Bush Has Received Pentagon Options on Attacking Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]

[Miroslav Antic]

Title: Message

HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------   The train is leaving the station:    http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/21/international/middleeast/21PLAN.html?todaysheadlines   http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,765353,00.html   http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2032076,00.html   http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,792281,00.html   Five options for ousting Saddam Tuesday July 30, 2002 The Guardian 1 The coup President Bush has ordered the CIA to pursue the "dirty tricks" route to getting rid of Saddam, of which the most plausible is fomenting a coup within the dictator's inner circle. But the last significant CIA-inspired coup attempt, in 1996, was a bloody disaster. The plot was compromised from the start by Iraqi government infiltrators and untold numbers of plotters and hapless suspects were executed. Even the CIA director, George Tenet, reckons a coup has only a 15% chance of success. 2 The Afghan model Let Iraqi opposition groups do the fighting with heavy US air support and a few thousand special forces troops on the ground. This was the plan promoted by General Wayne Downing, Mr. Bush's counter-terrorism adviser, but it has fallen out of favor in Washington due to misgivings over the unity and military strength of the rebels. Mr. Downing himself has since resigned. 3 The Gulf war option Using up to 250,000 troops supported by devastating air power and technology that is far more sophisticated and deadly than Gulf war-era equipment. The attack would be mounted from Kuwait and Qatar, but would also need access to Iraq's long land borders with Jordan or Saudi Arabia. No one doubts that the Iraqi army would crumble in the face of the onslaught, but such a large force would take months to amass and would make an easy target for a chemical or biological weapon. 4 The surprise attack This would use between 50,000 and 80,000 troops which could be moved into the region gradually and surreptitiously, under guise of exercises and troop rotations. It would advance speedily towards Baghdad, seizing cities in the south that would become bases for an internal revolt. That revolt would theoretically trigger a nationwide army mutiny. But it could still give Saddam time to unleash weapons of mass destruction in a last desperate throw of the dice. 5 The inside-out attack Strike at Baghdad and Iraq's other command centers first to "decapitate" Saddam's forces and minimize the possibility of a biological or chemical response against US forces or Israel. A high-risk strategy that would expose US troops to fierce street fighting against Saddam's best troops. Special reports Iraq Guardian Unlimited Politics: Britain and Iraq Israel & the Middle East George Bush's America --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================

Bush Has Received Pentagon Options on Attacking Iraq.url
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