thedrifter
03-18-03, 05:51 AM
Posted 3/16/2003 9:07 PM Updated 3/17/2003 9:02 AM
U.S., British forces are ready for invasion
By David J. Lynch and John Diamond, USA TODAY
U.S. military commanders say they are ready for orders to attack Iraq, but senior officers warn that the absence of a northern front will make the fight more costly in American, British and civilian lives.
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein vowed to carry the fight "anywhere in the world," if U.S. and British forces invade. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was time for journalists and international officials in Iraq to consider leaving.
Turkey has so far refused to permit 62,000 U.S. troops to use its territory for an attack on Iraq from the north. With President Bush prepared to issue an ultimatum to Iraq this week, there would be no time to move U.S. troops into position even if that permission were to come, so the Pentagon abandoned what one senior defense official called a "classic pincers movement" for a "strong thrust from the south."
Commanders of U.S. and British forces massed in Kuwait and afloat in the Persian Gulf said Sunday they are ready for orders to strike.
"I tell you this: I believe in my heart, it's just a few days away," said Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Conway spoke from the back of a seven-ton truck to several thousand Marines bearing M-16s and gas masks. Some wore vests bearing their name and blood type.
As a pair of AV-8B Harrier jump jets and four Cobra helicopter gunships roared overhead, Conway described a war with a specific and limited purpose.
"We're not here to destroy the country of Iraq. We're not even here to destroy the army of Iraq," Conway said. "We're here to take out those who would prevent us from removing the regime of Saddam Hussein and get rid of his weapons of mass destruction."
Marines expressed confidence and apprehension. "We worry, but we want to start and get it over with," said Cpl. Garry Huggins, 20, of New York City.
A senior U.S. military officer and a defense intelligence official, both speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Pentagon analysts agree that invading Iraq from Kuwait, without a second front to the north, would lead to more U.S., British and Iraqi civilian deaths. The military officer said there was "enormous military utility" to a northern front and that the absence of one would "significantly delay getting a sizable force into northern Iraq."
These conclusions echoed the arguments senior Bush administration officials have been making to Turkey for weeks, to no avail.
The two-front attack would be "much quicker, much less painful for everybody, including innocent civilians in Iraq," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said last month.
"Militarily the classic 'pincers movement' using Turkey in the north and Kuwait in the south led by a strong air campaign is the desired battle solution," the defense intelligence official said. "It creates the illusion of 'You're surrounded, hombre,' and really presents the image of ultimate and inevitable defeat."
A top Bush administration envoy was due in Ankara Monday seeking permission for U.S. combat aircraft to overfly Turkey en route to Iraq and for U.S. special forces to enter Iraq from Turkish territory. But another key item on the agenda was to ensure that Turkey does not send its forces, seen massing along its border with Iraq, into northern Iraq where they might clash with U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.
Turkey is concerned that Iraq's Kurdish population will seize oil fields in northern Iraq and establish an independent state, a move that could embolden Turkey's 12 million ethnic Kurds to intensify their drive for independence. A secondary reason for the Bush administration seeking an immediate military presence in northern Iraq is to prevent the U.S. invasion from sparking civil unrest and the breakup of the country into ethnic enclaves.
U.S. commanders predict a massed attack from the south would overwhelm inferior Iraqi forces. But free of concern of a northern front, Saddam would be able to position his forces and thwart the invasion route from Kuwait. A second senior U.S. military official, however, said the latest satellite intelligence and aerial reconnaissance indicates Saddam is dispersing his forces to protect them from air attack.
Aboard the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, a senior Navy commander said plans to coordinate U.S. and British airstrikes and troop movements into Iraq are complete.
"The bottom line is we are finished planning. We're ready today if required to execute the mission," Rear Adm. Barry Costello, commander of the USS Constellation Battle Group, said Sunday.
Contributing: Donna Leinwand in Ankara, Turkey; Cesar G. Soriano on the USS Constellation, Barbara Slavin in Washington.
