It will be interesting to count the instances of
outrage over this, as Saddam attempted to starve
civilians in Basra and blame it on the allies.
JDG
Complex found bulging with food in hungry city
Distribution center was used by U.N. oil-for-food
program
>From Mike Boettcher
CNN
Thursday, April 3, 2003 Posted: 4:29 PM EST (2129 GMT)
BASRA, Iraq (CNN) -- A giant food distribution complex
seized Wednesday by U.S. and British forces in this
city grappling with hunger contained massive amounts
of food.
A walk through only about 20 percent of the warehouses
in the complex revealed that tens of thousands of tons
of supplies -- including huge quantities of baby milk
-- were being stored in Iraq's second-largest city,
which has been wracked by a food shortage.
There are vast amounts of food staples, tea, sugar,
tires, car batteries and sewing machines in the
warehouses.
Also found were large quantities of cash, weapons and
documents relating to the food-distribution system.
Coalition officials hope the documents will help them
smooth out the distribution process.
A small force of Iraqis tried Wednesday night without
success to retake the complex, which had been used by
the U.N. oil-for-food program.
Iraq's second-largest city was controlled by Iraqis
until Wednesday. Parts of it remained in contention
Thursday. Six or seven volleys of rockets targeted
armored positions Wednesday night in the part of the
city still held by Iraqis.
British troops, with the support of American special
operations forces, have been pushing steadily into the
city in a slow and methodical process.
Although Iraqi paramilitary fighters were putting up
fierce resistance, the suburbs and parts of the city
appeared to be in coalition control.
British forces late Wednesday and Thursday bombarded
Iraqi forces around Basra with long-range artillery. A
British military spokesman said the situation around
Basra was "stabilizing by the day." (Full story)
As we drove through a suburb Thursday, a few Iraqis
waved, but most appeared neutral. On the other hand,
we saw no glares of hatred, either.
Many people in Basra recall the failure of the United
States to follow through on implied promises of
military support to an uprising by Shia Muslims
crushed by President Saddam Hussein. Thousands were
killed by Saddam after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Meanwhile, coalition forces were trying to determine
the needs of Basra's residents and then to meet them.
Medical supplies and water headed the list.
CNN Correspondent Mike Boettcher is with U.S. special
operations forces in southern Iraq.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This report was written in accordance
with Pentagon ground rules allowing so-called embedded
reporting, in which journalists join deployed troops.
Among the rules accepted by all participating news
organizations is an agreement not to disclose
sensitive operational details.
=====
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John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq:
Your enemy is not surrounding your country � your enemy is ruling your
country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be
the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03
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