CIA, US elite force in Iraqi war mission

BOSTON - Elite United States forces have been secretly working inside Iraq for four months to lay the groundwork for a possible US invasion, says an American newspaper.

Around 100 US Special Forces and 50 CIA officers are searching for Scud missile launchers, monitoring oil fields, marking minefield sites and helping US pilots bomb Iraqi air defence systems, claims the Boston Globe, quoting intelligence officials.

It says the Americans are trying to identify potential leaders in Iraq to work with the Bush Administration in case of an invasion, similar to the tactics used in Afghanistan with the Northern Alliance.

Both London's Observer and the Russian Pravda have already claimed that US forces are operating inside the country, sometimes armed with millions of dollars to woo rival leaders away from President Saddam Hussein.

The Boston Globe, a respected American newspaper, said Jordanian, British and Australian commandos have at times joined the Americans.

But yesterday Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill denied that Australian special forces had been inside Iraq.

"Australians have not been operating in Iraq and any questions about whether we are doing covert work in other countries are hypothetical," Senator Hill said.

The Globe's report comes just weeks before United Nations arms inspectors are to submit the results of their search for any weapons of mass destruction that the Iraqi leader has allegedly been hiding.

Soon after the UN report is released on January 27, the Bush Administration is expected to decide whether any information in the report will prompt a US invasion, possibly aimed at toppling Saddam.

The Globe says some Special Forces members have been following suspicious movements around suspected weapons sites in Iraq. That information could be turned over to the inspectors.

"We're bombing practically every day as we patrol the no-fly zones, taking out air defence batteries, and there are all kinds of CIA and Special Forces operations going on," a former US special ops officer with contacts inside the operation told the paper.

"I would call it the beginning of a war."

An agent told the paper: "Just as we did prior to the Gulf War, they are getting as absolutely close to the urban areas as they can."

The Globe's report says US forces are operating with impunity in the north among the Kurdish minority, often dispensing cash to tribal leaders to oppose Saddam.

In other parts of Iraq, Special Forces members are operating in small teams mostly in areas populated by Shiite Muslims around Basra, in the south, where mistrust of the Baghdad Government is rife; in the western desert near the Jordanian border; and even close to Baghdad.

Many of the aerial strikes on radar sites by British and American planes guarding the no-fly zones have been directed by men on the ground using lasers.

US military and CIA officials have declined to make official comment on these activities.

- REUTERS

Herald feature: Iraq