'We go to liberate, not to conquer'

   

“The Iraqis are sick people and we are the chemotherapy,” said Corporal Ryan Dupre. “I am starting to hate this country. Wait till I get hold of a friggin’ Iraqi. No, I won’t get hold of one. I’ll just kill him.”

"Fifteen members of one family were killed nearby late Monday when their pickup truck was blown up by a rocket from a US Apache helicopter in the region of Haidariya near Hilla, the sole survivor of the attack told AFP. Razak Al Kazem Al Khafaji said he lost his wife, six children, his father, his mother, his three brothers and their wives."

... now are we happy and fulfilled Corporal Ryan Dupre?

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Iraqi chemical threat 'negligible'

The threat of an Iraqi chemical or biological attack against coalition forces has become "negligible", according to US military sources in Iraq.

Captain Adam Mastrianni, the intelligence officer of the 101st Airborne Division's Aviation Brigade, said: "Now that we have penetrated Baghdad's outer ring, the likelihood [of a chemical or biological attack] is negligible.

"The commanding general of the 101st, General David Petraeus gave the order at 9:00pm that soldiers in the division would be able to take off their anti-chemical and biological suits as of Friday morning," he added.

Now let's get this straight. One of the reasons this grisly little exercise began was because Saddam had somewhat more than negligible chemical/biological weapons and weapons of mass destruction. They don't seem to have quite materialised as much as they could have. Maybe Saddam is (was?) one of those loony collectors. He has them, but they are locked away in his "Museum of Modern Arms" where, whenever the mood takes him he can sit down in a comfy chair, light up a cigar, tipple a port and appreciate them for their intrinsic beauty.

We're still waiting for the smoking Godot.