Working at home this morning preparing for my evening HDC Finance & GP Committee and taking and making all manner of phone calls. The meeting went well, as I successfully highlighted the poor council service plans for next year.
The number of Israeli injured has risen with Scud attacks to just under 100 due to the collapse of a two-storey apartment building but the air war continues.
To bed a little late and then up a little early. The Israeli news was clearer this morning with the three dead confirmed as old women (one crushed and two from heart attacks) but the number of injured has risen to just under 100 due to the collapse of a two-storey apartment building. The war news is of border skirmishes between Iraqi and US troops on the Saudi border as both sides try the other out on reconnaissance sorties. The weather has cleared to a certain extent and the Allied air attacks and reconnaissance were resumed but this time the Tornados joined other fighter-bombers in attacking the targets from a safe height.
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Now that a week's war has been fought, the Allies express themselves satisfied but emphasise that there is very much more to do. They now claim air superiority and are concentrating on the mobile reserve Republican Guard force in Kuwait and their communications/supply lines from Iraq. This evening, there were more Scud attacks on both Israel and Saudi Arabia which frightened and disrupted their populations but were claimed as intercepted. Israel are still being prevailed upon not to retaliate but are also being deprived of IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) codes for their aircraft so that they could not join the battle without risk of being shot down by the Allied forces. The latest air losses are now given as 14 American, 5 British, one Italian Tornado and one each for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and the number of Iraqi war-planes lost is now given as 41 as a combined figure to include those destroyed in the air and on the ground.
Back home, I worked on my action list this morning until Mr Morbey of Offord came over and we discussed the provision of new television aerials for "The Hayling View" which should take place next Saturday. For the first time, we will have a satellite aerial and will be able to receive all of the extra channels. I worked on for the rest of the morning and afternoon on preparing for this evening's HDC Finance & GP Committee and also had several important telephone calls to action matters with respect to the forthcoming General Election Campaign, OnSite Training, accounting advice, Heronshaw re-building and Village Hall management. Quite a mixture! This evening, the council meeting went very well with us putting up a good job of opposing the poor council service plans for next year. Home to write up this day's journal and then scan the war news before retiring to bed.