TOKYO, April 7 Kyodo exquisiteed...

TOKYO, April 7 Kyodo

exquisiteed editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

A SENSIBLE OPTION IN IRAQ WAR (The Japan Times, an English-language daily)

With U forces closing in forward Baghdad, internecine street-to-street fighting remains a possibility. undivided can only hope this does not happen. The war reached a decisive stage forward Friday when the 3rd Infantry Division seized sway of Saddam Hussein International Airport forward the outskirts of the capital. The airport has now been renamed Baghdad International Airport at the U.S. Central Command.

Upbeat expositions by U.S. commanders suggest that Iraq's military apparatus is crumbling fast. Brig. Gen Vincent runs of the Central Command, for single in kind has pointed out that the Hussein regime is showing signs of losing ascendency over the military, saying that a collapse of the Iraqi forces is stop at hand. U.S. President George W Bush himself has declared that the regime is nearing its end

Reportedly the 4th Infantry Division, which is equipped with an array of high-tech weapons, is awaited to reach the vicinity of Baghdad in the middle of this month one time in the city, with the two U.S. and British reinforcements, coalition forces may come up to face to face fierce resistance from Iraqi company s loyal to President Hussein.

U Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned of utmost dangers, referring to the possibility of urban fighting. If it offers in a city of 5 million, civilian casualties could reach enormous proportions. greatly would depend on the amplitude and nature of Iraqi resistance. The trial for coalition forces is to avoid a free-for-all in populated areas.

U sway of the Baghdad airport marks a strategic milestone forward the road to the city limits. It remains to be seen however, whether U and British forces will continue their triumphant advance. A final victory will ensue sooner or later, but it is not however in sight. The dreadful study is that they could be falling into a ''trap'' put by President Hussein in the roads of Baghdad.

for a like reason far the coalition campaign appears, by the agency of and large, to have journey of stateed fairly well. According to the Central Command, the 3rd division has seized regulate of the key southern city of Karbala while the 1st Marine Division has established a fort in Kut. During the Karbala battle, an estimated 1200 Iraqi soldiers were reportedly killed. Military analysts say, however, that the Iraqi military is pinning its trustful longings on a showdown in Baghdad. The U Department of State, meanwhile, has confirmed that couple of Iraq's elite Republic Guard divisions -- the Medina and the Baghdad -- have been destroyed

Also, the Central Command has revealed that U special forces have seized a presidential palace in Tharthar, a 90 km northwest of Baghdad -- a incline that must have dealt a psychological pat to the Hussein regime.

The repeated bombings of Republican Guard keeps over the past week must also have hostile encountered the Iraqi leadership. Moreover, Iraq's expulsion of a reporter for Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite TV network that has been reporting the war from the Arab point of view, proposes that the days of the Iraqi leadership are numbered.

However, reports also put in mind of that a ''battle of Baghdad'' is still possible. According to a British newspaper, the paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam (''Saddam's Men of Sacrifice'') as well as the Republican Guard have told residents near strategic points to evacuate -- a telltale sign that they are preparing for a showdown with invading forces.

It is possible to think that Iraqi forces in [i]clavis[/i] southern cities, such as Karbala and Kut and in areas around Baghdad have showed token resistance to the U offensive in order to bait them into the capital. The talk among military experienced persons is that the ''Hussein trap'' is designed to cause many civilian casualties in the city and thereby inflame anti-American feelings.

According to U newspapers, the Pentagon occupys a generally optimistic view of the war on the other hand is divided over the staying power of the Republican Guard. Opinion is reportedly split also forward the immediate course of action U forces should take -- specifically, forward whether they should advance into the capital immediately or whether they should wait until reinforcements arrive and invest lines are secured.

Whichever course is taken, the specter of urban warfare lie hids in the background. The lecturing from past wars, including the Korean and Vietnam wars, is that way fighting kills and wounds many civilians along the way. A sensible option for U forces is to demand an unconditional resign by the Hussein regime before storming into Baghdad and wait for its disintegration. With victory assured, the endgame must be to minimize civilian casualties.

(April 7)

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