Umm Qasr has been the most striking
example of the regime's ability to defy
the coalition onslaught, largely because
potential dissidents have been terrified
that Saddam and his machine may survive.
With no sign of the hoped-for uprising
against Saddam, the coalition now faces
a much more dangerous task in Baghdad
and beyond. Iraqi ministers have repeatedly
urged the rest of the nation to take inspiration
from the bravery of little Umm Qasr in
holding off coalition troops.
- Peter Wilson - The
Herald Sun, March 29
Although I have been hard on the media
in this column I should note in passing
that at least occasionally editors ran
articles which painted a completely different
- and as it turned out, far more accurate
- picture of the campaign, than the largely
negative articles from some mainstream
correspondents. Readers had to keep an
eye open for them. The Arab world never
saw those alternative articles.
As a possible aid in future conflicts
I have put together a list of phrases
used by war correspondents, and what those
phrases seemed to mean in reality.
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- Light resistance: an Iraqi army unit
ran away.
- Resistance: a Republican Guard unit
ran away.
- Fierce resistance: someone (usually
non-Iraqi) shot at coalition troops
before running away.
- Savage fire fight: the someones who
shot back were blown up before they
could run away.
- Desperate resistance: a savage fire
fight plus a car bomb explosion somewhere
else.
- Battle: a whole column of Iraqi vehicles
got blown away, perhaps without even
realising the coalition forces were
in range.
- Savage battle: the column got
a few shots off before being blown away
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