The War: Hour 17

by John Little in Invasion of Iraq, Iraq

March 20, 2003 · No Comments

12:00pm CST
Air raid sirens in Baghdad. No signs of strike yet. – Sky New broadcast

12:10pm CST
Air raid sirens in Baghdad. No signs of strike yet. – Sky New broadcast

12:03pm CST
John Little weakens. Pepperoni pizza reported incoming. There is still hope.

12:06pm CST
Great video on CNN. Huge explosion near reporters. I think Nic Robertson is going to hyperventilate. Can’t say I blame him.

12:21pm CST
Explosions near Iraqi intelligence HQ and two of Saddam’s palaces – Sky News broadcast

12:30pm CST
Military officials say “major war has begun”. – MSNBC broadcast

12:32pm CST
MSNBC has video of a burning building in Baghdad. Reportedly a building near the Ministry of Information. – MSNBC broadcast

12:48pm CST
Current strikes still being described as preparatory by MSNBC military contacts.

12:50pm CST
Iraqi’s must have a great deal of faith in our precision and compassion. Pedestrians strolling the streets in the midst of attacks.

12:55pm CST
Royal Marines begin offensive in Southern Iraq – Sky News broadcast

The War: Hour 16

by John Little in Invasion of Iraq, Iraq

March 20, 2003 · No Comments

11:05am CST
Live footage of the ground action in Southern Iraq on Fox News (and Sky News) broadcast now.

11:16am CST
Rick Leventhal is live on Fox News. Reporting that incoming artillery is landing “very close” to his position. – Fox News broadcast

11:20am CST
MSNBC features live nightvision video of downtown Baghdad on their video page.

11:25am CST
White House briefing in 5 minutes.

11:30am CST

Two-thirds of Iraq’s conscript army are ready to surrender without a fight, according to US military sources in Kuwait.

Two army divisions totaling 20,000 troops based in the south of Iraq are set to give themselves up to Allied forces in nearby Kuwait, the sources told Sky News reporter Colin Brazier.

- Sky News Online

11:31am CST
Fox News broadcast is reporting large explosions around Basra. Sky News is reporting “over 100 shells fired across the border”.

The War: Hour 14

by John Little in Invasion of Iraq, Iraq

March 20, 2003 · No Comments

9:00am CST
The antiwar protesters are frothing at the mouth about the war. Their plans? Disrupt capitalism of course.

9:08am CST
Added James Wood and George Gill to the Blogs of War Wall of Honor. Thank you James and thank you for the very generous contribution George.

9:11am CST
Donald Rumsfeld expected to announce “broad rules of engagement” in the the war zone and that special forces troops are hunting down surface-to-surface missiles. – Fox News broadcast

9:12am CST
The “Coalition of the Willing” is growing and the White House may have updates soon. – Fox News broadcast

9:18am CST
Iraqi’s are lighting up some of the Southern oil fields. – Fox News broadcast

9:20am CST
Kuwait City’s air raid sirens are blaring. Missiles may be incoming. – Sky News broadcast

9:24am CST
One of the Fox News embedded reporters is hinting at significant coalition airstrikes in Southern Iraq soon.

9:32am CST
All clear sounds in Kuwait City.

9:38am CST
Pentagon confirming 2 oil well fires in Southern Iraq. – Fox News broadcast

9:40am CST
U.S. Troops told to be “Combat Ready” within the next 50 minutes. Rules of engagement broadened and forces can engage at will. – Sky News broadcast.

9:45am CST
Rick Leventhal is embedded with U.S. Marines 3rd LAR in Northern Kuwait and he is reporting that they are hammering away at Iraqi positions on the horizon. No video but he had a short but dramatic audio report with artillery fire and screaming soldiers in the background – Fox News broadcast

9:49am CST
Rick Leventhal is confirming via another audio report that airstrikes are underway in Southern Iraq. More dramatic reports filled with the sounds of explosions in the distance and helicopters overhead. Sounds like quite an event. – Fox news broadcast

9:54am CST
A Pentagon briefing will begin soon. You can watch it on the web via MSNBC. Click here for their video feed options.

