Another night of bombing for Baghdad

BAGHDAD was pounded

The Pentagon unshackled the full might of US forces in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities in a “shock and awe” blitz designed to pulverise morale within the Iraqi government and incite rebellion in the ranks. Moments after apocalyptic scenes appeared in Baghdad, as blasts rent the Baghdad sky and fire streaked through government buildings and palaces, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted guided munitions were carefully targeted to preserve innocent life.

“The weapons that are being used today have a degree of precision that no one ever dreamt of in a prior conflict,” he said.

President Bush left for his idyllic retreat at Camp David soon after the bombing campaign got underway. Aides stressed however that he would hold meetings with senior national security advisers throughout the weekend. “We're making progress,” Bush said before he left.

“We will stay on task until we've achieved our objective, which is to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and free the Iraqi people to so they can live in a society that is hopeful, democratic and at peace in its neighbourhood.”

Secretary of State Colin Powell and Rumsfeld both said proxy contacts were underway with elements of the Iraqi government, but that no direct military-to-military contact had occurred.

“There are a number of channels open to Baghdad. There are a number of individuals and countries around the world who have been conveying the message to the Iraqi regime that it is now inevitable that there will be a change,” Colin Powell said.

The air attack on Baghdad triggered giant fireballs, deafening explosions and huge mushroom clouds over the city.

Huge plumes of smoke rose from Baghdad as bombs and missiles slammed into one of Saddam's palaces and other targets. Repeated explosions reddened the night sky and shook the ground in by far the biggest raid of the war so far. General Richard Myers, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said hundreds of targets would be hit in the next 24 hours. He also said US and British forces should secure oil fields in southern Iraq later last night and were accepting the surrender of several hundred Iraqi troops.

He said other Iraqi soldiers were just leaving their units and running away. RIraqi resistance so far had been sporadic. Iraqi ministers have vowed to “incinerate” the invaders and said Saddam was still alive. They ridiculed the claims of early US successes and predicted the allies would soon be bogged down.

“Baghdad will remain defiant and its walls will be an incinerator for the invaders,” said Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

British commandos seized oil depots on Iraq’s southern tip, but Iraqi troops pinned down US marines near pushing toward the port of Umm Qasr for two hours before British artillery blasted the defences open.