Stage set for war as air patrols tripled

SETTING the stage for possible war, the US and Britain have nearly tripled the number of air patrols over southern Iraq’s no-fly zone, a senior defence official said.

The purpose: to keep Iraqi defenders off guard and mask the start of actual combat.

Three Iraqi civilians were killed when US and British warplanes bombed targets in a southern “no-fly” overnight, the Iraqi military said yesterday.

A military spokesman said in a statement the aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone hit civilian targets in the Anbar province, killing three. It said Iraqi forces fired at the planes before they returned to bases in Kuwait.

US Central Command said that a “target battle damage assessment” was being conducted. It said earlier yesterday that US and British warplanes had attacked an anti-aircraft missile system west of Baghdad.

Iraq said on Monday six civilians were killed and 15 wounded in a raid near Basra.

The increased air missions are an unmistakable sign that, while President George Bush has not yet announced an intention to go to war, the stage is being set for an invasion. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Mr Bush has discussed with congressional leaders a timetable for deciding on war, but he was not specific.

“The one timetable that the president identified that remains operative is when, on January 30, he said weeks, not months,” Mr Fleischer said.

In another sign that the start of war may be near, Central Command announced yesterday that US planes dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets overnight over southern Iraq. Among the messages: Do not use weapons of mass destruction, do not mine waterways and do not release oil into the Gulf. Those are among the desperation moves that the Pentagon fears Iraq may be planning.

In accordance with US military doctrine, General Tommy Franks, the commander of US forces in the Gulf, is now establishing an irregular pattern of flights over invasion routes in the south, making it more difficult for Iraqi air defenders to foresee a shift from air patrols to actual combat.

Several hundred sorties a day are now being flown over southern Iraq, including F-16 and other attack planes as well as surveillance, refuelling and other support aircraft, the official said. He did not reveal specific numbers.

The increase is meant to preserve an element of surprise for the start of a war, which is expected to unleash a barrage of bombs 10 times as great as in the opening days of the 1991 Gulf War.

The man who would command US army troops in war said yesterday(OK) there’s apprehension among the uniformed men and women already positioned in the Gulf region.

“There’s nobody in the military who wouldn’t have butterflies,” said Lieutenant General David McKiernan in Kuwait.

Asked how hard it is to keep troops prepared as they await a final decision from Washington, he said, “I think that’s a challenge over time. But what makes that challenge doable is leadership, o make sure that formations and individuals stay ready, stay proficient, stay trained. They will maintain that edge as long as it takes.”