The War: Hour 13

by John Little in Invasion of Iraq, Iraq, Media

March 20, 2003 · No Comments

8:05am CST
I’ve had three hours of sleep. My wife woke me up (asleep in front of the T.V.) with a giant latte. Updates will resume in just a few minutes.

People are writing and asking how I “beat the media” on a number of stories last night. I think the main reason is that I can publish to the web in seconds after it hits my eyes and ears. I have no editors (isn’t that obvious), producers, or web developers to please or rely on.

In a couple of cases I did have good sources and I was the first (that I could tell) to find DoD still photographs of the attack and republish them. However, in most cases the mainstream media and the wire services were my sources.

I’m in awe of the reporters on the ground in the war zone. Anyone who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning and saw the missle attacks on Kuwait will understand why. I think Fox News, MSNBC, and Sky News did an amazing job of pulling it all together last night. However, I found the mainstream media’s web sites quickly outpaced by events when things really got interesting.

8:40am CST

A helicopter carrying U.S. special forces crashed inside southern Iraq hours before the missile strikes Wednesday night, a senior defense official said. There were no casualties and the troops on board were all taken out safely, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said the military was taking steps to destroy the helicopter rather than let it fall into Iraqi hands.

- FOXNews.com

8:47am CST
Sky News has live footage of B-52s on the tarmac in the UK. You can watch them live on the web via the link on the left side of this page.

8:53am CST
The Iraqi ambassador to the U.N. claims that there has only been 1 Iraqi civilian death so far. – Sky News broadcast

8:54am CST
The French are using the words “United Nations” and”legitimacy” in the same sentence. Hilarious.

The War: Hour 9

by John Little in Invasion of Iraq, Iraq

March 20, 2003 · No Comments

4:17am CST
Sky News is reporting that Saddam read date and time at beginning of speech to the Iraqi people. Speculation has been that the tape was recorded prior to last night’s strikes.

4:25am CST
Kuwait City air raid sirens blaring. Sky News reporter wearing gas mask. 4 scud missiles launched at Kuwait.

4:29am CST
Explosion in Kuwait City reported by Sky News.

4:35am CST
All clear sounds in Kuwait City

4:38am CST
Pentagon confirms a “small aircraft” from Iraq has crashed near U.S. Marines in Northern Kuwait. No confirmation on whether it is a drone or if it is carrying WMD. – Fox News broadcast.

The War: Hour 8

by John Little in Invasion of Iraq, Iraq

March 20, 2003 · No Comments

3:00am CST
Watch Sky News online. Their coverage has been really strong. Highly recommended

3:02am CST
Limited strikes may follow for two days followed by massive “shock and awe” campaing. – Fox News broadcast

3:11am CST
I’ve added a link to Sky News live video coverage of the war on the left sidebar. Enjoy.

3:27am CST
Air raid sirens in Kuwait City. Possible incoming missiles. Gas Warning. Fox News reporter fitting gear now live.

3:31am CST
U.S. Base in Kuwait taking rounds. Oliver North reporting in gas mask and he is about to put on all protective equipment. No casualties yet. Attack on Kuwait appears widespread.

3:37am CST
Gas Alerts throughout Kuwait. Kuwaitis ordering people into air raid shelters and basements. Reporter for Sky News still broadcasting.

3:40am CST
Oliver North reporting from U.S. base in Kuwait. Rounds and or missles are impacting near the base. Patriots are firing in defense. North is in full chemical protection gear.

3:45am CST
Sky News is reporting that experts in protective suits are analyzing the first impact site for presence of chemical/biological weapons.

3:48am CST
Oliver North reports incoming skud missle at U.S. base in Northern Kuwait. He is stopping his report and heading for a bunker. – Fox News broadcast.

3:51am CST
Skud reportedly intercepted by Patriot missles. Sky News reporter in Kuwait City has removed his gas mask.

3:55am CST
Oliver North interviewing U.S. Colonel. Both in full protective gear. Colonel confirms Patriot missle intercept but they are still tracking “other events”.