US delays attack on Iraq until after November
US officials have ruled out a sudden October invasion aimed at ousting Saddam Hussein to allow Congress to debate the plans.
The Pentagon had earlier estimated that it would not be ready to take on Iraq’s 375,000-man army until early next year.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden, who is close to senior Bush administration officials, said no Iraqi invasion is imminent.
“There’s not likely to be anything before November, and I think they’re trying to get their act together on what to do afterwards,” he told USA Today.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned earlier this week that air power alone would not be enough to destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
He said Hussein now has mobile biological weapons laboratories and weapons sites buried underground that would be extremely difficult to bomb.
US President George Bush has made clear his desire to remove the Iraqi dictator by military force if necessary, but has said there is currently no clear plan in place.
American military documents revealed last month outlined proposals for an invasion that included tens of thousands of troops in a massive land, air and naval force attack.
Other blueprints leaked to the press include a sudden attack without the lengthy build-up that preceded the 1991 Gulf War, or using small commando units to quickly sever Hussein’s control over chemical and biological weapons.
Senate hearings on Iraq began yesterday, with experts on Iraq from outside the Bush administration testifying before the Foreign Relations Committee. The White House has said it will not send aides to testify until late August.
