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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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**6:30-8 pm eastern/3:30 pm pacific...Hardball: Operation Iraqi Freedom**
Tonight, Chris will assume the anchor chair from 6:30- 8 pm eastern directly from the
MSNBC world headquarters in Secaucus, NJ...
We'll talk to retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, Peggy, Arkin & Howard and some
others tbd...
I'll let the news and links speak for themselves today...Dominic
First a housekeeping note: Tonight at 10 pm eastern, Joe Scarborough returns to the
MSNBC airwaves...That hour long show is now being run by a top Hardball alum, Noah
Oppenheim, so you can be assured of programming excellence...
http://www.msnbc.com/news/msnbcreports_front.asp
For the latest news on the web, click here http://iraq.msnbc.com
>From the "Hot File"...
>From NBC's Kelley O'Donnell....
A senior Centcom official in a nearly hour long briefing said:
Regime is pretty resilient because it has terrorized people and used systems of
control for 30 years.
Compared regime to Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia
--..sense we are near the tipping point in Basra and An Nasiriyah and when it comes it
starts to spread."
ON BAGDHAD
"Attack on Bagdhad began in all sorts of ways on the first day"
"If you'r elooking for a big push in WWII terms I don't think you'll see it"
The "pressure" will be "nuanced" "Subtle and sometimes unsubtle pressure"
For those who thought the regime would fall "like a house of cards, thats just not
true"
On fight for Bagdhad-- "We're prepared to pay a very high price. If it means alot of
casualties then it means alot of casualties...We're gonna take them out"
On quick move to Bagdhad--"In every war there ar ewwindows of opportunity..sometimes
you seize them wiht great effect and sometimes you don't.... Let historians judge how
that worked out"
ON SHI'A EXPECTED UPRISING
"They are rising up although slower than we had hoped"
"We let them down in '91" "if you've been beaten up and beaten down and persecuted we
shouldnt be surprised that they are waiting to see" --on their reluctance to join
coalition side
CASUALTIES
-- "fairly light" now "There may come a time when things could be much more shocking"
WMD--- regarding the discovery of many chemical related items.. "We found alot more
than we're comfortable with"
"Hunt really happens more in stability operations than in combat operations.Primary
mission now is to fight"
"We've seen an awful lot of ominous signs on the battlefield" referring to concerns
about chemical weapons potential
"Very very tricky effort"
----------------------------------------
SENIOR PENTAGON OFFICIAL SAYS THE TOWN OF HINDIYAH, LOCATED ON THE EUPHRATES RIVER
BETWEEN NAJAF AND KARBALA, HAS BEEN TAKEN BY A UNIT OF THE 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION.
THE OFFICIAL SAYS THIS IS THE CLOSEST THAT ANY US GROUND FORCES HAVE GOTTEN TO
BAGHDAD. HINDIYAH IS ABOUT 50 MILES FROM THE CITY. [SPECIAL OPS FORCES ARE IN
BAGHDAD, AS WE REPORTED LAST NIGHT.]
HINDIYAH WAS THE LOCATION WHERE THE FIRST APACHE HELICOPTER WENT DOWN LAST WEEK. IT
IS CONSIDERED THE FORWARD EDGE OF THE MEDINA DIVISION'S OPERATION AREA. IT IS
UNCERTAIN WHETHER THE THIRD ENGAGED THE REPUBLICAN GUARD IN HINDIYAH.
THE ACTUAL UNIT INVOLVED IN THE OPERATION IS THE TASK FORCE 4TH OF THE 64TH ARMORED
REGIMENT.
-----------------------------
US Central Command
March 31, 2003
Release Number: 03-03-106
REMAINS OF FOUR U.S. MARINES RECOVERED
SOUTHERN IRAQ - As a result of recent combat operations northwest of An Nasiriyah,
four Marines from the First Marine Expeditionary Force are now listed as killed in
action. Previously, the Marines were unaccounted for and officially in a "Duty Status
and Whereabouts Unknown" category.
A preliminary investigation shows that while crossing a bridge over an Iraqi waterway
March 27, the driver of an M1A1 tank was shot and killed. The tank, with the driver
and three other crewmen, fell into the river landing upside-down. The three remaining
crewmen are believed to have drowned.
Marines and Navy Seabee personnel recovered the tank and its crewmen Sunday.
The Marines' names are being withheld pending next of kin notification.
Editors'story....
Mother Fears Worst As Son Goes Missing...Tank Plunged Off Bridge, Into River (The
Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55004-2003Mar30.html
-----------------
Reports from both the Pentagon and the field indicate that combined US Special
Operations Forces and Kurdish forces are within a few miles of the city of Kirkuk, the
most important city in Kurdistan and the most important northern oil city. By some
reports, US and Kurdish forces are within 9 miles of the city and by others, within 15
miles of the city.
