As the second week of Operation Iraqi Freedom rolls on, U.S.-led coalition forces have made advances out of Kuwait, and are now more than 220 miles into Iraq.
Last night in Iraq, roughly 1,000 U.S. paratroopers landed in the northern portion of the country to secure an airfield to act as a staging ground to open a new front against the opposition.
Yesterday, British forces continued heavy-munitions attacks on the city of Basra, where it has been reported that an uprising against Saddam Hussein has begun.
Also yesterday, reports came from Baghdad of an explosion that killed 15 in a market. The Iraqi leadership claimed that the explosion was the result of a bomb or missile coming from coalition forces. However, U.S. military officials did not verify the source of the blast. Pentagon officials have speculated that the explosion may have been the result of an Iraqi surface-to-air missile or fallout from anti-aircraft artillery.
The first shipment of humanitarian aid arrived in the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr yesterday. A convoy of trucks delivered 12 tons of humanitarian aid that was passed out by British forces. The packages included rice, water and other foods.
Sunday, it was reported that several U.S. troops had gone off course and were ambushed by Iraqi forces, who took the U.S. troops as prisoners of war. Shocking images were returned home of soldiers lying dead and others being questioned on Iraqi television. Two Apache helicopter pilots were also taken captive by Iraqi forces.
Coalition forces have taken more than 4,000 Iraqi POWs. Negotiations are on going between the coalition and Red Cross officials to assist in the care of the POWs.
Earlier in the week sandstorms had laid an orange haze over Iraq. Under the storm, lack of visibility limited the mobility of coalition forces to the point that Black Hawk and Apache helicopters were ordered to land, wherever they happened to be at the time.
Throughout the week, questions have been rising as to whether the “shock and awe” campaign had actually been as effective as planned.
“We’re on the cusp of whether [the original plan of attack] can still work,” said Timothy J. Lomperis, Ph.D., chair of the political science department at Saint Louis University.
He said that this week is crucial concerning whether the operation can continue as planned or if the coalition must change its plan. The Bush administration hopes that the current attacks will result in the folding and surrender of Republican Guard divisions.
However, Lomperis points out that if Republican Guard and Iraqi regular forces can hold out, the coalition would use more powerful conventional forces, such as an increase in air strikes, Tomahawk missiles and artillery barrages.
