The Battle For Baghdad

NYTimes -- The decision to strike on Tuesday may have been influenced by a spy tip. The National Security Agency, the government's eavesdropping and code-breaking organization, intercepted communications between Baghdad and the Iraqi Republican Guard divisions south of the capital ordering the divisions to pull back from their forward positions and move closer to the capital, according to American intelligence officials.

But American officials said that United States forces were able to move and close in on the Iraqi divisions before they pulled back, catching them away from defensive positions closer to Baghdad. "We were able to get inside their decision," an official familiar with the intelligence said.

Allied commanders describe a chaotic scene on the battlefield with the Iraqis trying to muster fighting units using troops from different divisions. "The elements of the divisions are mixed up with each other," said Air Commodore Chris Nickols, a British officer who is one of the directors of the Combined Air Operations Center.