Moreover, those same reports indicate that the Kirkuk oilfields, located to the north
and east of the city, are under the control of US Special Operations Forces and the
CIA's Special Activities Division. The oilfields are viewed as the key strategic
target in the north
containing nearly half of Iraq's oil reserves. Kirkuk is Iraq's third largest city
and overwhelmingly Kurdish.
US officials in the area told NBC NEWS that the CIA went into the oilfields and paid
off Iraqi guards to permit the entry of Special Operations Forces. The latest weather
satellite images of the oilfields, taken over the weekend, show no fires burning in
the fields. US officials had feared that Iraqi forces would set the fields afire, but
it has not happened.
There is no plan for US troops in the area to enter the city, although Kurdish forces
may undertake special operations inside the city with the help of the CIA. Absent
collapse of Iraqi forces, the nearest US ground forces unit to Kirkuk, the 173rd
Infantry Brigade (which is now reported to have built up to a "few thousand" men), has
no chance of defeating Iraqi forces and irregulars here any time soon. A division of
the Republican Guard, the Nebuchadnezzar, is stationed near Kirkuk and has been the
subject of US bombing but no where near the level seen around Baghdad.
Overnight, senior Pentagon official told NBC News that Iraqi regular army units on the
eastern outskirts of the city--near the oilfields--were retreating into the city as
Kurdish and US forces advanced.
The senior Pentagon official said regular army units are retreating in an organized
manner into both Kirkuk and Mosul, auguring similar challenges in these, Iraq's third
and fourth largest cities.
-------------------------------------
U.S. troops engaged the Republican Guard units south of Baghdad on Monday, probing
Saddam Hussein's best-trained soldiers after days of heavy air bombardment aimed at
weakening the capital's defenders. Meanwhile, U.S. troops stepped up their battle with
Iraqi militia on the supply route toward the capital, raiding cities and towns to root
out fighters who have hampered the American advance.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/870749.asp
U.S. forces ramped up the pressure on President Saddam Hussein on Monday, hitting
Baghdad with thunderous bomb attacks and battling crack Republican Guard positions on
the approaches to the capital. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=0MDEBSD1SK5OECRBAEKSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=2479414
U.S.-led troops fought pitched battles with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard within
50 miles of the capital Monday as coalition warplanes pounded the city and dozens of
other Iraqi positions in advance of the battle for Baghdad. Two U.S. soldiers were
killed in fierce fighting for control of the south-central city of Najaf. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_rdp
In the latest tactic to come to the attention of Marine officers, Iraqi guerrillas are
stringing wire across roads at a height where it would decapitate machine gunners
standing on top of passing military vehicles. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55178-2003Mar30.html
Marines target guerrilla leaders...Infamous 'Chemical Ali' among those sought at
Shatra (Reuters) http://msnbc.com/news/893167.asp?0cv=CA01
British troops opened the taps on a hastily built water pipeline across the
Kuwait-Iraq border on Monday, finally quenching a desperate thirst in the southern
port city of Umm Qasr (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=0MDEBSD1SK5OECRBAEKSFEY?type=focusIraqNews&storyID=2479431
Twenty people, including 11 children, were killed Saturday when a nighttime air raid
hit a farm near Baghdad, relatives told AFP. (AFP)
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/030331/1/39lp1.html
Newsweek: War plan under attack...Did we start the war with enough force? As the blame
game begins, the fight in Iraq is about to get a lot bloodier. Newsweek's Evan Thomas
and John Barry report.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/892871.asp
Rowan Scarborough: U.S. air attack found lacking in 'shock and awe'...The U.S.-led air
war spared too many targets in Iraq in the war's first days, taking some of the shock
out of a campaign billed as "shock and awe," say military officials.
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030331-99639496.htm
U.S. leaders defend Iraq war plans...U.S. military leaders on Sunday rejected
suggestions that they underestimated the scale of Iraqi opposition to coalition forces
seeking to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/842500.asp
In strong and accusatory language, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell called on Syria
and Iran last night to stop supporting terrorists. He warned that Syria's leadership
"faces a critical choice" and will be held responsible for help it gives to the
government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55637-2003Mar30.html
Secretary of State Colin Powell will leave Tuesday for visits to Ankara, Turkey, and
Brussels, Belgium, where NATO and the European Union have their headquarters, a U.S.
