I understand from a good military source that troops were told to leave their bases on the Turkish side of the border and enter northern Iraq.

These 1,500 troops will be joined by a larger force to make about 10,000 troops in total.

I think this is being done against the express wish of the US.

It's a very, very delicate situation in an area which is very, very easily inflamed.

10:59:12 PM    

Many critics of mainstream news organizations, mostly on the left, say it was a challenge that much of the media failed to meet. They say reporters were not skeptical enough and did not adequately scrutinize the administration's contention of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

The strongest indictment of the press, many of these critics argue, are recent polls that suggest many Americans see Iraq as being responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.

...

a recent New York Times/CBS News Poll showed that nearly half of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. A Knight Ridder poll taken in early January showed that half said they believed at least some of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were Iraqis. None were.

10:47:09 PM    

Fleischer did not mention that there are only two countries in the world where, according to polling, a majority of the population supports this war -- the U.S. and Israel -- whereas in almost every other country on this planet opposition to this action is rather conclusive. Polling indicates, for instance, that 95 percent of Macedonians oppose the war.

10:35:13 PM    

Why Colin Powell Should Go. This war undertaken at such cost to America's own interests is specifically a failure of Colin Powell's politics. By Bill Keller. [New York Times: Opinion]
10:13:13 PM    

What does "innocent" mean in the context of war? 10:01:10 PM    

Marching Forward. In the last few months, the United States has seen the emergence of the largest antiwar movement since the days of Vietnam. By David Callahan. [New York Times: Opinion]

The movement could still influence the direction of United States foreign policy by signaling the profound unease that many Americans feel about a militarized, unilateral approach to the world. It may be, however, that the greater significance of the protests lies in what they portend for politics here at home. While antiwar movements are rarely successful in their immediate goal, they are often prescient indicators of the national mood.

...

Recent years have seen mounting public uneasiness with the relentless consumption and waste in America. This uneasiness fuels new and different kinds of environmental activism, like campaigns against suburban sprawl or S.U.V.'s. It also underlies the growing movement of "downshifting," which emphasizes simplicity and authenticity over earning and spending.

...

Many protesters are unhappy that their arguments are being ignored--not so much by the news media, although coverage has been sporadic at best, but by their elected leaders....Now, after the manipulation of public opinion by a president intent on war, and the failure of Congress to offer real dissent to his policy, voters' concerns about the health of American democracy will only deepen.

9:54:17 PM    

Making the World Safe for Hypocrisy. The United Nations, sadly, has drifted far from its founding vision. By Edward C. Luck. [New York Times: Opinion]

Opponents of the war in Iraq have been highly selective in their reading of the United Nations Charter. It is a compact by which the member states accept constraints on their use of force in the context of a binding system of collective security. Those who for years have sought to weaken the sanctions and inspections efforts in Iraq--undermining this compact--have set the stage for the use of force. It is hypocritical for them now to claim that the rest of the Charter's rules are sacrosanct.

9:47:43 PM    

Navy Launches 320 Cruise Missiles at Iraq. The U.S. Navy launched about 320 Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iraq from ships in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea during a heavy barrage Friday, senior officers said. [Associated Press war headlines via GoUpstate.com]
8:21:53 PM    

1,000 Turkish Troops Move Into N. Iraq. Turkey sent 1,000 troops into northern Iraq on Friday to bolster its military presence and promised to send more to prevent Iraqi Kurds from creating an independent state. [Associated Press war headlines via GoUpstate.com]
7:28:27 PM    

A correspondent had cornered the leader of a bomber sortie on the deck of an aircraft carrier; the flier had just landed, we were told, just gotten out of his plane, and here was CNN's embeddee, buttonholing him with a microphone. Oh, he was game, smiling, still soaring on adrenaline, no doubt thrilled to be back and alive and with all of his men. But -- and I say this as a charge against the medium, not against the man in uniform, who I'm sure if he had a choice in the matter would not have picked Mr. CNN as his first stop out of the cockpit -- there was something obscene about the whole thing. Nothing in that carrier-deck exchange acknowledged the gravity of the moment, the fact that this man had just returned from dropping massive explosives on the ground, weapons that had quite possibly left people -- enemy soldiers, civilians; human beings -- dead.

4:09:31 PM    

FRESNO - Pierre Frik feared if the country went to war in Iraq, he might be targeted by zealots because of his Middle Eastern background.

He never imagined he'd be vulnerable because his chain of stores was named French Cleaners.

The Lebanese native said he only picked the name on a whim, making the Eiffel Tower the stores' logo. But as relations between the United States and France soured over war with Iraq, Frik said, he was hit by the backlash.

Customers have spit on checks, and passersby make obscene gestures, he said. On Wednesday, his Modesto store was damaged in a fire. He said he later learned his two other stores had been vandalized.

``We're very concerned about French-bashing going on across the country,'' French Consulate spokesman Yo-Jung Chen said Thursday.

``The fire and the vandalism are the only negative incidents we've heard of so far in California, but we've received many phone calls and e-mails since the crisis started,'' Chen said. ``Many of them are simply insults. People seem to be really upset about the position taken by France in the U.N.''

France had threatened to block a U.N. resolution authorizing force against Iraq.

Frik, who became a U.S. citizen after emigrating from Lebanon in 1977, said he's worried about his family -- his children and wife help run the stores.

``I had no problem before as a Middle Easterner,'' Frik said. But when France took its anti-war stance, ``it all started.''

Police in Turlock are investigating the vandalism at Frik's store as a hate crime -- obscenities were scratched on a window, shattering it.

At his Ceres store, pellet holes were found in a window. ``We really didn't think anything of it at the time,'' said Sgt. Brent Smith. ``Officers just went out and took a report.''

Authorities estimated the damage to Frik's Modesto store at $500,000 but declined to classify the blaze as suspicious.

``We're just not there with our investigation yet,'' said detective Doug Ridenour. ``It does seem unusual. Now we just have to see if it's a crime.''
4:03:21 PM    

The war has stirred one of the broadest rounds of anti-government protesting in years, with demonstrations and civil disobedience in dozens of cities coast to coast.

11:18:02 AM    

B-52s Leave U.K. for Likely Iraq Strikes. Heavy B-52 bombers left England Friday, portending major nighttime air strikes against Iraq, two U.S. officials said, as American forces seized important ground in south and western Iraq. [Associated Press war headlines via GoUpstate.com]
8:58:26 AM    

Bush OK'd War 12 Hours Before Launch. Uttering a simple "God bless the troops," President Bush gave the final OK for war in Iraq after his military commanders assured him, one-by-one, that they were ready to strike. [Associated Press war headlines via GoUpstate.com]
8:57:19 AM    

Polls: Public Behind Bush on Iraq. About two-thirds of Americans approve of President Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq and think he did enough diplomatically before invading, according to new polls released Friday. [Associated Press war headlines via GoUpstate.com]

About two-thirds of Americans approve of President Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq and think he did enough diplomatically before invading, according to new polls released Friday.

...

The public rallying around the president is typical in wartime. But the public is viewing the administration's actions in Iraq less enthusiastically than the actions in the Persian Gulf war by President George H.W. Bush, father of the current president, a dozen years ago.

...

The lower support for the president's handling of the current military action apparently is related to the United States' failure to win substantial international backing for this war against Iraq.

8:19:36 AM