February ideal time for Iraq war - Pentagon planners

The Pentagon believes February will be the best time to launch a war against Iraq and expect defecting Iraqi units to help topple Saddam Hussein, it was reported today.

Planners will seek to design a force build-up that takes weeks, not the six months it took in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, the informative Washington Times said.

Troops would be more widely dispersed so as not to create large base camps that could be more easily targeted by Saddam’s mobile Scud missiles.

The military also is looking at ways to hit as many targets from the air as possible in the opening days of the campaign, Pentagon sources told the paper.

Commanders will depend on Tomahawk cruise missiles and B-2 bombers, committing 10 to 16 of the stealth aircraft, each of which can drop more than a dozen 2,000 pound satellite-guided bombs on different targets.

Once Iraq’s estimated 60 plus surface-to-air missile sites are destroyed, B-52s and B-1s would join the war, also dropping precision-guided weapons on critical command centres and Saddam’s known headquarters.

The bombers will fly from the United States, Britain’s Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia and the RAF base at Fairford, Gloucestershire, said the newspaper.

Senior defence officials told the Washington Times that much of the debate centres on the size of the US force - ranging from 75,000 to 250,000 soldiers.

“The generals always worry about risks to the troops,” said a senior defence official, explaining why uniformed officers want a large number of ground forces.

Two defence sources told the newspaper aid that February would be the most likely time to strike, with hostilities over by no later than April.

This would give United States and its allies optimum fighting weather before the oppressive heat of the Persian Gulf spring and summer sets in.

Officials said the timeline has not been approved and that Mr. Bush has not agreed to a plan.

In Iraq, America would rely on defectors and dissidents within Saddam’s army, two senior officials said.

“We know the names of every division commander,” a military officer said. “The Iraqi Army and the Iraqi people want to get rid of Saddam. What they need is us as an enabling force.”

Once cruise missiles and heavy bombers suppress Iraq’s air defences, tactical aircraft from land bases and Navy carriers would swoop in to hit military targets, such as the six-division Republican Guard.

The Persian Gulf states of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will allow US aircraft to launch.