Sempers,
Roger
U.S., British forces are ready for invasion
By David J. Lynch and John Diamond, USA TODAY
U.S. military commanders say they are ready for orders to attack Iraq, but senior officers warn that the absence of a northern front will make the fight more costly in American, British and civilian lives.
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein vowed to carry the fight "anywhere in the world," if U.S. and British forces invade. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was time for journalists and international officials in Iraq to consider leaving.
Turkey has so far refused to permit 62,000 U.S. troops to use its territory for an attack on Iraq from the north. With President Bush prepared to issue an ultimatum to Iraq this week, there would be no time to move U.S. troops into position even if that permission were to come, so the Pentagon abandoned what one senior defense official called a "classic pincers movement" for a "strong thrust from the south."
Commanders of U.S. and British forces massed in Kuwait and afloat in the Persian Gulf said Sunday they are ready for orders to strike.
"I tell you this: I believe in my heart, it's just a few days away," said Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Conway spoke from the back of a seven-ton truck to several thousand Marines bearing M-16s and gas masks. Some wore vests bearing their name and blood type.
As a pair of AV-8B Harrier jump jets and four Cobra helicopter gunships roared overhead, Conway described a war with a specific and limited purpose.
"We're not here to destroy the country of Iraq. We're not even here to destroy the army of Iraq," Conway said. "We're here to take out those who would prevent us from removing the regime of Saddam Hussein and get rid of his weapons of mass destruction."
Marines expressed confidence and apprehension. "We worry, but we want to start and get it over with," said Cpl. Garry Huggins, 20, of New York City.
A senior U.S. military officer and a defense intelligence official, both speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Pentagon analysts agree that invading Iraq from Kuwait, without a second front to the north, would lead to more U.S., British and Iraqi civilian deaths. The military officer said there was "enormous military utility" to a northern front and that the absence of one would "significantly delay getting a sizable force into northern Iraq."
These conclusions echoed the arguments senior Bush administration officials have been making to Turkey for weeks, to no avail.
The two-front attack would be "much quicker, much less painful for everybody, including innocent civilians in Iraq," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said last month.
"Militarily the classic 'pincers movement' using Turkey in the north and Kuwait in the south led by a strong air campaign is the desired battle solution," the defense intelligence official said. "It creates the illusion of 'You're surrounded, hombre,' and really presents the image of ultimate and inevitable defeat."
A top Bush administration envoy was due in Ankara Monday seeking permission for U.S. combat aircraft to overfly Turkey en route to Iraq and for U.S. special forces to enter Iraq from Turkish territory. But another key item on the agenda was to ensure that Turkey does not send its forces, seen massing along its border with Iraq, into northern Iraq where they might clash with U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.
Turkey is concerned that Iraq's Kurdish population will seize oil fields in northern Iraq and establish an independent state, a move that could embolden Turkey's 12 million ethnic Kurds to intensify their drive for independence. A secondary reason for the Bush administration seeking an immediate military presence in northern Iraq is to prevent the U.S. invasion from sparking civil unrest and the breakup of the country into ethnic enclaves.
U.S. commanders predict a massed attack from the south would overwhelm inferior Iraqi forces. But free of concern of a northern front, Saddam would be able to position his forces and thwart the invasion route from Kuwait. A second senior U.S. military official, however, said the latest satellite intelligence and aerial reconnaissance indicates Saddam is dispersing his forces to protect them from air attack.
Aboard the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, a senior Navy commander said plans to coordinate U.S. and British airstrikes and troop movements into Iraq are complete.
"The bottom line is we are finished planning. We're ready today if required to execute the mission," Rear Adm. Barry Costello, commander of the USS Constellation Battle Group, said Sunday.
Contributing: Donna Leinwand in Ankara, Turkey; Cesar G. Soriano on the USS Constellation, Barbara Slavin in Washington.
Sempers,
Roger