According to Stratfor.com, a usually reliable resource:
At 1808 GMT (1:08 p.m. EST, 9:08 p.m. Baghdad) B-52 bombers were reported taking off from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. Flying time to Iraq is about six hours. Earlier today, they were reportedly loaded with cruise missiles. The British press has also reported that skirmishing has commenced between Iraqi troops and U.S. and British special operations forces near Basra. Coalition aircraft also have attacked 10 Iraqi artillery pieces in the southern no-fly zone, and Israelis have been ordered to open and fit their gas masks, keeping them nearby at all times.
War has not yet commenced, but this is a war alert. More information will be forthcoming as it is available.
God help us all, especially our troops and the Iraqi people.
Update: The Pentagon says the bombers were not on a combat mission, but moving to forwad staging areas. I tend to believe it. I don’t think full-scale combat will start until Friday at the earliest, especially since the 101st Airborne is still unloading some of its equipment off of ships.
