--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This boa, the American columns, are being…" description: "\"This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra. The Americans are the people who..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b95/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf-3653_baghdad_this-boa-the-american-columns-are-being_3038155.jpg" --- # This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between… ![“This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra. The Americans are the people who are under siege.” quote by Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b95/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf-3653_baghdad_this-boa-the-american-columns-are-being_3038155.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b95/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf-3653_baghdad_this-boa-the-american-columns-are-being_3038155.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b95/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf-3653_baghdad_this-boa-the-american-columns-are-being_3038155.jpg) > “This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra. The Americans are the people who are under siege.” [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes American forces as besieged in multiple directions around Basra. **In simple terms:** U.S. troops face encirclement in Iraq. Key Takeaway Recognize complex battlefield dynamics. Themes war geopolitics conflict Mood grave analytical Type political military When to use this quote - military analysis - journalism - policy making Key Concepts siege tactics regional instability Questions to Reflect On - What are the implications for local civilians? - How does siege affect morale? A Different Perspective May oversimplify enemy capabilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baghdad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baghdad/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Siege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siege/) [Under siege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/under-siege/) ## Related quotes > [This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra… Now even the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/this-boa-the-american-columns-are-being-besieged-between-basra-and/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [People under siege turn to us in complete frustration and I get a chance to go in when it's do or die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sliwa/people-under-siege-turn-to-us-in-complete-frustration-and-i-get-a/) [Curtis Sliwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sliwa/) > ['Basra' is high on content, but a good dose of action sequences will make it edgy and pretty dark as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhay-deol/basra-is-high-on-content-but-a-good-dose-of-action-sequences-will/) [Abhay Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhay-deol/) > [How can you lay siege to a whole country? Who is really under siege now? Baghdad cannot be besieged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/how-can-you-lay-siege-to-a-whole-country-who-is-really-under-siege/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [childhood was not a time in a person's life, but a country, a country under siege, from which certain individuals were taken too soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-green/childhood-was-not-a-time-in-a-person-s-life-but-a-country-a-country/) [Kate Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-green/) > [I cannot imagine a worse job than being president of these Untied States in these most trying of times. President Barack Obama has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-broderick/i-cannot-imagine-a-worse-job-than-being-president-of-these-untied/) [Beth Broderick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-broderick/) > [Exactly when people are in turmoil is the time that the entertainment business has always been at its best. Because people don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-richie/exactly-when-people-are-in-turmoil-is-the-time-that-the-entertainment/) [Lionel Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-richie/) > [The Mexico - United States border was always porous. People have been going and coming back since before the Spaniards arrived. Now we're seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/the-mexico-united-states-border-was-always-porous-people-have-been/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Energy is under siege by the Obama administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/energy-is-under-siege-by-the-obama-administration/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I had in mind going worse than waterboarding. It's enough. We have right now a country that's under siege. It's under siege from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-had-in-mind-going-worse-than-waterboarding-it-s-enough-we-have/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [To be under occupation, to be under siege, is not a good inspiration for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-darwish/to-be-under-occupation-to-be-under-siege-is-not-a-good-inspiration/) [Mahmoud Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-darwish/) > [Energy is under siege by the Obama administration, under absolute siege. The EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, is killing these energy companies, and foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/energy-is-under-siege-by-the-obama-administration-under-absolute/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Cultural America is under siege. And as the Soviet experience illustrates, ideology is a weak glue to hold together people otherwise lacking racial, ethnic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/cultural-america-is-under-siege-and-as-the-soviet-experience/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Violence has to end. And Israelis have a bright to defend themselves against any violence that is attacking innocent people with a knife in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/violence-has-to-end-and-israelis-have-a-bright-to-defend-themselves/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [We don't have a state, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. Gaza is under siege and the West Bank is occupied. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/we-don-t-have-a-state-neither-in-gaza-nor-in-the-west-bank-gaza-is/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) ## More by Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf > [These mercenaries, I swear by God, those who are still in Washington, they have sent their troops to be burned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/these-mercenaries-i-swear-by-god-those-who-are-still-in-washington/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-authority-of-the-civil-defense-issued-a-warning-to-the-civilian/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The midget, Bush, and that Rumsfeld deserve only to be beaten with shoes by freedom loving people everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-midget-bush-and-that-rumsfeld-deserve-only-to-be-beaten-with/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Search for the truth. I tell you things and I always ask you to verify what I say. I told you yesterday that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/search-for-the-truth-i-tell-you-things-and-i-always-ask-you-to-verify/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Their casualties and bodies are many. Their equipment and vehicles, several were destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/their-casualties-and-bodies-are-many-their-equipment-and-vehicles/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The Iraqi troops and the Iraqi fighters are in control of all the places, as we have witnessed, no big change in that. