This day marks an important turning point in the battle for Baghdad as the reaction of Iraqi citizens becomes an indicator of how much Saddam Hussein's control in the capital city is crumbling. People are lining the streets welcoming coalition troops with cheers, looting stores and attacking symbols of Hussein's government. Iraqi state television has gone off the air, and Iraqi employees who monitor foreign journalists have not shown up for work.
President Bush and allied officials, however, warn that the task is far from over: it is believed Hussein may have escaped the withering air strikes that targeted his location Monday, and could be making his last stand in his home town of Tikrit.
Jubilant Iraqis tied a noose around a huge statue of Saddam Hussein in the heart of Baghdad, pulling it down and pelting it with shoes as the Iraqi president's 24-year rule collapsed in chaos. (Reuters)
The Other Side - Analysis, angles and opinions on the Web
Picturing the End, Artuz Sheva (Israel) - Saddam Hussein, like Adolf Hitler, may be holed up in an Iraqi bunker somewhere, waiting for the inevitable.
Boycotts and bad acts, The Sentinel - The U.S. says it's "liberating" Iraqi citizens which is all well and good, says this editor, but who watches the watchmen?
Saddam-Chirac: A 30-year liaison, UPI - Just how deep do France's ulterior motives run?
They're Baaaaaack!, New York Post - A much more... colorful dismantling of France and other members of the "Axis of Weasel."
Once an economic dynamo, Iraq is now financial riddle, Knoxville News Sentinel - How can you rebuild a nation's economy if you don't have all the facts?
Posted by uswarblog
at 11:03 AM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 9 April 2003 4:59 PM EDT
