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From: Barry Stoller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [R-G] WWIII shaping up
AP; Reuters. 6 October 2001. Military Response to Attacks Evolve; 'Trap
Is Being Set' for Bin Laden. Combined reports.
WASHINGTON and LONDON -- Intelligence from Pakistan. Air strikes from
Oman or from aircraft carriers. Troops on the ground in Uzbekistan to
back up special forces operating inside Afghanistan. And perhaps a
command center inside Saudi Arabia.
Three weeks into America's declared war on terrorism, U.S. military
options are taking shape.
Questions remain, though.
As U.S. armed forces position themselves for a possible strike against
Osama bin Laden and Afghan rulers who harbor him, it remained unclear
what kind of action will be taken and when. Some worry about how the
Pentagon can plan war strategy in a region with potentially unstable,
untested and unenthusiastic allies.
The United States has maintained a large force in the Gulf region since
the 1991 war to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait, and it still uses
facilities in numerous places including Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab
Emirates, Turkey and Qatar.
On his first stop on a five-nation visit to the region, Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted Wednesday that Saudi officials are
worried a war on terrorism could create harmful "secondary effects" in
the Muslim world.
They have said publicly that American troops must not use bases inside
Saudi Arabia to launch attacks on other countries in the region,
including Afghanistan.
Privately, U.S. officials dismiss the dispute, saying Saudis are
cooperating, even if they are unwilling to publicize it.
"The Saudis have always been very cautious publicly, and very
accommodating privately," said Tony Cordesman, a Middle East expert at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Experts suggest the U.S. Air Force would be allowed to use a new command
center in Saudi Arabia to direct air operations and to refuel, even if
not to launch raids. Others say Saudi reluctance is slowing U.S.
military preparations.
Still others say it would be pointless to press for more from Riyadh,
and set the royal family up for domestic challenges, if another option
would work just as well.
That's where Oman comes in.
Oman's Sultan Qaboos has allowed the United States to preposition
military equipment and have emergency access to Omani bases since 1980.
The country could supply critical staging bases for operations inside
Afghanistan and has two airports that can give warplanes a straight shot
across the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea to Afghanistan while avoiding
Iranian airspace.
In addition to Oman, air operations could be run from other bases,
including the Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia, where the Pentagon
was sending Air Force B-52 bombers.
"Oman has become the obvious place for geographic reasons to fly out of
-- at least for combat missions," said Ivo H. Daalder of the Brookings
Institution.
"We don't need to be close" for air activity, he said.
For ground operations, however, troops do.
The focus for that has been on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, two former
Soviet republics bordering Afghanistan.
Uzbek's president gave permission Friday for U.S. warplanes and troops
to use an Uzbek air base and the U.S. Army sent 1,000 infantry soldiers
there. They will be on standby to come to the aid of any U.S. special
forces that might run into trouble operating inside Afghanistan.
The USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier also will be available in or near
the Arabian Sea as a floating base for other forces, defense officials
said.
A carrier normally has about 75 Navy planes on board, including fighters
for land attack. But the Kitty Hawk left her home base in Japan this
week without the usual number of aircraft.
Besides that, analysts noted, military plans are still evolving.
And in Paris, French Defense Minister Alain Richard said Thursday that
action was not likely for "several weeks." He said many issues remain to
be decided among nations participating in the U.S. anti-terrorism
campaign.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Saturday that plans
were in place for a military strike against Afghanistan's ruling
Taliban.
"Things are coming into place, although obviously the timing on any such
action is a matter we must discuss with our close allies," Blair told
reporters as he returned to Britain after a whirlwind tour to bolster
support from allies on the Afghan borders.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Barry Stoller
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
with continuing coverage of WWIII
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