Jubilant Iraqis Swarm Baghdad Streets

AP | 4/09/03 | ELLEN KNICKMEYER and DAVID CRARY

[kattracks]

Jubilant Iraqis Swarm Baghdad Streets

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and DAVID CRARY .c The Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Jubilant crowds swarmed into Baghdad streets Wednesday, dancing, looting, defacing images of Saddam Hussein as U.S. commanders declared that his regime's rule over the capital had ended.

``The capital city is now one of those areas that has been added to the list of where the regime does not have control,'' Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks at U.S. Central Command in Qatar.

Even as they encountered sniper fire from roving bands of holdout fighters, Marine and Army units swept through the city, seizing or destroying buildings that once housed some of Saddam's most feared security forces. Marine tanks rolled into the commercial center, greeted by people cheering and waving white flags.

Civilians gestured to the Americans with V-for-victory signs. ``We were nearly mobbed by people trying to shake our hands,'' said Maj. Andy Milburn of the 7th Marines.

At police stations, universities, government ministries, the headquarters of the Iraq Olympic Committee, looters unhindered by any police presence made off with computers, furniture, even military jeeps. One young man used roller skates to wheel away a refrigerator.

``Thank you, thank you, Mr. Bush,'' some of the looters shouted. An elderly man beat a portrait of Saddam with his shoe, while a younger man spat on the portrait.

Even as the populace seemed suddenly to feel free of Saddam's control, U.S. officers said their forces faced continued resistance, fierce but disorganized, from small groups of holdout pro-Saddam fighters. The U.S Central Command reacted cautiously to the euphoria and chaos in Baghdad.

``There are still many days of perhaps fierce fighting to follow,'' said Capt. Frank Thorp, a command spokesman. ``There are other areas of the country where we have yet to be at... So it's not over. We're seeing good signs here, but I would definitely stay on the cautious side and say we still have more to come.''

U.S. commanders focused attention on targets to the north - Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, still a stronghold of loyalist troops, and the northern city of Mosul. Kitchens said special operations forces and airstrikes were ``actively engaging'' Iraqi forces in both cities.

U.S. special forces and Kurdish fighters seized a strategic hilltop near Mosul; senior Kurdish leader Hoshyar Zebari called it the most important gain in the region thus far.

The fate of Saddam remained unknown; his supporters retained control of the upscale Baghdad neighborhood targeted by four 2,000-pound bombs in a U.S. strike aimed at killing the Iraqi president.

Elsewhere in the capital, however, U.S. forces steadily expanded their reach, securing a military airport, capturing a prison, setting fire to a Republican Guard barracks. They are now operating in every quadrant of the city.

Maj. Gen. Buford Blount II, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, visited a command post set up at the New Presidential Palace, overlooking the Tigris River in central Baghdad. Col. David Perkins, whose 2nd Brigade was at the command post, told Blount his forces can go anywhere in the city and meet only sporadic sniping.

The two commanders discussed what buildings could be used to house U.S. military units and a new government to replace Saddam's.

``That's the next mental jump, is for the Iraqis to realize that even if he (Saddam Hussein) is still alive, he's not in charge anymore,'' Perkins said.

The Iraqi government's efforts to sustain its public relations campaign collapsed. State television went off the air Tuesday, and on Wednesday, foreign journalists said their ``minders'' - government agents who monitor their reporting - did not turn up for work.

Also, there was no sign of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, whose daily briefings have constituted the main public face of the regime during the war.

While intent on completing the takeover of Baghdad, U.S. commanders also were turning their attention to Tikrit, Saddam's hometown in the desert about 90 miles to the north. Defended by well-trained troops, and home to many of Saddam's most devoted followers, the city of 260,000 is considered one of the few remaining strongholds of the Iraqi regime.

The Central Command said coalition airstrikes were targeting the Republican Guard's Adnan division in Tikrit, ``shaping the battlefield'' before U.S. ground forces move in.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two main Iraqi Kurdish groups opposing Saddam, claimed Tuesday that Saddam already was hiding in Tikrit. U.S. officials said they didn't know if he had escaped Monday's bombing of a site in Baghdad's al-Mansour neighborhood where he and at least one of his sons reportedly were meeting.

Residents of al-Mansour estimated that 14 people, including at least seven children, were killed and scores wounded in homes and shops adjacent to the targeted site.

