U.S.
President Bush conferred with his national security
adviser early Thursday on the initial strikes against
Iraq.
Bush said the hostilities that began
Wednesday night with a narrow focus on "selected targets
of military importance" will become a "broad and
concerted campaign."
After a brief night of
sleep, the president talked to National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice at 6 a.m. Thursday to learn of
overnight events, said a senior administration official.
Bush began work in the Oval Office at 6:50 a.m., reports
said.
Bush met with his war council early
Thursday, including CIA Director George Tenet, who
briefed the president on results on the strike against
Iraqi leaders.
On Wednesday afternoon, Tenet had
told Bush that U.S. intelligence had a probable fix on
the residence where Saddam and other Iraqi leaders would
be sleeping in the early morning hours in Baghdad, U.S.
officials said. Bush then authorized the strike.
Those other Iraqi leaders were believed to
include Saddam's two sons, Qusai and Uday. Officials
said it was unclear Thursday whether any of the three
were near the target, or had been killed.
Two
other U.S. officials, according to AP, said
Thursday that the strikes were a small prelude to a
massive assault that was to begin as early as Thursday.
Israel Radio quoted unnamed senior Israeli
officials as saying the main offensive could begin after
nightfall Thursday. It should be mentioned that on early
Thursday U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held a
phone conversation with Israel's prime minister, Ariel
Sharon.
Meanwhile, Saddam's son, Uday called on
his Saddam Fedayeen paramilitary volunteer force to be
prepared to die as "martyrs" against US-led invaders.
"This is the day that we wanted Iraq's (women)
to ululate for us either as victorious heroes or as
faithful martyrs," Uday was quoted as saying by the
state news agency INA.
The "martyrs will fulfill
their pledge to God, happy to be the first to become
martyrs in the defense of our great Iraq," he said
Thursday. (Albawaba.com)
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