Iraqi Command and Control
With all the destruction of Iraq's command and control infrastructure including finally getting Iraqi TV off the air something strange happened overnight. By early Wednesday in the US not one Iraqi official came to work. The journalist minders did not show, in Baghdad. The border guards on the Iraq Jordian border were destroying computer hard drives and leaving their posts. At the finance ministry a mysterious fire was consuming the top two stories. There was no Info Minister making wacky statements about Iraqi victories. Somehow a message went out to all these people that the war was over. Of course, there is always some who don't get the word. These were usually the Arab volunteers who had come to act as martyrs for Saddam. By the end of the day some of those had shown up at the Palestine Hotel to see if the reporters could help them get home.
Despite the gripes at the Qatar briefing, the Sky News reporter who was also on Fox, was not shy about how happy he and other reporters were to see the Marines. The Marines now have a defensive perimeter around the hotel.
In the race to Baghdad the Marines were behind the Army's 3rd ID, but their entry led to the drama that rivetted the world with the fall of Saddam's statue. One of the casualties of the march was a Marine commander whose slow pace probably led to his being relieved. The Marines appearance in front of the reporters at the Palestine Hotel let the world know that Saddam was defeated.
With all the destruction of Iraq's command and control infrastructure including finally getting Iraqi TV off the air something strange happened overnight. By early Wednesday in the US not one Iraqi official came to work. The journalist minders did not show, in Baghdad. The border guards on the Iraq Jordian border were destroying computer hard drives and leaving their posts. At the finance ministry a mysterious fire was consuming the top two stories. There was no Info Minister making wacky statements about Iraqi victories. Somehow a message went out to all these people that the war was over. Of course, there is always some who don't get the word. These were usually the Arab volunteers who had come to act as martyrs for Saddam. By the end of the day some of those had shown up at the Palestine Hotel to see if the reporters could help them get home.
Despite the gripes at the Qatar briefing, the Sky News reporter who was also on Fox, was not shy about how happy he and other reporters were to see the Marines. The Marines now have a defensive perimeter around the hotel.
In the race to Baghdad the Marines were behind the Army's 3rd ID, but their entry led to the drama that rivetted the world with the fall of Saddam's statue. One of the casualties of the march was a Marine commander whose slow pace probably led to his being relieved. The Marines appearance in front of the reporters at the Palestine Hotel let the world know that Saddam was defeated.
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