The toll of journalists killed in the war reached 10, with three killed in U.S. military strikes in Baghdad on Tuesday

Two cameramen, one from Ukraine and one from Spain, were killed when a U.S. tank fired into the Palestine Hotel, where hundreds of journalists are based. U.S. officers initially said hostile fire had been coming from the building; journalists said they witnessed none.

Also, a Jordanian reporter was killed in a U.S. airstrike on the Baghdad office of the Arab television network al-Jazeera, which contended the attack was deliberate.

On Wednesday, the U.S. branch of Amnesty International joined in the criticism.

``Unless the U.S. can demonstrate that the Palestine Hotel had been used for military purposes, it was a civilian object protected under international humanitarian law that should not have been attacked,'' Amnesty said.

In the southern city of Basra, which was taken over by British forces this week, looters have been plundering government buildings, universities, even hospitals. A Red Cross representative said the looting could delay relief efforts in the city of 1.3 million.

Editor's Note: This story was written by David Crary in New York, based on reporting from Ellen Knickmeyer, Ravi Nessman, Chris Tomlinson, Alex Zavis and Hamza Hendawi in Baghdad and other AP reporters in Iraq and elsewhere.

04/09/03 07:54 EDT

[Beck_isright]

Doesn't it sort of remind you of all the FReepers celebrating when the Clinton regime came crashing down (minus the looting of course)???

V

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[SB00]

Isn't it funny how some of those egotistical reporters think they'd actually be a target.

[Bluntpoint]

"Civilians gestured to the Americans with V-for-victory signs. ``We were nearly mobbed by people trying to shake our hands,'' said Maj. Andy Milburn of the 7th Marines."

Katie Couric:

"OH!!! THE INHUMANITY OF IT ALL. DON'T THEY KNOW THAT MOST OF THESE SOLDIERS ARE REPUBLICANS?

[The Wizard]

the street tells you Saddam is dead

[proud American in Canada]

all I can say is:

Party in Baghdad!!!!

[proud American in Canada]

"Doesn't it sort of remind you of all the FReepers celebrating when the Clinton regime came crashing down (minus the looting of course)???"


My gosh you're right!!! Freedom at last! :-)

[Nick Danger]

there was no sign of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf

He's baaaaack...

[smith288]

Dude, you're gettin' a Compaq

[happygrl]

Yup, we're going from victory to victory !

The pathetic worldview of the leftists is dead ! Long live....freedom and our President Bush!

[Moonmad27]

It was Clinton doing the looting, as he left the White House - but we were celebrating just the same! This article is a joy to read; I hope Martin Sheen is reading it and crying into his morning cup of soy latte.

[happygrl]

Can you imagine what our soldiers must feel ?

I'm so proud of them!

[smith288]

Don't miss out on these prices! They're going fast, fast, fast!

[atomic conspiracy]

I hope we will soon see the now-traditional post-liberation ritual of Beating Robert Fisk:

Fisk: "Ah, here's a band of distraught Iraqis now; reduced by the horrific effects of American bombing to carrying away TV sets and refrigerators."

Iraqi: "Hey, thank you, thank you, Brit guy; may Allah smile upon you and bless your sheep with many offspring. Blessings upon Blair, blessings upon Bush!"

Fisk: "Arrrgh! Another helpless victim of cowboy aggression, obviously delusional from the horrific effects of American bombing."

Iraqi: "Blessings upon American Air Force. B-52, F-16, we love you. Saddami goons massacred, we take back our property now. Good VCR, no? "

Fisk: "Please, my good man, I am not one of those, I oppose this hideous aggression against peaceful Iraqi people. I praise your spirit of resistance."

Iraqi: "Wait, aren't you that piece of camel dung from The Independent?"

Fisk: I am he, the one and only Fisk, and I understand your anger over the horrific effects of American bombing, but I am here to help you and your elected leader, Saddam Hussein, in your heroic resistance to...."

SMACK!

[bucephalus]

no sign of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed

See!!? I told you guys the Baghdad Bob Show wasn't going to run as long as Cats or Guys and Dolls. I am part clairvoyant, you know.

[PogySailor]

To the Hollywood crowd, Iraq has been liberated. But NOT in your name.

