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Allies prepare opinion for heavy loss of life By Mark Nicholson in Doha and Mark Odell in London Published: March 15 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: March 15 2003 4:00 British and American mili-tary commanders in the Gulf insisted yesterday that Saddam Hussein could not hide his elite forces inside Baghdad with impunity, saying they would target military units with "precision" while seeking to minimise civilian deaths. The warning to the Baghdad regime will be seen as preparation of world public opinion for potential heavy loss of life among the Iraqi population in the event of US and British troops having to fight house-to-house in urban areas. Commanders said there was evidence that Mr Hussein was grouping his most loyal Republican Guard units within the Iraqi capital, where they were digging-in in civilian areas. The strategy raises the spectre, long feared by military experts, that the Iraqi leader was aiming to pull coalition forces into bloody street-fighting in Baghdad. "We know from the deployments of the Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard, that's obviously the kind of thing he's got in mind," said Air Marshal Brian Burridge, commander of the British forces assembled in the Gulf. Air Marshal Burridge said British troops were prepared for street fighting, if the war came to that. "We plan for every eventuality, and we can see that we've had to plan for some nose-to-nose stuff." He indicated that military planners were targeting Baghdad for air strikes. The commander suggested that the "onerous" job of target planning for an air war was essentially complete and insisted that minimising civilian deaths was "at the very heart of our targeting process". But in a clear warning to Mr Hussein, he added: "We don't want to give the impression that he can move his armour around and put it in places where he thinks we wouldn't strike." Air Marshall Burridge's words echoed those of General Tommy Franks, the US commander in overall charge of the forces lined up against Iraq. The two spent three hours together yesterday finalising the "granular detail" of a battle plan against Iraq. Gen Franks told ABC News: "The one who holds the key to civilian casualties . . inside Iraq is Saddam Hussein. We continue to see examples of the placement of military command and control, and military weapons, close to hospitals and close to schools and close to mosques and that sort of thing." He said that targets where civilian lives were at risk were not "off-limits" but "one takes a very careful look at that and balances cost and reward." Air Marshall Burridge confirmed concerns among commanders that Iraq might choose to launch a pre-emptive strike if war seemed inevitable and that coalition forces might have to go into action in self-defence before a political decision to invade was given. He described the Iraqi leader as a "very, very dangerous man - so, in good military style, we plan for every eventuality". Unconfirmed reports suggest Iraqi artillery pieces have been moved within range of US and British forces in Kuwait and that there was signs of Scud missile activity in the western desert that could threaten Israel. The air marshal did not deny reports that US and British jets had stepped up bombing attacks on targets in the southern Iraqi no-fly zone in the past few days. Related stories Short appears encouraged amid fresh diplomatic manoeuvres Mar 15 2003 04:00 The faithful leader of a rebellious country Mar 15 2003 04:00 Emergency summit to consider final options Mar 15 2003 04:00 Summit to consider final options on Iraq Mar 14 2003 23:11 Chile in call for extended deadline Mar 14 2003 23:05 BA warns of 'war effect' on air traffic Mar 14 2003 21:12 Eddington lays out his survival strategy Mar 14 2003 21:07 The Arab street keeps its protest muted Mar 14 2003 20:26 Editorial comment: The storms beyond the Azores Mar 14 2003 20:25 The faithful leader of a rebellious country Mar 14 2003 20:25 = requires subscription to FT.com Find this article at: http://news.ft.com/s01/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/ FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1045511656838&p=1012571727085 EMAIL THIS | Close Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. Forwarded for your information. 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