Commanders rally troops on brink of war
By William Branigin
Washington Post
ASSEMBLY AREA SPARTAN, Kuwait — Commanders of the 3rd Infantry Division stood before their troops in the Kuwaiti desert yesterday and imparted final words of resolve and caution before sending them to lead an anticipated U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Associated Press
Col. David Perkins, commander of the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, told soldiers that President Bush "has given Saddam Hussein and his regime 48 hours to get out of town or face military action. We are that military action."
U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division walk past a Black Hawk helicopter at Camp New Jersey in the Kuwaiti desert. The 101st Airborne and other U.S. combat units deployed in the Middle East are making final preparations for war against Iraq.
At Company B, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, Capt. Ronnie Johnson, 37, of Dallas, put the message in less polished terms for infantry soldiers, armored vehicle crews and other troops as he spoke of his personal outrage over Sept. 11, 2001.
"This is going to be the biggest statement to the world that you are never going to (expletive) with America like that again," he said. "Take care of yourself, take care of your brother. Don't leave your honor in Iraq. Do what's right. Do what millions of American soldiers have done before you. Do the right thing. ... What we do in life echoes in eternity. God be with you all."
Troops in Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment placed big tents on cargo trucks and loaded their ammunition and personal combat gear on their Bradley fighting vehicles.
"I'm kind of excited, wanting to see if we go north; the faster we do, the faster we go home," said Spc. Servando Diaz of San Jose, Calif.
Shortly after he spoke, the 20,000-strong Army division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., left their camp in northern Kuwait and set off in a miles-long column of M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, and artillery and support vehicles to a location that commanders said could not be disclosed. Later, as a full moon rose over the stark, sandy landscape, the forces stopped to await further orders.
The commanders' speeches aimed to define the meaning of the conflict for troops on the verge of combat, and to remind soldiers how to conduct themselves in territory where they will confront mortal hazards and moral dilemmas.
Perkins and other commanders stressed the need to avoid civilian casualties and to give Iraqi soldiers a chance to surrender. But they also ordered soldiers to be especially wary when venturing through civilian areas and to look out for one another. They sought to tie Saddam to the threat of further terrorist attacks against the United States and said they expected many Iraqis to welcome his ouster.
Speaking to brigade leaders a few hours after Bush's Monday night speech, Perkins said: "Peace is not just the absence of people pulling a trigger. Peace is the absence of the threat of war."
Associated Press
Invoking the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he said, "The country will not be at peace, the world will not be at peace, until we can eradicate the threat of a new world enemy: international terrorism."
Troops from the Army's Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, tear down their camp in the desert of western Kuwait before pulling out for an undisclosed location, likely closer to the Iraq border.
Terrorists depend on state sponsors, Perkins said, "and right to the north of us is a huge state sponsor."
He urged lower commanders to explain the purpose of the war to troops in those terms and contended that, in the end, they'll have international support. "You and your soldiers are doing the heavy lifting ... and are going to rid the world of a major, major problem.
"We are going to relieve Iraq of a dictator," Perkins said. While there may still be doubts about U.S. resolve in Saddam's mind, he said, those will be answered by "footsteps outside his doorstep."
Lt. Col. Stephen Twitty, the 3rd Battalion commander, told his 900-man task force, "Guys, you're going to war." The soldiers responded with a roar of "Hooah!"
Twitty cautioned troops to avoid harming civilians and allow Iraqi soldiers to surrender honorably.
USA Today
"The Iraqi people are good people," he said. "They've just been put in a bad situation."
Soldiers cleaned their weapons atop an M1A1 Abrams tank as troops began massing in northern Kuwait yesterday.
In their speeches, the officers sought to reassure soldiers who might have doubts about the mission in view of international opposition to a U.S. attack, with prominent U.S. allies among the critics.
"I don't want you to worry about why we're here," said Capt. Anthony Butler, commander of the battalion's headquarters company. "It doesn't matter. When we go north, we are the good guys. We are the cavalry."
Many soldiers see their way home as going through Iraq and are eager to take the first step.
"It's all we've been waiting for," said Sgt. Joseph Conley, a Bradley gunner from Kentucky. "Do this thing and get to the house."
But he said he did not see the connection between Saddam and the Sept. 11 attacks that commanders invoked as a motivational tool. "I don't look at him as having anything to do with that," Conley said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