official said on Monday. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2479756
Less than two weeks into the war on Iraq, President Bush's popularity ratings have
rebounded from January's lows, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
But while Americans back the president's handling of the war thus far, the survey
finds that they are are increasingly concerned about the prospect of a long engagement
in Iraq, mindful of minimizing Iraqi civilian casualties and - by a wide margin -
unsupportive of Bush's tax cut plan. (MSNBC)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/893035.asp?0dm=N14LN
More than half of Americans believe the U.S. government was too optimistic in its
assessments of the probable course of the war in Iraq and one in three would not
support the war if more than 500 U.S. troops were to die, according to a poll released
on Sunday. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2474320
Facing questions that he brushed off advice from generals and underestimated the
troops needed to attack Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called his critics
"second guessers" who fail to appreciate the war's success so far. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20030331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/war_rumsfeld_on_defense
Advisers Split as War Unfolds...The first 11 days of the war have brought back with a
vengeance the deep splits that have long existed within the administration and the
Republican Party over policy toward Iraq (The Washington Post)
http://msnbc.com/news/893141.asp?0cv=CA01
Mickey Kaus' take on the above piece: http://slate.msn.com/id/2080628/
American special forces have assassinated several senior Iraqi officials in a series
of bomb and sniper attacks in Baghdad and other cities, it was revealed yesterday.
(The Scotsman) http://www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=375832003
The covert teams, from the CIA's paramilitary division and the military's special
operations group, include snipers and demolition experts schooled in setting house and
car bombs. They have reportedly killed more than a handful of individuals, according
to one knowledgeable source. They have been in operation for at least one week. (The
Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44793-2003Mar28.html
Hersh: Offense and Defense...The battle between Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030407fa_fact1
Senate Democrats scored a key victory last week in the ongoing battle over whether to
favor tax cuts or spending, by cutting President Bush's tax cut plan from $726 billion
to $350 billion. But a sizable contingent of liberal and deficit hawks questioned
whether they should have supported a tax cut at all. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54561-2003Mar30.html
Ricks Analysis: New Strategy Slower And More Methodical...Planners Use '91 Persian
Gulf War as Guide
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55529-2003Mar30.html?referrer=email
He talked about war, terrorism, the budget and economy, but Joe Lieberman also
addressed some key political matters in his latest visit to the leadoff Presidential
primary state. (The Union Leader)
http://www.theunionleader.com/prez_show.html?article=19564
Nine candidates too many for crowded schedule at AIPAC meeting (AP)
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/088/wash/POLITICAL_NOTEBOOK_Nine_candid:.shtml
Release: Of the 30 members of the Defense Policy Board, the government-appointed group
that advises the Pentagon, at least nine have ties to companies that have won more
than $76 billion in defense contracts in 2001 and 2002. Four members are registered
lobbyists, one of whom represents two of the three largest defense contractors.
(Center for Public Integrity)
http://www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=513&L1=10&L2=10&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0
Veteran reporter Geraldo Rivera, a correspondent for Fox News, is being removed from
Iraq by the U.S. military for reporting Western troop movements in the war, the
Pentagon said on Monday. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2479907
NBC and MSNBC on Monday said they had terminated their relationship with Peter Arnett
after the journalist told state-run Iraqi TV that the U.S.-led coalition's initial war
plan had failed and that reports from Baghdad about civilian casualties had helped
antiwar protesters undermine the Bush administration's strategy.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/893115.asp?0cv=CB10
Newsweek: Bloggers go to war...Will the war become the breakthrough Weblogers have
been waiting for? By Steven Levy.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/892398.asp
Opinion/Editorial
Joshua Micah Marshall: Practice to Deceive...Chaos in the Middle East is not the Bush
hawks' nightmare scenario--it's their plan.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0304.marshall.html
Watch the warblogs...GlennReynolds Weblog: Looking for a way to cut through the media
spin on Iraq: Group warblogs give a fresh perspective.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/856672.asp
Pat: Eight days into the war, 27 Americans had died in combat, some from friendly
fire. Yet, already, journalists were talking about America being caught in a quagmire
like Vietnam. We pay a price for not teaching history to our children.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/pb20030331.shtml
Peggy: We Can Take It...The benefits of the long haul.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110003271
Reese: Support Troops, Not Politicians...The spineless Democrats are all saying it is
now time to support the troops and the commander in chief, meaning President George W.
Bush. I disagree. Support the troops, but not Mr. Bush.
http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20030331/index.php
Zerbisias: Google can humble the hawks...America's foray into Vietnam was "The Living
Room War" because, for the first time, people could watch it on TV, albeit with a time
lag of however long it took for the film to make it from Saigon to New York.
http://torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035780137302&call_page=TS_Columnists&call_pageid=970
Richard Perle: For the Record...Phony ethics charges shouldn't distract from the
nation's defense. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110003273
Bartley: The Loyal Opposition Digs a Hole...Democrats are in trouble--and not only
because of the war. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/rbartley/?id=110003274
Margolies: Once more into the swamp...Saddam learned a lesson in 1991, the U.S. and
Britain did not ... now their forces are tied down fighting a guerrilla war in Iraq
http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/margolis_mar30.html
Novak: Moynihan was one of a kind
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak31.html
Steiner: http://www.washtimes.com/national/steiner.htm
Mallard http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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