9. april 2003

Today in 1940 It will not be difficult for Norwegians to remember the date of the fall of Baghdad. April 9, 1940 was the day when Norway was invaded by Nazi-Germany. The country had been practically demilitirised for decades, naively believing we could stay neutral to future conflicts, as we had managed to do in World War I, and despite brave resistance from ridiculously outnumbered and outgunned defenders, the whole country fell within a few months. 11:58:11 PM    comment []

Arabs not cheering With some notable exceptions (like Kuwait), there is no cheering the Arab world over what has happened in Baghdad. As BBC correspondents in different countries record, there is more anger, disbelief, humiliation and outright denial. And in coutries like Syria and Iran, whose rulers will not like the thought of a swift coaltion victory, state television has carefully avoided showing any pictures of cheering Iraqis. 11:51:57 PM    comment []

Preliminary meeting with Iraqi leaders The US has arranged for a meeting of 43 Iraqi politicians, 14 exiles and 29 from inside the country, to discuss the future of Iraq. No decisions on rulership will be made, but it's not unlikely that coaltions that will become crucial for the Iraqi political landcape will be forged. It is believed that with the oil wealth becoming available to boost the standard of living, the first party to position itself for electoral victory can stay in power for a long time. 11:11:53 PM    comment []

I hope they are not prophetic this time "Bush Subconsciously Sizes Up Spain For Invasion During a White House meeting with visiting Spanish prime minister and fellow allied-forces leader Jose Maria Aznar, President Bush subconsciously sized up Spain for invasion Monday." (The Onion) 11:00:29 PM    comment []

Everybody loves a winner Perhaps it's a bit premature, but the astonishing images we have seen today has every feeling of military victory. The anti-war crowd have stopped talking about how badly the war is going, and instead they are asking questions about WMDs or, as typically in the Arab world, speculation about which country the US is going to attack next. The pro-war side, on the other hand, is having a good day. The joke of the war must certainly be Iraq's information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who has made himself the mockery of the western world (at least) by blatantly denying what everybody could see with their own eyes. Miranda Devine, writing for the Australian SMH, compares the "neo-pacifists" to the hapless Iraqi information minister. 9:29:41 PM    comment []

Rumsfeld's history lesson ""Saddam Hussein is now taking his rightful place alongside Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Ceausescu in the pantheon of failed brutal dictators and the Iraqi people are well on their way to freedom," Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing." (phillyBurbs) I hate to say this, but both Lenin and Stalin were examples of successful dictators, who managed to stay in power until they died of old age. 9:11:50 PM    comment []

Russian convoy attack, Russian conspiracy theories Did the Russian diplomatic convoy that came under fire from US forces bring with it Saddam Hussein's secret files? This is a conspiracy theory put forth not by US sources, but by Russian media. 7:59:14 PM    comment []

Friendly fire and not so friendly punches A furious British helicopter pilot who came under friendly fire from American troops landed yards from them, leapt out and exchanged punches with a US Marine. The Chinnook pilot shouted at him: "When was the last time you saw a fucking Iraqi in a helicopter?" The pilot and the marine had to be pulled apart as American troops advanced on the north of Baghdad, according to reports from US Central Command in Qatar. British Military spokesman Group Captain Al Lockwood said: "I'm afraid it would be an RAF kind of thing to do. These guys are not known for tolerating fools gladly". I received this in the mail. It was supposedly in the Mirror yesterday, though I could not find it online. This story is just too good to check too carefully. 7:09:16 PM    comment []

How not to chat up women A man trying to chat up a woman at a German night club left a lasting impression. As he leaned over and whispered "I hope we'll see each other again, he dropped something down her cleavage." The woman, Tina Lange, thought it was his phone number, and was surprised to find a plate of three false teeth. 5:20:10 PM    comment []

Israel kills seven in Gaza While the world's attention is turned towards Iraq, Israel is stepping up the violence in the Palestinian areas. Two F-16 planes fired at a car containing a top Hamas commander, reportedly Saed Arabeed, killing him and six bystanders, including children. The car was driving through crowded streets, and at least 50 were wounded as one missile hit the car, and another hit the street. 5:07:36 PM    comment []

Stuffed Dolly The preserved remains of the world's first cloned mammal, the sheep Dolly, is being put on display at Edinburgh's Royal Museum, in the city where she was created. 3:58:03 PM    comment []

Baghdad taken The western media showed scenes of jubilation on the streets of Baghdad, as US forces entered the city without meeting any serious resistance. Baghdad is not secured, but it is certainly no longer in Saddam Hussein's hands. Hundreds of cheering Iraqis met the US forces in the poorer, mostly Shiah areas of the town, while the higher class (mostly Sunni) areas were remarkably quiet. Anti-war protesters have made much of the lack of cheering crowds in the past, while the outcome may have seemed uncertain. The crowd could be heard cheering "Saddam is God's enemy!" While the war is not over, on day 21 there is certainly no doubt that the war is effectively won. What everybody (well, me) wants to know: What does Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf say now? 3:29:16 PM    comment []

Powell interview German ZDF has made an interview with Colin Powell which could be described as confrontional in nature. It is interesting to note how Powell answers, and that he commits to the US carrying most of the burden of rebuilding Iraq after the war: Europeans, especially Germans, should recognize the American record, our history. Our history is not one of getting involved in conflicts just for the sake of it. We get involved in conflicts because there are major issues at stake that have to be resolved, unfortunately, by force of arms. But when you look at our history for the last sixty years, every time we found ourselves in this position, we did not just get up and walk away. We did everything we could to put in place a better system, a better society, than that which we had to go in and fight. And we will do it again this time. Whatever the Bush administration's critics will say, this is actually historically correct. In Germany and Japan, the US went to great lengths to institute a permanent, stable democracy (in Korea, granted, it took a bit more time). Of course, while the past may be an indication of future events, they do not determine the future. Many will watch very, very closely to see what happens. 4:23:59 AM    comment []

North Korea balances the line North Korea has been aided by China who rejected calls for a Security Council meeting on teh North Korea crisis, after Pyongyang declared that it would ignore any resolution and interpret sanctions as a declaration of war. The isolated communist regime insist on direct talks with Washington, which the Bush adminstration has rejected, calling NKs steps to restart its nuclear programme "blackmail." On the other hand, North Korea has refrained from provoking the US or Japan with new missile launches during the Iraq war, which is interpreted as some sign of goodwill (in a very, very broad defintion of the term). Pyongyang seems quite convinced that once the Iraq war is over, the US will prepare for attacking North Korea. It is worth noting that the communist state has fourth largest army in the world, and though the quality does not match that of the western powers, any military attack on the country would be both dangerous to the whole region, and costly. At the same time, it is getting more and more obvious that the world is leaning on China to pressure its neighbour into behaving. China obviously does not want this problem, and tries passing it back to the US. 1:32:38 AM    comment []

Most dangerous job "During the 43 days that comprised the Persian Gulf War in 1991, no journalists lost their lives in the conflict. The current war in Iraq, now just 21 days old, has claimed the lives of 11 journalists, three of whom were killed today in United States military strikes in Baghdad." (New York Times) ...and being who they are, their deaths are sure to get an enormous amount of attention in the press, by their collegues. 12:09:40 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.05.2003; 02:59:03.