"Our World" at war! War of the Words vs War of the Nerves!

...4/10/03: Dearborn, MI is the home to a large Iraqi-American population...they were dancing in the streets when they heard the news about Saddam...a similar, but smaller gathering took place @the ABQ Civic Plaza...another soldier was killed @a Baghdad checkpoint...4/11/03: Iraqis heard speeches by Bush & Blair about the promise of democracy...

"The Liberation of Iraq!"

...4/11/03: Arabian horses have been taken from their stables; the presidential yacht was looted & bombed...3 children were killed at a checkpoint by US soldiers...at Tikrit there are 10,000 soldiers of the Republican Guard plus many loyal Saddam followers...however, Iraqi forces deserted Mosul, Iraq's 3rd largest city...US troops reopened 2 main bridges in Baghdad...looters made their way across them & ravaged other presidential structures...as soon as Marines leave a section of Baghdad, chaos returns & anarchy reigns!...Kurdish forces will patrol & protect Mosul...a faux pas...in US occupied Iraq, a soldier placed our flag over the head of Saddam Hussein...another raised our flag first...it was brought down & replaced with an Iraqi flag...for every Arab nation, there is a different opinion about the war...some are irritated because Saddam did not fight back and never won a battle...Syria & Iran are frowned upon by America because they provided aid to Saddam's soldiers...

"Iraq is spinning out of control!"

...4/12/03: Rumsfeld: the restoration of law & order is still on the agenda & will become a higher priority...Bush: the war is not over; victory cannot be declared as long as our troops are fighting in that country...the whereabouts of Saddam, or his state of being (alive vs. dead) is not a major concern at this time...

Will the US win the war but lose the peace?

...the first POW will arrive in the US today...Bush went to the Bethesda Naval Hospital to visit the wounded soldiers...there will not be a victory until & unless Saddam's hold on the people & the country itself is over!...there are high bounties for the killing of American soldiers...some say the peace is unraveling...Iraqis want us to hurry up & create a new government & laws, then leave!...4/12/03: the former leader of Iran wants to talk with the US regarding post-war Iraq...museums are being plundered...the NATL Museum of Antiquity has lost historic treasures dating back thousands of years...for what?...and, in the middle of this, N Korea is mulling the idea of diplomatic talks with the US...

April 13, 2003: the day our POWs were found!

...4/13/03: great news from the Middle East...POWs have been found...per GEN Tommy Franks, they are healthy...they had been missing since 3/24/03...they were found by chance...some Marines were blockading a road between Baghdad & Tikrit, N of Samarra...some Iraqis mentioned that they had seen US soldiers held up in a hospital...one of the soldiers found has family in Alamogordo...5 were able to walk, 2 were limping...

...SONY is trying to buy the rights for the slogan Smash & Awe of the Iraqi war to use in its next video game!...Israel is hinting at peace talks with the Palestinians...a CNN crew was fired upon by Iraqi soldiers, no one was injured...rumor has it that Saddam Hussein & many of his top officials have gone to another country in order to regroup & plan their next strategy!...and there is no reliable estimate of Iraqis who have died during this war...

...a Freedomfest will be held on 4/26/03 @the Tingley Colliseum...a family in Farmington has 3 children in Iraq, plus nephews & cousins totaling 3 more...Stealth bombers will be returning to Holloman AFB during the third week in April...some of our aircraft carriers will be leaving that area...that may be a bit premature...

...4/14/03: are we creating the Arab States of America...Syria may become the next country in the axis of evil...the US is claiming that Syria is harboring Iraqi fugatives & political leaders, as well as stockpiling chemical weapons...Syria's reply is that the US should patrol the Iraqi borders...looting has decreased in Baghdad; former police officers are again patrolling the streets...much of the stolen items have been returned...4 MIAs' remain in Iraq...the rescued POWs' will fly to Germany, then to DC, then to Ft. Bliss, TX, their home base...somehow we now have DNA from Saddam Hussein...and so far, there has been no vandalism to the ABQ Middle East Bakery, or the mosque...

...4/15/03: Syria could face economic & diplomatic sanctions...a US envoy met w/Iraqi leaders to create a post-war GOVT...it will not be an easy process...one of Saddam's ons had early 1900 classic cars, Cuban cigars, UNICEF supplies & in his gym a picture of PRES Bush's twin daughters...the major combat is over, per the military...Tikrit fell quicker than expected...one of the countries to provide soldiers was Poland...

...4/16/03: medical supplies in Baghdad are hard to find...people are putting the dead into unmarked graves...the Americans are being blamed for these deaths...the military is trying to restore order, its first goal...there are so few hospital rooms, and no means to sterilize equipment...the same is true throughout the country...today, 300 personnel & 6 Stealth fighters return to Holloman AFB...

President Bush has not yet declared an end to the war!


...4/16/03: neither the US or any other Coalition member has any interest in ruling Iraq...at the first meeting in UR, it was agreed upon that a democratic country will be created with a leader chosen be the Iraqis themselves...but, in Nasiriyah, protests shouted Yes for Islam, no for USA & Saddam!...Marines may have killed innocent citizens in Mosul today...the POWs are in Germany today, and do not want to be separated from each other...the terror alert has been lowered to yellow...talks will begin with N Korea in the following week...the DOW dropped nearly 145 points, then turned around and rose 85 points...the war has cost $20 billion...this does not include the amount for rebuilding Iraq or the cost to bring troops home...