• Sean Penn
• Susan Sarandon
• Madonna
• Martin Sheen
• Pierce Brosnan
• Ed Asner
• George Clooney
• countless other "useful idiots"

[Beck_isright]

"``Thank you, thank you, Mr. Bush,''"

Hmmmm, think the DNC and Terry McCrookliffe are sweating watching tv now? I'm sure they'll come up with a statement saying the celebrations of the Iraqis were "staged" or some garbage like that. The French and DNC have one thing in common now; they are both going to be very humiliated for a long time to come.

V

[Beck_isright]

I'm just waiting for Bubba to come out and claim credit for the victory by saying he built up the military over his 8 years just for wars like this.

V

[CAPPSMADNESS]

That picture has got to be the funniest thing I have seen in a long time! God bless those people - they deserve everything that they can take!

"attention Bahgdad Shoppers!! Blue-Light Special on Main Street!!"

[astounded]

By the way, has anyone heard from Hackworth on all this? I seem to remember him wringing his hands, saying how poorly our "green", out of shape, soft troops were going to perform against the "battle hardened", "elite" republican guard, the super-duper "elite" special republican guard, and the "extra special", "super-duper", special saddam "fedayeen". I would say that his time has come and gone and his words are without credibility now. Maybe he should consult with Ollie North for an update.

[CAPPSMADNESS]

Isn't it telling that the Arab News Networks are not reporting a word of this? Per FOX - they are in fact reporting that "fierce fighting" is going on in Bahgdad instead.

[goldstategop]

Its understandable. They don't want to give their own people any funny ideas about replacing their rulers.

[js1138]

This cow has been tipped

[GraniteStateConservative]

Those computers are sh!t. Soon, he'll know the joys of replacing hard drives, CD-ROM drive doors that refuse to open, crashes and boot errors, proprietary RAM and screws, etc., and everything seamlessly integrated into the worthless motherboard. Welcome to hell, my Iraqi friend!

[Cvengr]

Somebody needs to pound into the heads of CENTCOM to get control of the looting. By ignoring it, moral authority is removed from their position. In the future, socialists will claim there is no difference between anarchy and constitutional law,..that's it's simply a matter of power.

Likewise, THE MAJOR THREAT has not been removed.

If we haven't found the WMDs, then be assured those with wherewithal departed Iraq while maintaining control over those those systems. Looters will destroy the ability to go in and gather timely information and produce valuable intel quickly.

One advantage of seizing a police state, is that one can at least enter into a well organized paperwork environment and track actual directed plans of the enemy.

The Ba'athist party HQ is one of those places which needs to be secured for intel purposes. This is pedantic, but not too surprising that in a military left reeling from downsizing, this corporate knowledge isn't intuitive at the operational and tactical levels.

BG Brooks looked a bit foolish this morning. On MSNBC, he was giving his press conference shown in a window with live and film footage of looters raiding tires, computers, and household goods. When asked about the looting,...and Brooks obviously wasn't aware of the concurrent film footage running live with his conference,..no fault of his,...nevertheless, Brooks dismissed looting simply as joyous behavior of the Iraqis. Very, very poor display of lack of ethic on the behalf of CENTCOM. This will be used as criticism of the US by those with sound wherewithal in the future.

IMHO, there is an obvious gap in planning regarding looters. This needs immediate attention and immediate action. Twofld consequence of ignoring the looting is loss of timely intel tracking possible relocation of WMD capacity and the political damage of casting US ethical foundations into doubt.

[CAPPSMADNESS]

I take it back (somewhat) - someone just posted an actual Al-jerkzeera article that is telling the truth! I kid you not, I nearly fell over from the shock!

[CAPPSMADNESS]

LOL! truer words have never been spoken!

[Dudoight]

You forget, there WAS looting....the Clinton's looted the White House!!!!!

[katana]

You didn't do any looting? Man, did you miss out.

[jriemer]

Party on Azziz! Party on Abdul!

[TonyRo76]

``Thank you, thank you, Mr. Bush,'' some of the looters shouted.

I love it!!! Gosh, it must've pained the AP to report this...he heh!

[Guillermo]

The looting in that regime was committed by the regime.

I think they stole everyting that wasn't nailed down.

[katana]

I've come to the conclusion that Col. Hackworth is either mentally unbalanced or is simply and incredibly spiteful over being kept out of the loop with the current DOD administration (read Rumsfeld). No serious media will use him as an authority after this.

