The Hindu : U.S. seizes crucial airfields

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

International

International

U.S. seizes crucial airfields

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON MARCH 21. The Pentagon here has announced that the American forces have seized crucial airfields in western Iraq, known as H-2 and H-3, without much resistance. And the Defence Department has claimed that hundreds of Iraqis were surrendering to the advancing coalition forces.

The seizures are considered important because the Saddam Hussein regime is believed to have placed Scud missiles in these locations. The apprehension has always been that Baghdad would lob a few Scuds at Israel, paving the way for uncertainty on how the Jewish state would respond. In the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq had reportedly launched at least 39 Scuds from these locations at Israel.

The U.S. President, George W. Bush, meanwhile, expressed his regret over the death of a U.S. Marine during combat, the first U.S. casualty in the conflict. Earlier, 12 American and British troops died in a helicopter crash, which was ruled as an accident.

Mr. Bush is scheduled to meet Congressional leaders today at the White House where they would be briefed not only about the operational parts of the Iraq conflict but also other domestic priorities. The President is expected to push his funding request for the Iraq operations, both during the conflict as well as the post-conflict stage.

Mr. Bush would also be meeting with top members of his National Security team. Over the last two days, he has been having intense sessions with his top aides and advisers. One such meeting which attracted special attention was the gathering prior to the go-ahead given for the attack on a complex suspected to be housing the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, and his top lieutenants, including his two sons. After intently listening to George Tenet, Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, who put forth the intelligence brief with the caution that it had "limited shelf life", Mr. Bush is supposed to have said in the end, "Let's go".

He will spend the first war weekend at Camp David in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. The facility, which is maintained by the Marines, is said to have state-of-the-art communications system that would allow the President to be in touch with any and all of his lead players in this Iraqi showdown. Further, it is being pointed out that some of the President's top advisers and aides travel with him regularly to Camp David.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International