HeXp£Øi± said:Have you been looking at tide tables Gonz?
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- Two B-52s roared out of Barksdale Air Force Base early Thursday as part of the U.S. anti-terrorism effort.
The bomber crews were unavailable for comment before the planes zipped off of the runway in the morning mist at about 7 a.m.
Details of the mission were not released but officials said the crews were headed to one of three locations: Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Royal Air Force Fairford, England; or Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. From these locations, bombers can react to crises in Korea, Afghanistan or Iraq.
Meanwhile, about 100 reservists from the 917th Wing were put on 24-hour alert for deployment. They could leave any day, officials with the Wing said.
Members of the group, which supports both the B-52 and A-10, remain confident about what lies ahead, said one technical sergeant who asked not to be identified for security reasons. For some, this is their third deployment since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
B-2 BOMBERS DEPLOYMENT: The stealthy, bat-winged B-2 Spirit bombers have received orders to deploy for possible operations against Iraq, U.S. Air Force officials told CNN Thursday. A Pentagon spokesman declined to disclose the deployment destination -- except to say that it will be closer to Iraq -- or when the planes are to leave. Shelters especially designed for the B-2 have been set up in the central Indian Ocean on the British island of Diego Garcia. This will be the first time the bombers will be deployed overseas.
The Japan-based Kitty Hawk battle group, which is the final carrier group requested by war planners to enter the U.S. Central Command region, joins two other aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Constellation, Naval official said. Two additional carriers, the USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Theodore Roosevelt, are in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and also are within reach of Iraq. The five ships and their battle groups bring about 250 Naval strike aircraft to the area, along with another 125 or so support aircraft. Navy officials tell CNN there are now about 95 U.S. ships in the Central Command region with crews totaling about 60,000 sailors.
Gonz said:It's after 2AM in Baghdad so I doubt it. Is that good or bad?
Makes the "rush into war" thing kinda silly.
WAR against Saddam Hussein will start as soon
as next Thursday, The Sun can reveal.
A crucial UN Security Council vote for war is now likely a week this Wednesday.
Allied commanders could order air strikes against the dictator hours later.
A top US intelligence source said last night: “The moment we know we have the nine votes needed, we will go for it. The military won’t hang around after that.”
Allied chiefs expect little resistance from Iraq’s army.