldn't even get though with tanks," said one Marine. "Iraqis kept trying to come up and kiss us. One corner was full of dancing, cheering people. Thanking President Bush. By name. In English! Another square was blocked by a mob tearing down a statue of Saddam Hussein. How are we supposed to fight a war when these people think there's a party going on? It's our worst nightmare."
Posted by wasylik at April 9, 2003 09:38 AM | TrackBack