Saddam Hussein's last gasp may be just that. Coalition troops are encountering their share of resistance from Iraqi forces holed up in Hussein's home town of Tikrit, but have still managed to reach the center of the city. Heavy air support and bombardment overnight helped clear the way for ground troops.
Now that the military phase of the war could soon be winding down, attention now turns to the logistics of building a post-war government. A meeting in Nassiriya next Tuesday between the U.S. and incumbent Iraqi factions will be a key litmus test as to how contentious that process will be.
As far as Saddam Hussein and key Iraqi leaders go, their whereabouts are still unknown. The biggest wins in that department so far have been the killing of Hussein's cousin, "Chemical Ali"; the surrender of Iraq's chief chemical and biological weapons advisor; and yesterday's capture of one of Saddam's half-brothers.
Lieutenant Joseph Peppers of the second U.S. army brigade looks at a mural on a wall inside the main Republican Palace of President Saddam Hussien in Baghdad April 13, 2003. Most of Iraq lived in squalor but the Iraqi President kept up one of the most opulent palaces of the world. (Reuters)
The Other Side - Analysis, angles and opinions on the Web
Why have Iraqi forces capitulated without much fight?, Al-Jazeera (Qatar) - Could bribes and secret negotiations have paved the way for the relatively easy advance of the coalition?
What Price Is Muslim Blood?, Jihad Unspun - A fascinating perspective from the other side of the Christian/Muslim fence.
Haunted by the ghosts from 20 years of violence, London Times - One journalist reports how the residents of Basra have lived in a constant state of shock and psychological horror for two decades.
Life without Saddam, Rosbalt (Russia) - The "new Iraq" is at once hopeful yet murky with many questions still unanswered.
Iraq: A new kind of war, BBC - Seems as if the war Donald Rumsfeld and other "armchair generals" envisioned turned out just the way they wanted.
Our Western Mob, National Review - How quickly the Western media forgets about the relative success of the Iraq campaign, says this commentator.
Posted by uswarblog
at 11:18 AM EDT
Updated: Monday, 14 April 2003 12:11 PM EDT
