For those bored of the sterility of CNN and BBC...
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http://www.aeronautics.ru/news/news002/news070.htm
theres a few pages to it. the report supposedly draws on GRU resources(who better then the russians to peep and evesdrop on US military channels) Read and draw your own conclusions.
Oh and by the way, its my first post, hello everybody. -
juicier bits from the link above to whet your appetite:
March 25, 2003
www.iraqwar.ru
The IRAQWAR.RU analytical center was created recently by a group of journalists and military experts from Russia to provide accurate and up-to-date news and analysis of the war against Iraq. The following is the English translation of the IRAQWAR.RU report based on the Russian military intelligence reports.
"Exceptionally heavy fighting continued for two days and nights near An-Nasiriya. Both warring sides employed large numbers of tanks and artillery. More than 20,000 troops of the US 3rd Motorized Infantry Division, supported by 200 tanks, 600 other armored vehicles and 150 artillery pieces, were opposed by the Iraqi 3rd Army Corps consisting of up to 40,000 troops, up to 250 tanks, more than 100 artillery, up to 100 mortars and 1000 rocket propelled grenade launchers (RPG) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM). The two-day battle ended without any significant results.
The Americans have failed in trying to use their momentum in capturing An-Nasiriya and attempted to encircle the town from the west, where they encountered strong layered Iraqi defenses and forced to withdraw. The Iraqi forces used this opportunity to attack the US flanks with two brigades, breaking the US combat orders and causing panic among the US troops. The US command was forced to halt the advance of its forced toward An Najaf and once again redirect several tank battalions to support the attacked units. Nearly 6 hours was needed for the US aviation to stop the Iraqi attack and restore combat order of the US forces.
During the past day the coalition aviation flew more than 2,000 close support missions in this area [An-Nasiriya]. "We can only thank God for having air dominance!” said the commander of the US 15th Marines Exp. Corps Col. Thomas Waldhauser in a private conversation with one of the CNN reporters. Later the CNN journalist cited the Colonel in a phone conversation with his editor. The conversation was intercepted.
According to the intercepted radio traffic, the US forces have sustained up to 40 killed, up to 10 captured and up to 200 wounded during the fighting near An-Nasiriya. There is confirmed information about one lost attack helicopter and an unconfirmed report about a lost ground attack plane. The US forces have also lost up to 40 armored vehicles, including no less than 10 tanks. Several intercepted reports by the US field commanders stated that their troops are unable to advance due to their soldiers being demoralized by the enemy's fierce resistance and high losses.
Four days of continuous advance exhausted the coalition forces, which now have settled into defensive positions nearly on every front to rest and regroup. As of this morning (MSK, GMT +3) the coalition forces are in control of the western part of An-Nasiriya but have no foothold on the left bank of Euphrates. The left bank of the river is controlled by the Iraqi forces, which are conducting engineering works to reinforce their defenses. A part of the Iraqi forces have been deployed to strengthen the defense of An-Najaf, where they expect the next coalition attack.
Around 2300hrs (MSK, GMT +3) March 23 a British platoon was ambushed by Iraqi Special Forces unit near Basra. Following a powerful initial artillery barrage the Iraqis engaged the British in close combat and destroyed several armored vehicles. After the Iraqis withdrew the British commander reported up to 8 killed, two missing and more than 30 wounded British soldiers. Thus over the 30% of the unit's troops have been disabled in the attack. Reinforcements and medevac helicopters have been dispatched by the coalition to the scene of the attack.
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Great Stuff! thanks for the Alternate point of view.
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Yep, thanx for this alternate point of view. . . expected. . . US casualties numbers will be much lower than Iraqi numbers, but definitely not low enough to be the number they give, considering all the reports of 'fierce fighting' the US media themselves give. .
but as always. . . take news with a pinch of salt. . . I probably expect a figure higher than the official US figures but slightly lower than the figures on this site. . .
not bad. . . any more such sites?
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You could try Al jazeera
heres the link
http://english.aljazeera.net
i had problems getting in, don't think theres a block on the site, just heavy traffic.
maybe you'll have better luck -
yah, could get in, but only homepage, other pages takes LOOOOOOOOOOONG time to load. . .and I'm running on cable modemOriginally posted by redrooster79:You could try Al jazeera
heres the link
http://english.aljazeera.net
i had problems getting in, don't think theres a block on the site, just heavy traffic.
maybe you'll have better luck -
oops.......al jazeera had been hacked.........the english portion would be down for weeks........and the arabic version supposedly leads to porn sites
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damn internet war
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and damn the hackers. . .
