Russia Military See U.S. Iraq Attack in Feb -Report
Wed Jan 22, 4:36 AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's armed forces have obtained information that the
United States and its allies have already decided to launch military action
in Iraq from mid-February, news agency Interfax said on Wednesday.
The agency's specialist military news wire AVN, quoting an unnamed
high-ranking source in the Russian general staff, said U.S.-led operations
would be launched once an attacking force of 150,000 had been assembled in
the Gulf.
"According to the information we have, the operation is planned for the
second half of February. The decision to launch it has been taken but not
yet been made public," the source told the agency, which has generally
authoritative contacts in the Russian military and political establishment.
The source added that the main aim of the war would be to secure control of
Iraqi oilfields.
It was not indicated by what means the Russian military had obtained such
information -- it was not clear if it had been acquired covertly by Russian
intelligence services or by a direct tip-off from Washington, which would
be keen to avoid any misunderstandings with Moscow if it does launch a war.
The United States says it is building up a force estimated to reach more
than 150,000 by the end of next month. Britain is sending a further 30,000
troops. No other allies have come forward with significant military
commitments so far and some, notably France, Germany and Russia are against
rapid action.
"The military operation against Iraq will be conducted by a combination of
means -- strikes will be from the air, land and sea. The war will be short,
lasting about one month," the Russian source was quoted as saying.
The source added that the main aim of the operation was not so much to
topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) but to secure U.S.
control over Iraqi oilfields.
"Hussein is the pretext. The real aim of the military action is control
over Iraqi oil," he said.
Russia, together with France which is also a permanent member of the U.N.
Security Council, are cautioning against U.S action in Iraq now while U.N.
arms inspectors are continuing to search for evidence of weapons of mass
destruction there.
Russia has a major commercial interest in Iraqi oil and has made clear its
eagerness to exploit Iraq's huge reserves once U.N. sanctions on Saddam are
lifted.
This is another reason why the global mobilization against war on February
15 is critical. Here are the convergences with Web sites:
Amsterdam http://www.wereldcrisis.nl/article.php?sid=379
Athens http://www.stop-the-war.org
Berlin http://www.15februar.de
Berne http://www.gssa.ch/antiguerre
Brussels http://www.geenoorlog.be
Copenhagen http://www.nejtilkrig.dk
Dublin http://www.irishantiwar.org
Helsinki http://members.surfeu.fi/ewk/eiiskuairakiin
Instanbul http://www.iraktasavasahayir.org
London http://www.stopwar.org.uk
New York http://www.unitedforpeace.org
Oslo http://www.ingenkrig.no
Rome http://www.forisociali.org
Stockholm http://www.stoppakriget.tk
Warsaw http://www.stopwojnie.w.pl
New Zealand http://www.converge.org.nz/pma
Convergences are also planned in Antwerp, Bangkok, Barcelona, Belfast,
Cairo, Glasgow, Manila, Paris, Ramallah, Skopje, Tallinn, Tokyo, Vienna,
and other major cities throughout the world. A complete list should be
available after the World Social Forum.
Start planning now! Not only will this probably be out last opportunity to
end this war before it escalates, it may also be the single largest day of
coordinated global protest in history.
Nightwalker writes on Wednesday January 22 2003 @ 03:27PM PST: [ reply |
parent ]
Outreach materials for the American mobilization in New York City:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ufp_com/files
Charles writes on Wednesday January 22 2003 @ 02:23PM PST: [ reply | parent ]
Can we get a link to another source?
Nightwalker writes on Wednesday January 22 2003 @ 02:28PM PST: [ reply |
parent ]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2086229
bunny writes on Wednesday January 22 2003 @ 02:41PM PST: [ reply | parent ]
maybe we should organize an international call-in sick day on the 14th
along with the protests on the 15th?
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=03/01/22/1016318
