SOUTHERN FRONT
On this third night of bombing, allied warplanes continue to bombard Baghdad and other strategically key cities like Kirkuk, Mosul and Tikrit.

Meanwhile, coalition forces keep pressing on through the desert of southern Iraq, reportedly seizing an airport and bridge in the key city of Basra. Iraqi forces continue resisting in the core of the city, however. Military officials say "thousands" of Iraqi soldiers have surrendered thus far.

More non-combat casualties have occurred: Two British Royal Marine helicopters collided with each other, killing one U.S. officer and six U.K. soldiers. That brings the non-combat deaths up to five Americans and 14 Britons. Two additional U.S. Marines have died in combat after firefights in southern Iraq.

And in the enough-is-enough department, CNN is reporting that the U.S. will set up base in eastern Jordan and fly in airborne troops from there, bypassing Turkey's ground and airspace and avoiding exasperating negotiations.


A U.S. Marine from CSSC 117, a part of the 3rd Marine Battalion, aims his rifle as a gun battle erupts some 200 yards from a military convoy in southern Iraq, March 22, 2003. (Reuters)

The Other Side - Analysis, angles and opinions on the Web

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Looming Confrontation, Arab News (Saudi Arabia) - What will happen when the U.S. and Turkey really face off on the issue of the Kurds and northern Iraq?

Where is Bush heading to?, Daily Nation (Africa) - How the U.S. can appear to someone on the other side of the fence.

Britain, Kuwait may benefit in post-war equation, The Hindu (India) - Could the U.K. and Kuwait be given a little slice of that Iraqi pie?

POWs - What To Do With Them?, WTOL.com - Captured Iraqi soldiers might be considered a lock-'em-up and done deal, but that could just be the beginning of the problem.

Consider the issue of Iraq from all perspectives, The Barbados Advocate - An assessment of tyranny from a non-U.S. viewpoint.

The naval battle within the war, United Press International - The air and land campaigns have been getting all the focus, but what's going on in the sea?

The monster slain by optimism, The Globe and Mail (Canada) - Saddam's overconfidence could be his undoing, but as allied forces close in on Baghdad, it's where he could be at his most dangerous.

Mundane Impressions of Otherwise "Brutal Iraq", Rediff.com (India) - Could the Western media be painting a skewed picture of Iraq?