Written Wednesday, April 6, 2003.
The 19th day of the second War in Iraq.
Published on my Portuguese blog, that day.
Day Nineteen.
Friend or Foe.
The propaganda machine of both Iraq and the USA clash as fiercely as the fighters on the ground. The advantage goes to the Americans. No matter how credulous the viewers may be, hearing the so titled information minister Mohammed Al-Sahhaf claim that there is not a single coalition soldier in Baghdad when the images show American tanks on the opposite bank of the Tigris is simply ridiculous.
(...) The fighting intensifies in and around Baghdad. The Iraqis achieve some successes; the destruction of an Abrams here, a Bradley there, but nothing that seriously threatens the American war machine. (I think conventional combat has ended, if it ever existed...) Some armored columns from the 3rd US Infantry Division advance to Saddam Hussein's palaces, right by the Tigris. From the windows of the Palestine Hotel, cameramen from various television networks capture the moment.
(...) The G.I.'s allow themselves to be photographed sitting on the sofas in the palaces, and some officers have the good sense to prevent others from placing the Stars & Stripes on the outside of the now abandoned buildings. But the situation deteriorates, and madness naturally expands.
The Russian embassy leaves Baghdad and heads to Syria in a motorized caravan, notifying both sides of the conflict about the evacuation details. Despite this precaution, they are attacked twice after leaving the last Iraqi checkpoint. As confirmed by members of the caravan themselves, the attack appears to have been carried out by special forces from the coalition (Rangers? SAS?). The Pentagon denies it, accusing Iraq, but it is Condoleezza Rice who goes to Moscow to calm tensions, stating that if it was an attack carried out by US forces, it was not intentional. (Come again?)
The Iraqis realized from the beginning that they would never win against the USA fighting a conventional war, and there are indications that weapons are being stashed away in hideouts. They are obviously on waiting mode... In Vietnam, the USA had around 500,000 troops on the ground at one point.
[inserted photo caption, used here as header image]
Iraqi children play on top of a destroyed American tank in Al Dorah, on the outskirts of Baghdad. April 6, 2003.
[finis]
Note:
Comments on this blog are locked. This is but a reading platform linked to Threads.
If
you wish to reply with your thoughts, please do so on the Threads post
that references this opinion piece. Thank you for reading.
