Anyone remember IraqWar.ru ?

[TexasLawyer]

the website that offered--back in the early shock and awe days-- daily, very detailed blow-by-blow reports on the US attack on Iraq? I wonder if these reports are in any way associated with the recent "troubling discovery" by BushCo of Russian intelligence on US troop movements in the hands of Saddam? These reports appeared even at the time to be pretty inaccurate. Apparently the newly discovered intel was inaccurate as well.

Some or all of the IraqWar.ru reports are archived on another Russian site I found. Here is a sample of the detail provided in these reports.

The IRAQWAR.RU analytical center was created by a group of journalists and military experts from Russia to provide accurate and up-to-date news and analysis of the war against Iraq. The following is the English translation of the IRAQWAR.RU report based on the Russian military intelligence (the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU) reports.
< << previous | next >> >

April 2, 2003, 1335hrs MSK (GMT +4 DST), Moscow - Exceptionally difficult and unstable situation has developed on the US-Iraqi front by the morning of April 1. The coalition troops are persistently trying to take control of the strategic "triangle" Karabela - Al-Khindiya - Al-Iskanderiya. At the same time the coalition units are continuing their advance toward Al-Kut and An-nu-Manyah, but so far the US forces were unable to take any of these towns. To move forward the US units are forced to leave behind large numbers of troops needed to blockade the towns remaining under Iraqi control. The An-Najaf and An-Nasiriya garrisons are still involved in active combat deep behind the coalition forward lines.

The coalition command had to deploy two brigades from the 101st Airborne Division to blockade and to storm An-Najaf and An-Nasiriya. These two brigades will replace elements of the US 1st Marine Division (the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit under the command of Col. John Waldhauser) that has been fighting in this area for the past six days. These "heavy" attack brigades are currently being deployed to the area of intense fighting near Al-Hillah.

Rough estimates show that the territory "captured" by the coalition forces still contains at least 30,000 Iraqi regular troops and militia engaged in active combat. Military experts are already warning the US command about the danger of underestimating the enemy: doing so may seriously complicate the situation of the attacking forces and foil the coalition's very optimistic plans.

On the other hand, the Iraqi command is being forced to withdraw its troops under the protection of towns. Iraqis are also forced to minimize all active combat operations outside the city limits as the desert terrain maximizes the enemy's advantage in aviation and its technological superiority in reconnaissance and targeting systems. This robs the Iraqis of their mobility and forces them to resort to "fortress-like" type of warfare, which, clearly, is significantly reducing their combat effectiveness.

<snip>

http://www.aeronautics.ru/news/news002/iraqwar_ru_019.htm

[Kagemusha]

1. They can't be related.

The iraqwar.ru material was based on reports from the Russian embassy in Iraq to Moscow based on intercepts and intelligence obtained from and through Iraqi forces. So the information flow was in the exact opposite direction. Now, both could be termed as the ambassador running a loose ship or something like that, but that's an indirect relationship at best.

[Peace Patriot]

2. iraqwar.ru was a godsend in a very dark time, indeed. They not only

provided information on what was happening on the ground, in the buildup to the invasion and after the war started, they provided a wonderful news service, with links to articles from all over the world, all in one place--so you could grasp what the English were getting from the BBC, what the Chinese and Russians were getting of the news, protests in the US and other countries (huge, huge protests--millions of people worldwide), and how protests were being reported in various locations, reports on the UN weapons inspectors that we weren't getting here, early exposure of Bush's lies, and what people were thinking in Australia or South Africa or India or New Zealand. It was somewhat similar to what Google is doing now, only more focused on the Iraq war situation. It was an absolutely invaluable resource.

iraqwar.ru gave me my first hits on scoop.co.nz (an excellent New Zealand site--the one that broke the exit poll story on election night 2004), Asia Times (atimes.com), wonderful in-depth reporting on Asia and the U.S., the Guardian, Reuters, Agence France Presse, the South African press, and the International Herald Tribune (quite good). Also, the BBC. I might have found my way to these news sources on my own, eventually, but to have them all easily available in one place was a marvel. I was even able to contribute a few news articles from over here (something they'd missed).

And WHY NOT get the version of whatever story was current from, say, an Asian or African perspective, or see how different countries' newspapers treated an AP story? It was a revelation. And it very much helped me to evaluate our war profiteering corporate news monopolies. Boy, do we have a problem with THEM! It's not just the relentless, pervasive and coordinated lies and deceit and warmongering--it's the whole delusionary world they create around the Bush junta, and the false representation of American public opinion and the American people. We are living in "The Matrix." iraqwar.ru helped me to see out of this delusionary BushWorld. I was never quite sure what exactly the deeper purposes of iraqwar.ru might have been. I recall they got into some difficulties with Russian authorities (unidentified). But they certainly fulfilled their stated purpose of providing as much information as they could on the Iraq war and on world opinion, from a wide variety of sources. They were truly a global news network--the first of its kind, I think.

My hats off to them! I was so sorry when they were unable to continue.

To iraqwar.ru, wherever you are: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. I don't know what iraqwar.ru was really based on.

But it certainly wasn't reality. They ended up being completely off the mark about 90% of the time.