Bam - There It Is

Bam - There It Is - While I was out yesterday, Tikrit fell. "Saddam's Hardcore" didn't even put up a token resistance, other than the occasional sniper.

Today, the Pentagon says the major fighting is over, although sporadic and sometimes intense fights can be expected while mopping up.

And a twelve-year-old institution, the No-Fly Zone, has been rendered obsolete nearly overnight:

With little public notice, the last two American aircraft based at Incirlik, Turkey, flew home Saturday to Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., ending 12 years of enforcing a flight-interdiction zone over northern Iraq.

About 45 U.S. and British planes were based at Incirlik; they did not participate in the war against Iraq because Turkey would not permit it. With the fall of the Saddam Hussein government, the need for ``no-fly'' zones over northern and southern Iraq had disappeared, officials said.

Three carrier battlegroups (one British) are coming home. The First Cavalry Division's orders to move to the Gulf were rescinded today. Rumors have it that the Third Infantry will come home soon.

Behold the quagmire.

Posted by Mitch at April 14, 2003 05:53 PM