...4/17/03: files found in the home of Saddam's son's...some was "raw" military info; there were bank account numbers, many in SZ...the question to ponder is why had no one collected or protected this data?...the museums are empty of treasures dating thousand of years, with no means of replacing them...Baghdad hospitals are missing vials of deadly viruses, such as AIDS & the Black Death plague...meanwhile; the EU, while celebrating in Athens the addition of 10 countries to its organization, stated it will help rebuild Iraq...outside the meeting were more protest marches...they referred to the British-American War...they want the UN to be the driving force in creating the new Iraq...after being in effect for 13 years, Bush wants to drop sanctions against Iraq...that does not sit well in the UN...at this time, the pace should increase for peace talks between Israel & Palestine...

The war has achieved its effect!

...4/17/03: the traditional KOAT-TV music theme started the 5 AM news report...

....a decrease in fighting means less threat to security (?)...Bechtel from CA, has won the rights to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq, a contract worth an estimated contract $600+ million!...Saddam's top military aides may be heading for Syria, but they also may have encountered tribal factions in the W desert who opposed Saddam's regime...

...the war "games" continue...let's play spin the Wheel of War!...which country will the US attack next?...since we are playing with a full deck of cards, is the same true for Saddam?...another video shows him walking through Baghdad...the film was shot (?) on 4/9/03...true or false?...alive or dead?...

...4/19/03: POWs return home!...@8 PM, they landed on US soil @Ft. Bliss, TX...Shoshana was helped by her fellow soldiers to stand up & walk a small distance...her legs are recovering from surgery to remove bullets...the mother of the Alamogordo soldier is anxious to prepare a home-cooked meal for her son!...the President was at his Crawford, TX ranch...on Easter, he spent time @Ft. Hood, TX, speaking with the 2 rescued helicopter pilots...the only news story on KOAT-TV about the war was that of the returning prisoners!...the same is true on Easter Sunday...

...the former finance minister of Iraq was arrested...Iraqis do not want the US to overstay its welcome...Syria has banned Iraqis from entering that country without a visa...to the US, these are positive actions...more aid is reaching Baghdad...most people need water...the US may build 4 military bases in Iraq to oversee the country's protection against outsiders & itself...the opinion in Congress is that it will take 5 years for Iraq to become a democratic nation...and until then?...

We will stay as long as it takes to get the job done!

...4/21/03: the Marines are leaving Baghdad, to be replaced by the US army...power & water is being restored to Baghdad...RET LIEU GEN J. Garner will oversee the reconstruction of Iraq...4/23/03: he toured N Iraq and toured the oil wells of that area, which are in need of repair... Saddam's son-in-law & bodyguard are in custody...a research minister was also arrested...he is the 4 of Hearts...on the good news, Joseph Hudson is the former POW, whose family lives in Alamogordo...the partner of Shoshana says she is anxious to go dancing again, after the leg surgery has completely healed...Iraq may have destroyed WMD just prior to the war...

...4/21/03: rhetoric against Syria has toned down...now you can buy a 10 inch doll of Saddam Hussein...?...why didn't PRES bush go to Ft. Lewis, TX to greet all the returning POWs??...both Hope & Saddam have not been seen for over a week...hmmm??...coincidence...or, what card does her face appear?...war news is out, rebuild news is in...4/22/03: the headline on today's ABQ Journal was about Los Alamos Labs, not the war!...

...4/22/03: the missing (or stolen) Iraqi artifcats are already appearing in world art markets...the means for chemical warfare could be located S of Baghdad...the former Iraqi Prime Minister is now our prisoner...he is the highest ranking military leader captured to date...millions of US dollars have been found buried in Baghdad...a FOX reporter was caught smuggling artifacts out of the country...US soldiers have been accused of stealing $12 million US dollars...I am not sure if this is related to the above comment...

...this means until we can establish a free & democratic government!

...4/23/03: water, sewage & 80% of the power has been restored to Baghdad...Hans Blix wants to continue his search in Iraq for WMD...the US says "No"...US submarines retruned to Groton, CT & Norfolk, VA...Iraqi oil flowed for the first time since the start of the war...this country produces 3% of the world's supply...

...4/24/03: the US does not have high expectations for the talks with N Korea that are being held in Beijing!...but, we discovered they have nuclear weapons, and are willing to test them and use them if necessary...N Korea may want to sell its nukes...so, we will keep diplomatic channels open (?)...in spite of this, we are still concerned with Saddam Hussein & his WMDs'!...4/25/03: now we have Terik Aziz...this is considered a more symbolic action, since he has recently fallen out of favors with Saddam...

...4/26/03: a munitions dump S of Baghdad, built by the US Army, exploded, sending rockets into a residential section of the city, completely destroying 1 home...12 people are reported dead...more & more the Iraqis express hate & suspicion towards the US, saying that all we want is Iraq's oil...Islamic fundamentalists turn to their mosques & their religion when law & order do not resolve problems...many Iraqis are quite willing to give us info in order to capture Saddam Hussein, but he always seems to be one step ahead...the same is true for his aides, sons & military commanders...

...there is the question of loyalty to Iraq vs. loyalty to Islam...Iran wants another theocracy in that area; the US does not!...religious leaders in this country want to have a voice in the new Iraq...they also want Coalition forces to leave as soon as possible...it is the Iraqi countrymen, not foreigners, who will determine how Iraq is to be goverened...