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-iraqi-troops-and-the-iraqi-fighters-are-in-control-of-all-the/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [We will get them stuck in the mud and we will certainly defeat them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-will-get-them-stuck-in-the-mud-and-we-will-certainly-defeat-them/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks. They will surrender, it is they who will surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/they-are-going-to-surrender-or-be-burned-in-their-tanks-they-will/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-re-giving-them-a-real-lesson-today-heavy-doesn-t-accurately/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Those who ran away are now outside the distant perimeter wall of the airport. Now they're outside the wall and the heroic Republican Guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/those-who-ran-away-are-now-outside-the-distant-perimeter-wall-of-the/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [We are determined to defeat them and destroy them on the walls of our capital, as we are determined to destroy their miserable armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-are-determined-to-defeat-them-and-destroy-them-on-the-walls-of-our/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Our initial assessment is that they will all die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/our-initial-assessment-is-that-they-will-all-die/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Saddam Hussein's soldiers and his great forces gave the Americans a lesson which will not be forgotten by history. Truly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/saddam-hussein-s-soldiers-and-his-great-forces-gave-the-americans-a/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The time is not yet ripe to say what happened. When history's ready, then we can talk about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-time-is-not-yet-ripe-to-say-what-happened-when-history-s-ready/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The information was correct, but the interpretation was not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-information-was-correct-but-the-interpretation-was-not/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) [Explore all 125 Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) ## More Baghdad quotes > [“I know a feeling like that only comes once in a lifetime, and I think you should follow your heart’s desires. I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-ardalan/i-know-a-feeling-like-that-only-comes-once-in-a-lifetime-and-i-think/) [Ahmad Ardalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-ardalan/) > [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/) [Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/) > [Almost immediately, I remember right when Tikrit even fell, a few days after Baghdad fell, there was talks of insurgency, there was talks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farnaz-fassihi/almost-immediately-i-remember-right-when-tikrit-even-fell-a-few-days/) Farnaz Fassihi > [What is at stake is how to answer the potential threat Iraq represents with the risk of proliferation of WMD. Baghdad's regime did use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-chirac/what-is-at-stake-is-how-to-answer-the-potential-threat-iraq/) [Jacques Chirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-chirac/) > [Our military superiority is so great - it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/our-military-superiority-is-so-great-it-s-far-greater-than-it-was-in/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-authority-of-the-civil-defense-issued-a-warning-to-the-civilian/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The mission statement was ordered, and it sent the 800th MP Brigade, effective the first of July, up to Baghdad. I joined my brigade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/the-mission-statement-was-ordered-and-it-sent-the-800th-mp-brigade/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [The senior officer who met with reporters in Baghdad said there had been 21 car bombings in the capital in May, and 126 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-lowry/the-senior-officer-who-met-with-reporters-in-baghdad-said-there-had/) [Rich Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-lowry/) > [There are people who haven't faced the reality of what has gone on in Iraq. They still think that the old central state is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-w-galbraith/there-are-people-who-haven-t-faced-the-reality-of-what-has-gone-on-in/) Peter W. Galbraith > [If the U.N. secretary-general withdraws the inspectors from Baghdad ... this means that the secretary-general has abandoned its own responsibility in maintaining peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naji-sabri/if-the-u-n-secretary-general-withdraws-the-inspectors-from-baghdad/) [Naji Sabri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naji-sabri/) > [I think that were I in the middle of an obsession to write about, say, sudden oak death in California or my grandchildren or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-were-i-in-the-middle-of-an-obsession-to-write-about-say/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks. They will surrender, it is they who will surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/they-are-going-to-surrender-or-be-burned-in-their-tanks-they-will/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I firmly believed we should not march into Baghdad ...To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/i-firmly-believed-we-should-not-march-into-baghdad-to-occupy-iraq/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-re-giving-them-a-real-lesson-today-heavy-doesn-t-accurately/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I think that we live in a remarkably networked world. The problem with that, of course, is that tensions can travel in nanoseconds across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/i-think-that-we-live-in-a-remarkably-networked-world-the-problem-with/) [Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/) [Browse all 191 Baghdad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baghdad/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra. 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