Massive Air Strike Has Begun

Ming · March 21, 2003, 14:01

The promised "shock & awe" campaign has begun.

The footage on CNN is simply unbelievable...

About 10 minutes of massive ground strikes. It looks like the damage is limited to certain areas.

Nubclear · March 21, 2003, 14:01

Ming · March 21, 2003, 14:03

It seems like the damage is restricted to military targets... The lights are still on which would indicate that infrastructure isn't being targeted.

SlowwHand · March 21, 2003, 14:04

God protect the innocent that have been placed in harm's way by the Butcher of Baghdad.

Edan · March 21, 2003, 14:06

25 buldings attacked ten minutes, according to NBC.

Wish this hand't been neccesary.

Edit: MAin presidential building/palace was destroyed.

Nubclear · March 21, 2003, 14:07

Quote:

Originally posted by SlowwHand

God protect the innocent that have been placed in harm's way by the Butcher of Baghdad.

Blessed are the peacekeepers for they shall be called children of god

Robert Plomp · March 21, 2003, 14:14

I have a lump in my throat watching tv.
This is really bizar

I hate war and I hate this view.
The MOAB bomb was impressive. I'm happy I knew before that it would look like an a-bomb otherwise I would have been shocked too much.

Damn Sadam, give it up!
Save your people and your city!

SlowwHand · March 21, 2003, 14:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Tassadar5000

Blessed are the peacekeepers for they shall be called children of god

Exactly. Thank you for the recognition of that fact.

Solver · March 21, 2003, 14:17

What's that MOAB thing that looked like an a-bomb?

I jumped straight to TV on hearing this... gee, those CNN pictures were awesome indeed. Heck, they might have destroyed a section of Baghdad.

Nubclear · March 21, 2003, 14:17

Quote:

Originally posted by SlowwHand

Exactly. Thank you for the recognition of that fact.

What I'm trying to say is:

Chirac is going to be a child of god.

Bush isn't

Robert Plomp · March 21, 2003, 14:19

MOAB = mother of all bombs (is nickname, I don't know the real name, it's real name is MOAB abbreviated as well)

it's the big blast that gives a cloud in the same shape as an a-bomb would give.
It's the biggest non nuclear bomb there is.

I hope they have a good reason to use it in a city like bagdhad, or that my eyes have cheated me, and the tv-folks. (or I hope they have hitted one of Sadam's underground bunkers big time.)

Robert Plomp · March 21, 2003, 14:20

Pherhaps this wouldn't have been happened if Chirac wouldn't have searched for his own glory!
Pherhaps Sadam would have complied to the UN if all countries would have backed the states with pressure!

who knows........
who knows......

General Ludd · March 21, 2003, 14:21

I don't believe the MOAB was used. CBC is saying that it wasn't, and all that are being used as of yet are cruise missles.

Ming · March 21, 2003, 14:21

Again... while the attack was heavy and intense... City lights are still on. One can only hope that the "smart" bombs were targeted properly, and actualy hit what they were supposed to do.

Robert Plomp · March 21, 2003, 14:22

I think this is a MOAB.
not sure though.

from cnn.com

Robert Plomp · March 21, 2003, 14:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Ming
Again... while the attack was heavy and intense... City lights are still on. One can only hope that the "smart" bombs were targeted properly, and actualy hit what they were supposed to do.

Reuters reports that one of sadam's palaces has been hitted by 12 missiles.

General Ludd · March 21, 2003, 14:23

I think the blast from the MOAB is supposed to be much bigger then that.

Solver · March 21, 2003, 14:24

They prolly decided not to hit the power stations... although I've heard that some radars don't work properly.

That mushroom cloud would've freaked me out, but I know that a-bomb explosions are thousands of times bigger. And they wouldn't use an a-bomb on a 5 million city.

The diplomat · March 21, 2003, 14:27

That was not the MOAB. It was a 2000 lb bomb though.

Lefty Scaevola · March 21, 2003, 14:30

Quote:

Originally posted by CyberShy
I think this is a MOAB.
not sure though.

Certainly not, that is likley a 2000LD bomb or smaller. A MOAB if noted in a city would take out 16 to 64 blocks and raise a debris cloud to many thousands of feet. A MOAB (massive ordinance air burst) would be a great thing to use on a spread out air field. The overpressure would take out aircraft (inculding in revetment and armored hangers and bucker with open doors) for a large radius.

Koyaanisqatsi · March 21, 2003, 14:32

I'm pretty sure that's not a MOAB. From the other pictures, the detonation of a MOAB is more horizontal than vertical like that.

Alex · March 21, 2003, 14:38

Funny, I thought that they would avoid the massive bombardments for fear of civilian casualties and the corresponding political backlash. Maybe they are facing stiffier than expected resistance.

SlowwHand · March 21, 2003, 14:46

That wouldn't be used, as Lefty said, in Baghdad proper.

Agathon · March 21, 2003, 14:52

It's an abosolute f*****g atrocity. Any right thinking person should be disgusted at this spectacle.

Cookie Monster · March 21, 2003, 14:58

Honestly Saddam should just give up and seek asylum elsewhere. He is so rich that he could live a comfortable life. Is he really that power hungry that he is willing to lead his country into destruction? That is exactly what Hitler did during the second world war.

Only someone who has commited atrocities and who knows he will be tried and executed in a court of law has nothing to lose so he fights until the bitter end. This is all very shameful.............

GePap · March 21, 2003, 14:58

The US would never use a 21,000 pound bomb on a city center, unless it was deperate, which at this point it is not.

It is niteresting they have not turned the ligths off..my guess is their working assumption is that they can shake the lower echelons enough to ahve them give up...the previous light show was not enough, so lets give them an even bigger one to drive them to their senses, or so the theory goes.

Why aren't we in Basra yet? It is well within 24 hours travel time form the border, and in theory, we should have been let in with 0 resistence. As fo yet, no word about anyone either getting into or taking Basra...

Note how it does not seem to be in the target list.

Az · March 21, 2003, 15:00

Actually, AFAIK, they plan to take it by night.

Asher · March 21, 2003, 15:00

Quote:

Originally posted by CyberShy
I think this is a MOAB.
not sure though.

from cnn.com

No, it's most likely a 2000lbs JDAM...

JDAMs being the new bombs that are guided by INS/GPS rather than lasers, so they're much more accurate especially in bad weather/smokey environments.

Cookie Monster · March 21, 2003, 15:00

Quote:

Originally posted by GePap
Why aren't we in Basra yet? It is well within 24 hours travel time form the border, and in theory, we should have been let in with 0 resistence. As fo yet, no word about anyone either getting into or taking Basra...

Note how it does not seem to be in the target list.

Precisely, Basra is only 50miles from the Kuwaiti border. Something isn't right about this whole thing. They should have been in Basra by now and why hasn't there been any fierce resistance yet? Something is just not right.

Asher · March 21, 2003, 15:01

Quote:

Originally posted by Haupt. Dietrich
Precisely, Basra is only 50miles from the Kuwaiti border. Something isn't right about this whole thing. They should have been in Basra by now and why hasn't there been any fierce resistance yet? Something is just not right.

This was all expected. Saddam's concentrated the vast majority of his troops in and around Baghdad...