[TonyRo76]

someone just posted an actual Al-jerkzeera article that is telling the truth

Yes! I was pretty shocked too. It's right here!

[alrea]

Its understandable. They don't want to give their own people any funny ideas about replacing their rulers.

Lets don't overestimate this freedom thing. Remember that our leaders in your-up give us lots of free vacation and free healthcare; world opinion.

[techcor]

What do you mean "minus the looting"?

We celebrated.
They looted.

[Use It Or Lose It]

March 6, 2003 - O'Reilly interview with Janeane Garofalo:

O'REILLY: If you are wrong… and if the United States - and they will, this is going to happen - goes in, liberates Iraq [with] people in the street, American flags, hugging our soldiers… you gonna apologize to George W. Bush?

GARAFALO: I would be so willing to say, "I'm sorry". I hope to God that I can be made a buffoon of, that people will say, "You were wrong. You were a fatalist". And I will go to the White House on my knees on cut glass and say, "Hey, you and Thomas Friedman were right… I shouldn't have doubted you"…

Waiting to hear from this airhead but not holding my breath.

[twigs]

I agree with your observations about looting. I fear it may trigger even stronger feelings of "have vs. have nots" and make it very difficult for ANY government, including the one that will be run by Iraqis, to govern effectively. Democracy depends on the goodwill and decency of those governed.

[Beck_isright]

LOL, ok, fair enough, no FR or Pubbies looted. Well, actually we did loot. The DNC out of power, LOL!!!

[oldironsides]

I saw the people of Iraq full of joy. I also saw them holding up signs with the picture of the Ayatollah al-Hakim. He is waiting in Iran with his large group of armed guards. He is more than ready to return. Saddam killed many of his family. He ordered the people not to fight the Americans but he appears want to rule Iraq. I am betting he
will be an iron fisted fellow that will cause problems.

[Mr. K]

sounds like an ideal opportunity for those toilet-mint companies to make one in the shape of soddumb and market it in Iraq.

No faster way to tear down an icon then to PI$$ on it...

[CJ Wolf]

Why does Iraq have Compaqs? Did saddam declare that to the UN?

[CAPPSMADNESS]

"Waiting to hear from this airhead but not holding my breath."

As my dear old Dad use to say...... Wish in one hand and sh!t in the other - tell me later wich one fills up faster.

I am going to use my little know psychic powers and predict that she will have a "Hillary moment" and "not recall" her statement.....

[happygrl]

Oh man, that gave me a good chuckle !

[ChadGore]

lol

This cow has been tipped

[happygrl]

Calm down. Arabs have a pretty good sense of morals as far as thievery goes. Several thieves who stole from PRIVATE OWNERS have been stoned. These Iraqis are stealing from the government, who stole from them. When the Iraqis have a sense of ownership of their government, they'll treat it with the respect it deserves.

[Cvengr]

Some things one needs to remain extreme about. In the face of anarachy, immediate action with dedicated purpose will frequently lead the situation. Standing by in an uncertain fashion during a looting scene might turn the event into a riot.

Capturing and immediately executing the perceived looting leaders will go a long ways to establish a hasty command and control over law abiding Iraqis.

The rebellious Iraqis won't be the ones worthy trust after we depart, but those who recognize natural law need to be encouraged and rewarded for their discipline. The Iraqis who overthrow the regime aren't necessarily rebellious in the case of an immoral regime.

The government offices though, need to be kept intact for an intel coup,...expecially when a major threat is guerilla styled terrorism logistically condoned by Iraq beyond its borders.

International police communities might be able to track cells via spurious information found within that government. If trashed, there might not be a trail.

[happygrl]

You are correct in that we should be vigilant in the case of files and info needed for prosecution and trials. I don't want to see any Iraqis executed for looting, however. No bauble, piece of furniture or paper is worth that. We would be walking in the footprints of the Saddam regime if we executed ordinary Iraqis. Save that for the real butchers who have committed crimes against humanity.

Much of what is occuring now is just blowing off steam. It will come to an end (at least the looting). I am far more concerned about blood-spilling vengeance-taking (for personal reasons) than I am about material goods being looted.

[Lizavetta]

``Thank you, thank you, Mr. Bush,'' some of the looters shouted. An elderly man beat a portrait of Saddam with his shoe, while a younger man spat on the portrait.

Huh? Don't these people realize they're being OCCUPIED???

(/sarcasm)