[Malsua]

Quagmire Alert!

In reality, the forces will pause likely until the 4th ID is boots on the ground and rolls up to Baghdad.

Bringing in additional forces to crush Baghdad isn't a bad thing.

[Squantos]

Reuters is pretty much full of sh*t. Talking heads have repeatedly asked their embedded presstitutes about the stand down or "pause" and it ain't happening based on their first hand observations ......

Stay Safe Hal !

[ambrose]

U.S. Land Advance Could Pause for Weeks - Military

This story is based on something said by an unnamed sergeant. This is what passes for journalism at Reuters...

[Jen]

I knew this had to be from Reuters before reading it. Sheesh.

Reuters - Useful idiots or just idiots? You decide.

[Young Rhino]

Newsflash: Reuters could actually write a pro-U.S. piece...but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

[hoyaloya]

Although the "skeptical" media will bemoan this "setback," I for one would be perfectly satisfied if this were the case. Why advance when we can bomb any defenses into nothingness at a distance?

I suppose there are political ramifications, the potential for chemical or more suicide/terror attacks, but I think those risks are outweighed by the benefits of pulverizing their troops around Baghdad. This has been an extremely successful campaign thus far - why not turn the battle of Baghdad into something akin to the battle for Kuwait?

[TheLooseThread]

Reuters = crap.

But this article can be used to illustrate a point. NOBODY knows the military plan (except the planners). The military moves in and everyone says "oh no! aren't you supposed to do strategic bombing for a month first to soften up the targets! oh no! our military doesn't know what they're doing!"

So... for all we know the plan was to make a rapid 1 week movement into iraq to secure the airbases in the south and west. Then spend the month doing the softening up. If that had been the plan then it is a pretty darn good one. Air bases only 200 miles from the lines allow rapid cycle times for air support. Otherwise the cycle time is slow because of the distance the air has to travel. Our buddies the saudis and turks haven't helped. A plane that takes half as long to get to target and back is like having twice as many planes.

The point is that unless you know the plan you can't evaluate how things are going in relation to the plan. duh. All you CAN do is objectively evaluate results to date. So far? Amazingly low coalition casualties (of course 1 is tragic and not worth all in iraq) and massive enemy casulties.

How can any non-moron say that either things are going bad or that the plan is not working?

[Russell Scott]

Why does Yahoo use Roto-Reuters as their news service?

[Ruth A.]

I think it is called a seige, not a pause. After the hard press and sandstorms, our troops deserve some rest.

[BurbankKarl]

Fox is talking about it now.....but, remember....

"40 days and 40 nights"

(and 40 virgins)

[mc10]

Thank you dear God!

[Spruce]

[peeve23]

This is not difficult....certainly not rocket science:

1. They rushed to CUT OFF Baghdad. They rushed to cut off Basra. There is nothing going in and nothing coming out that we are not in control of. This is an ages old tactic, and it blows my mind that this can't be seen.

2. Once the knights would surround the castle they would bring up the seige equipment, the catapults, and the battering rams. Now the troops await the word that a breach has been made by the fire support elements: precision munitions, artillery, clandestine ops, etc.

TO TIGHTEN THE SEIGE WHILE OUTSIDE THE BESEIGED CITY IS NOT EXACTLY HARD FOR ANYONE TO FIGURE OUT!! Why can't the media get it? You don't go rushing into their strength and get decimated.

It's not stalled, paused, stymied, stuck, quagmired...you name it.

It has accomplished it's initial objective of reaching the city. IT IS TIGHTENING THE NOOSE! CUTTING OFF RESUPPLY...CUTTING OFF HOPE!

[laz17]

For God's sake, I'm sick and tired of hearing of this "pause". Does anyone really think our advance would just keep going any further toward Baghdad before the RG divisions ahead of it were degraded sufficiently by air power? There IS no delay! The only "problem" that I can see is that our advance may have gotten to where it is faster and sooner than had been planned. Now they have to wait for the 4th ID to get there and for the RG to be bombed down to 50%. Big deal. Baghdad's not going anywhere. By the time the 4th ID is there the RG will be in a world of hurt, and then we'll move in on Baghdad.

[Dont Mention the War]

It's like the old Rolaids ads:

How do you spell bullcrap? R-E-U-T-E-R-S. ***belch!***

[Dont Mention the War]

If our ground troops are still in the same spot in 35 days, I'll eat leftover Fear Factor "food" on live national television.

[sit-rep]

get rueters the hell out of theater...same with CNN. They are dis-information artist and should be expelled.

[Spandau]

OK. Probably the right thing to do. Gulf War I began with 40 days and 40 nights of air strikes before the ground forces rolled. I think air strikes are what the US uses now in place of the good old artillery preparation.

Reinforce, resupply, and "tidy up" as Bernard L. Montgomery would say. Let the northern front develop, and see what happens in Basra. A pause might also give both sides time to think of way out this, if that's what they want to do. We'll see.

[Valin]

U.S. Land Advance Could Pause for Weeks

True, and I could win the lottery and have the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders throw themelves at me in a frenzy of lust and unbridled passion.

[TonyInOhio]

So much for Reuters.