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| Axis of Evil |
| Plans to invade Iraq solidifying |
| 2002-07-26 |
| The Bush administration is moving forward aggressively with planning to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, laying the groundwork for a possible U.S.-led invasion early next year, according to senior U.S. officials and individuals involved in the planning. Under one scenario being discussed at the Pentagon, a force of 250,000 to 300,000 U.S. troops would invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam, backed by massive airstrikes. Turkey, Kuwait and Qatar have indicated they would allow their territory to be used for an attack. But some civilian aides to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are pushing for a quicker — and, critics say, riskier — thrust in an attempt to catch Saddam off guard. That strategy would involve roughly 80,000 troops and could be in place by this fall. "If it happened in October, I wouldn't be completely surprised," said one official involved in the planning. He and others spoke on condition of anonymity. Or it could be a completely indiginous operation, with an army recruited and trained by the Iraqi National Congress. Or it could be the same, only made up of Kurds. Or Turkomans. Or we could have a nightime paradrop of 25,000 troops at strategic locations throughout the country and in effect stage a coup d'etat using our own forces. Or we could hire the whole thing out to Senegal, cuz they could use the money. That's today's authoritative war plan wrapup from Rantburg. Tune in again tomorrow for more news you can rely on! |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 Just thought I'd make my contribution to the continuing blizzard of war plans for Iraq. Doesn't matter if they make any sense... |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-07-26 11:06:02 |