Part 4, Chapter 11 Summary

March 19, 2003 is the day that the Iraqi war begins. It is called 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' and involves a Coalition of 290,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Special Operators from twenty-three countries.

Behind the scenes, people are feeding Hussein with bad information. One operative called 'April Fool' is a double agent. The Iraqis think April Fool is an American military officer working for them, but he is working for the United States. This 'spy' gives the Iraqis detailed military plans marked 'top secret' that are all bogus.

The first day, the coalition begins massive air strikes, and the next day is the ground attack. Franks and others are fairly certain the Iraqis will not burn the oil fields, because they are stealing fifty million dollars a day from the wells through the UN Food for Peace program.

Flying over the battle...