American people late Wednesday March 19 that the war with Iraq had begun.
His announcement came as 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from several locations in the Persian Gulf rained down on targets in and nearby Baghdad, Pentagon officials said.
Several aircraft, including F117 Stealth fighters and the huge B-52 planes were also said to have been involved in an operation that was apparently aimed at killing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his leadership.
Pentagon officials told reporters that the initial attack came after a near four hour meeting at the White House where the Central Intelligence Agency and other advisers told the President that an "opportunity would be lost" if the strike would not happen quickly.
"MILITARY ACTION"
Speaking from the White House, a somber looking President Bush told the nation that "at this hour" America was "in the early stages of military action to disarm Iraq and free its people." Soon after, reporters in Baghdad said that the U.S. military appeared to have taken over some radio frequencies to tell residents that "their liberation" had begun.
During the initial operation, Baghdad residents and reporters noted what were described as "fireball explosions" and gunfire, shortly before the sun rose over the troubled nation. The embattled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein went earlier on local television to warn American troops they would lose "the mother of all battles."
However early indications were that several Iraqi troops were preparing, or in the process, to surrender. Just hours before the attack began around 3.15 local time, already 17 Iraqi soldiers surrendered to American allies in Kuwait, Pentagon and Kuwait’s government said.
ISRAEL CONCERNED
Kuwait’s authorities said they expected many more would surrender, and they had already set up facilities for refugees and prisoners of war. Meanwhile in Israel, residents were advised to carry gas masks at all time if possible and seal their homes, amid concern of a possible chemical or biological attack from Iraq.
Equipment for a sealed room includes plastic sheeting and masking tape to prepare the room, plus food and water, among other items.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) said the air force had raised its level of alert, allowing fighters to patrol the skies 24 hours a day. Christians from around the world began praying for the situation in the Middle East, as well as the church in Iraq, which has expressed fear of an even more difficult future.
The praying Christians are believed to include President Bush, who was described by magazine Newsweek this month as a bible believing Christian. Bush said "goodbye Jack Daniels" (Whiskey) and "hello Jesus" after his 40th birthday, Newsweek reported, quoting a friend of the president.