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13:49 29/03/2003 Last update - 16:06 29/03/2003
Background / A patriotic U.S. media covers the
war in the Iraq
By Reuters
LOS ANGELES - The CNN early morning anchor grows impatient with the live broadcast of an Iraqi press conference just as the information minister slams the "stupidity" of Iraq's American invaders.
So she tells viewers, "All right, we are going to interrupt this press briefing right now because, of course, the U.S. government would disagree with most of what he is saying."
A Los Angeles TV reporter covers an anti-war demonstration wearing a belt with an enormous American flag buckle. Flags also dot the corners of TV screens above crawl lines declaring that this war is called "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
News readers sport American flag lapel pins. A reporter in Kuwait tells viewers back home that U.S. troops have "tuned up their weapons like an orchestra on opening night."
Patriotism has burst out all over the airwaves since the Iraq war begun - with some broadcast news consultants saying it is good for business to play the National Anthem at least once a day and to shy away from reporting too many anti-war protests. The Washington Post's ombudsman is peppered with complaints that anti-war news is getting relegated to the back pages.
Talk show hosts are warned by one consultant that "this is not the time to take cheap shots to get reaction" because young American soldiers are in harm's way.
Some television critics call Fox, which has had the highest ratings of any cable news outlet, the "Stars and Stripes" network because it seemingly never misses a chance to praise the president or blast Saddam Hussein.
"Fox is so blatantly one-sided, it is appalling. Every time I turn it on, someone one is saying something evil about the protesters or being pro-Bush," says Los Angeles Times television critic Howard Rosenberg of the network that maintains that its reporting is fair and balanced.
But Fox is far from alone in flag waving or identification with American troops and press experts are quick to note that U.S. media is not reporting for the world but for America. Reporters embedded with American troops sometimes use the word "we" as in "We're headed to Baghdad."
A large number of press critics say they are not unduly concerned about the "rah rah" quality of some reporting on the war and say that as time goes on, the reporting will become tougher and more nuanced.
They add that the system of embedding correspondents with military units has taken war reporting to new heights, a chance to show things with an immediacy not available before - certainly not in the 1991 Gulf conflict, a war that was subjected to military censorship.
"There's a lot of criticism now that the embedded journalists are in bed with their units .... I haven't seen real examples of that," says Steve Bell, a former Vietnam war correspondent for ABC news who now teaches journalism at Ball State University in Indianapolis.
He adds, "I think we are getting good journalism, Of course they're the home team. We're Americans, they're Americas.
"When you report from a military unit consistently, you get to know the people, you are sharing their daily life, there is an emotional connection and attachment that comes with it, but ... that doesn't mean you're going to hide things that are embarrassing or negative, not if you're a good reporter."
Bell added, "You get the same thing from reporters in Baghdad who go out to the market that's been hit and you see the faces of the distraught people and you see the carnage, and you have the same kind of identification. I think that's just the power of television. I don't think it represents severely restricted or distorted journalism."
But Pulitzer Prize wining former Newsday reporter Roy Gutman said he see a huge conflict between the images that people are cheering and the reality behind those images.
Take for example, CNN's showing earlier this week of paratroopers leaping from their plane into Northern Iraq.
For media consultant Michael McVay, who advises 150 radio stations on what to play and how to play it, watching the parachute jumps were an "amazing moment. It was a brilliant decision on the part of President Bush to embed reporters with the troops because he is bringing viewers to his side."
But for Gutman, a longtime State Department reporter, the parachute jumps were symbolic of a U.S. foreign policy that both failed to head off the war or get it organized correctly.
"I watched CNN show that film over and over again and what they missed is that this is a foreign policy disaster. These 1,000 guys should not have had to fly in this way. They should have come though Turkey by land but they didn't because the Bush administration didn't win Turkish agreement and why they didn't is a big story," Gutman said.
Although he says he is dazzled by the infra-red photography and the technical achievements, neither make up for one time-honored reporting tool - context. "We have to tell people what it means," he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=278182&contrassID=1&subContrassID=8&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y