The Command Post - Iraq - Jordan-Baghdad Road Closed

April 11, 2003

Jordan-Baghdad Road Closed

"Caution : Bandits, Ba'athists and SAS ahead" would be the sign, if there was one.

MARK WILLACY: Basically we had a Jordanian soldier who told us to simply turn around and go back. The Jordanians had sealed the border, they said that the Iraqis had sealed their border so there was no use us trying to cross.
We later found out that the Iraqi border officials have eventually fled. They've been there throughout the whole time of this war but they finally decided to flee and we understand that bandits have set up shop at the border crossing and are monitoring all traffic going into Iraq.
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MARK WILLACY: ... we've heard a lot about the Australian SAS and the Americans manning checkpoints along that main highway from Jordan into Baghdad but we've also been told by drivers that there are a number of Ba'ath Party checkpoints still operating along that road. As well there are opposition, Iraqi opposition checkpoints operating.
So you've got a situation where you're going through a number of checkpoints along this road. You don't know whether they're Ba'ath Party checkpoints, Iraqi opposition checkpoints or in fact Coalition forces checkpoints, which could be manned by Australian SAS.
LINDA MOTTRAM: Our Correspondent Mark Willacy on the Iraq Jordan border.

Part of a Transcript from the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)'s AM radio programme.

Posted By Alan E Brain at April 11, 2003 10:15 AM | TrackBack

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Damnit, can't they at least let the Jihad Lemmings in? We can kill them all on the way to Baghdad and use their busses to get the Iraqi troops leaving Mosul home.

Posted by: Cowboy Bob at April 11, 2003 10:43 AM