Fisk:
“Most of these cruise missiles that we hear exploding at night are bursting into government buildings, ministries, offices and barracks that have long ago been abandoned. There’s nobody inside them; they are empty. I’ve watched ministries take all their computers out, trays- even the pictures from the walls. That is the degree to which these buildings are empty; they are shells.”
From this report, other than the fabled bunker-busting bombs, air attacks on Baghdad are presumably largely useless, other than as a frightener. Be sure that the Special Republican Guard is spread throughout the city and most likely under the shelter of schools and hospitals. I’m no expert, but it seems that no matter what the risks of casualties to the coalition forces, storming Baghdad is and always has been, unfortunately, necessary. The other option, siege, would surely be a disaster. One can only hope that the reported uprising in Basra is significant and reflected elsewhere.