Coalition Tightening Noose Around Republican Guard Division
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): All day long we have been on the move, pushing about 80 kilometers from our last position in central Iraq. It's not hard to guess that we are moving north, pushing north with not just the 1st Battalion 7th Marines. But take a look at the roadway and the distance there. And the reason the progress has been so slow is the fact that the roadway is utterly jam- packed with military hardware.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A traffic jam on two key highways to Baghdad. U.S. troops in armor surge within 25 miles of the Iraqi capital. Perhaps significantly closer, meeting what's described as minimal resistance even inside the so-called red line of defense. Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Kuwait City. It is Wednesday evening here in Kuwait City. Wednesday evening, of course, also in Baghdad. That's described as the "heart of the regime," in CENTCOM's words, at which the dagger now is clearly pointed. The Central Command alleges more than 50 oil trenches are blazing around the city, and Iraqi munitions are being deliberately set off in populated areas. Indeed, right now, explosions once again being heard in Baghdad. We have live pictures of what's happening there this time of the night as it gets dark. That's usually a target of opportunity for U.S. warplanes and missiles looking for Republican Guard positions, looking for other so-called strategic targets; especially communications capabilities. We're watching what's happening on the streets of Baghdad, as well as over the skies of Baghdad. More air pounding not only in Baghdad, but elsewhere throughout Iraq. We have cameras throughout much of this country. From military briefings and our embedded correspondents, we know this about the drive toward Baghdad. U.S. Army troops from the 3rd Infantry pushed through the town Karbala earlier today, while some 100 miles to the east U.S. Marines took a bridge across the Tigris River near the town of Al Kut. An embedded correspondent for "The Boston Globe" tells us Republican Guard units there put up what was described as a relatively fierce firefight, but were defeated, leaving scores of Iraqi dead. Karbala is roughly 40 miles from Baghdad. Al Kut roughly 100. In Karbala, the Army's 3rd Infantry rolled over the so-called Medina Division of Iraq's Republican Guard. The Medina Guard has been pounded for days now by coalition air strikes. And our Walter Rodgers reports the guardsmen that remain, "didn't put up much of a fight." And as our Martin Savidge described right at the top of this program, the Tigris River valley is clogged today with hardware and U.S. Marines. Convoys are moving virtually nonstop, though Rodgers points out, "it isn't any faster than the slowest truck in the unit." For insights now on how this drive is progressing, what may lie ahead, we turn to CNN's military desk in the CNN newsroom in Atlanta. Our Renay San Miguel is standing by with our military analyst, retired Major General Don Shepperd -- Renay.</s>RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Wolf, the coalition says it is indeed tightening the noose around Baghdad and the Republican Guard Division scattered around there. We've been talking about two key cities all morning, Karbala and Al Kut. We've got satellite imagery to show you from earthviewer.com and digitalglobe.com. I wanted to talk about the strategic importance of these two cities, starting with Karbala. Are we talking about an important river crossing here, better terrain for the armored vehicles to go to Baghdad?</s>GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Karbala is important not because it is anything of real strategic importance. It's where the Medina Division was deployed -- just north of. There are river crossing to the west of Karbala. Karbala itself is not on the river, so it's important.</s>SAN MIGUEL: And then al Kut, over here, the Baghdad division, supposedly gone now.</s>SHEPPERD: Same thing. The Baghdad division</s>SAN MIGUEL: OK. And so we've got the -- this is how the advance should look right now as they get closer and closer to Baghdad. And the two-pronged approach working there so far.</s>SHEPPERD: So far it's working very well. You have to be careful beating the brass. Things can get tougher as you get toward Baghdad. And always a danger of weapons of mass destruction, Renay.</s>SAN MIGUEL: Let's go to the map table right now and give some idea of what could be heading up here pretty soon. Give us an idea of the Republican Guard divisions that are now closer into Baghdad.</s>SHEPPERD: OK. First of all, this Republican Guard division, the Cross Rifles (ph) the Baghdad division, has reportedly been destroyed. The Marines now moving toward Baghdad on the west. Not much fighting encountered there. The Medina Division supposedly has been really weakened and perhaps retreating toward Baghdad. And the 3rd Infantry Division not meeting a lot of resistance there. So a lot of movement. What we have to worry about, the Hammurabi Armored; we still don't know much about that. Medina has been weakened. Up here in Tikrit, the Adnon (ph) Division, the Nebekanezer Infantry Division down here backing up these divisions. And you still have the Alnidah (ph) Armored over here to worry about. Lots of Republican Guard forces still left in the Baghdad area, Renay.</s>SAN MIGUEL: And they are all inside the so-called red line or red zone. So this is where the danger increases. One other quick question. We saw Martin Savidge talking about those supply lines and those traffic jams. How important is it to get all of that squared away in a hurry?</s>SHEPPERD: Well, there's only so much you can do to square it away. You've got thousands of vehicles moving north. They all have to be gassed, fixed. If one of them breaks down you have to rescue the personnel or fix it en route. It's a very complicated logistical problem. You are moving cities northward. And you have to stop and refuel, consolidate your supply lines behind them, just as we've seen in Nasiriya.</s>SAN MIGUEL: Only moving as fast as the slowest truck, is how I believe Martin Savidge put it.</s>SHEPPERD: Indeed.</s>SAN MIGUEL: General Shepperd, thank you so much for your time. We do appreciate the insight. Back over to you, Wolf. Division>