Bush approves Iraq war plan, large force seen

2:00pm

WASHINGTON - President George W Bush has approved a war plan for Iraq to initially capture parts of the country for footholds to thrust in 200,000 or more troops, US officials said on Saturday.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, stressed the plan was flexible but that Bush had in recent weeks accepted Army Gen. Tommy Franks' advice that smaller numbers of troops could not capture and hold Iraq if invasion became necessary.

They confirmed a New York Times report in its Sunday edition that any attack ordered by Bush and led by Franks, head of the US Central Command, would begin with "a rolling start" of smaller numbers of troops while B-1 and B-2 bombers led an air campaign against Saddam's palaces, air defences and bases.

"Those are the right words -- a rolling start," said one of the officials. "I doubt you would see this all come at once."

The officials said any attack was unlikely until early next year unless Iraq refused to comply with Friday's unanimous UN resolution ordering Saddam to end any chemical, biological and nuclear programmes and give arms inspectors unfettered access to his country.

The officials refused to discuss precise details but said the air strikes would be spearheaded by the big bombers using (1,600 kg) satellite-guided bombs to destroy Saddam's power base. That precision campaign would likely be shorter than the long campaign ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.

While seeking to isolate Iraq's leadership in Baghdad and command centres around the country, air strikes would also try to spare civilian neighbourhoods, electric power and water supplies to Iraq's population.

At the same time, US Special Operations troops and Army and Marine Corps divisions would avoid getting bogged down in street-fighting in cities.

No orders have been given yet to begin moving large numbers of troops or to call up the more than 200,000 National Guard and Reserve troops needed to support any invasion and protect bases at home and abroad from possible "terrorist" reprisal. Some part-time military units have been put on alert, officials said.

Franks himself will lead a battle command headquarters element of more than 600 Central Command troops to Qatar for an exercise later this month.

"I don't think it's any secret that we hope for a collapse" of Saddam's regime and surrender of the military within weeks of any attack, said one official. "We've made it clear -- and will continue to do so -- that there is little profit for his military to stand up and fight."

The Times, in a front-page story, quoted Pentagon and military sources as saying the war plan was built on lessons learned in Afghanistan, where the military first seized a major outpost south of Kandahar to begin its successful assault on al Qaeda and the Taleban.

Pentagon and White House officials flatly refused to comment on the plan, although Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld himself has repeatedly stressed that the United States had no quarrel with the Iraqi people and would aim any attack at Saddam's core leadership.

"We don't comment on operational planning," said a White House official.

The UN resolution did not spell out any specific threat of military attack against Iraq and the US plan currently includes only American and British troops, although the Bush administration hopes to have other allies if Iraq violates the UN order.

Officials said unmanned spyplanes and Special Operations troops were likely to be an important element early in any campaign as the military moved to seek out chemical and biological stockpiles and destroy a small number of Iraqi Scud missiles left over from the Gulf War to prevent their launch against Israel or other Iraq neighbours.

In addition to Army and Marine Corps ground troops, a major force of aircraft carriers along with Air Force wings would be used in the attack, according to the Times.

Officials declined to say where dozens of additional warplanes sent to the region would be based, but they could be launched from Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey.

Heavy bombers would also be launched from Britain and a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

- REUTERS

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