US to attack Iraq by early December - report

The United States will launch a massive attack designed to kill Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by early December, a new report said.

Israeli military sources, quoted by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, said US military officials revealed the outline of their plans during briefings with Israeli and Jordanian officers.

One visiting US officer said US President George Bush has now resolved to kill Saddam, the Israeli military sources told Maariv.

The US assault will begin with a “massive attack from the air and from the sea,” the report said.

In briefing their Mideast counterparts, two US generals said the planned timetable calls for an attack lasting several weeks – and will not end until Saddam’s regime is knocked from power.

In preparation for the attack, senior US officers have been inspecting the condition of their ammunition and spare parts depots in Israel.

During one of the inspections, according to Maariv’s source, an American officer told the Israelis:

“President Bush has decided this time to kill Saddam Hussein, not like in the Gulf War, when his father did not succeed in doing it.”

The latest diplomatic report from the Israeli Embassy in Washington to the Foreign Ministry said the precise timing of the US attack has not been decided, sources told The New York Post.

It said George Bush’s administration will resolve the issue “during the next month”.

“One should expect President Bush will discuss this issue in his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 12,” it said.

Pentagon officials confirmed the Israeli military is getting regular briefings about US policy on Iraq.

“Obviously, we are consulting with our allies in the region, and Israel is certainly a major ally,” said one Pentagon official.

But officials refused to confirm the timetable mentioned in the Maariv report, insisting that final decisions on “the hows and whens” have not been made.

US military officials said that despite the ongoing debate about whether to strike Iraq, military planners are assuming that if an attack is ordered, it is likely to take place sometime after the November congressional elections and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends on December 3.

The timetable would also allow US forces to operate in cooler weather conditions in the Iraqi deserts.

Speculation about the timing of the anti-Saddam offensive has circulated in Israel for weeks, based on briefings from US officials.

This week, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres advised Israeli officers to “keep a low profile” on the issue and not go into detail when discussing it publicly.

Israel’s air force commander, Dan Halutz, was careful two weeks ago when he discussed the timing of the American assault.

“According to what we read and hear, the attack might take place between the end of this year and the beginning of next year,” he said.

In a recent briefing by American military officials, an Israeli officer asked if Israel will get an early warning of the attack’s start – and how it should react if attacked by Scud missiles, as happened in the 1991 Gulf War.

“Israel will be in the picture, will be updated and will get early warnings,” one US officer replied, according to Maariv.

“We will make an effort to see that Iraq will not attack Israel. We will try to get as soon as possible to their Scud launchers. I hope you will not need to react.”

But in the briefing, the Israelis were warned that US intelligence believes Saddam has hidden launchers capable of striking Israel – and that he has chemical warheads ready to fire.