| Key war planners ordered to Gulf The Scotsman 01/08/03: Tim Cornwell Original Link: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=22722003 KEY battle planners who would co-ordinate a land, sea and air attack on Iraq have been ordered to the Gulf in a move that gives the United States president, George Bush, the freedom to declare war at short notice. The command post at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar is being readied as thousands more US and British troops head for the region. Officials said it was not an exercise. Jim Wilkinson, director of strategic communications at US central command, confirmed the decision to send the battle planners, but he declined to provide details on when they would arrive or in what numbers. "Central command continues to cycle personnel into and out of the region," Mr Wilkinson said. "We refuse to discuss deployments in advance. However, you can expect to see continuing deployments to Qatar and elsewhere in support of ongoing diplomatic activities." Last month the commander of US central command, General Tommy Franks, oversaw a massive computer-based exercise at As Sayliyah that many viewed as a test for real action to come. Franks said the exercise verified technologies that would enable him to co-ordinate with air, ground and naval commanders in the region. The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said yesterday that US troop build-ups in the Gulf would continue and said there were few signs that Saddam Hussein’s regime would co-operate and disarm peacefully. "What they’ve been doing has been fairly consistent, and I would characterise it as not being forthcoming or particularly co-operative," Mr Rumsfeld said. In a further sign of preparations for war, defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, yesterday announced the call up of 1,500 reserve soldiers and ordered a task force of ships and 3,000 Royal Marines to head towards the Persian Gulf to confront Iraq "if and as required". He said the naval task force already preparing to go to the Gulf would be beefed up with a number of extra ships later this month. But he joined the chorus of British ministers who have insisted, on and off the record, that an attack on Iraq is not inevitable. "This does not mean that a decision has been taken to commit British forces to such operations," he said. "But it is an essential enabling measure to ensure that if such operations become necessary they will be properly supported." Tony Blair, however, highlighted weapons of mass destruction as a key issue facing the world community. He said: "We should remain the closest ally of the US, and as allies, influence them to continue broadening their agenda. "We are the ally of the US not because they are powerful, but because we share their values." He recognised the world wanted the US to "listen back" on the Middle East, global poverty and global warming. But he pointed to the US choice to go to the UN over Iraq - cited in the past as an example of British influence - as a symbol of America’s desire to work with others. "The price of British influence is not, as some would have it, that we have, obediently, to do what the US asks. "I would never commit British troops to a war I thought was wrong or unnecessary. Where we disagree, as over Kyoto , we disagree. "But the price of influence is that we do not leave the US to face the tricky issues alone." In Iraq, yesterday, UN inspectors continued their work, using helicopters in aerial surveillance for the first time. Three UN helicopters carrying arms experts flew to a fertiliser company in Akashat, nearly 300 miles west of Baghdad. They were followed by two helicopters from the Iraqi monitoring directorate, one carrying Western journalists. Inspectors visited a total of ten sites yesterday, searching a university in the city of Mosul, an air base, and a cement factory, all well outside Baghdad. Missile teams visited two sites where the Iraqis are preparing missile tests. But to date, UN inspectors have not publicly reported any evidence of an illegal biological, chemical, nuclear or missile weapons programme. In another sign that the crisis in the Persian Gulf is rapidly approaching breaking point, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries were yesterday debating a Saudi proposal to add 1.5 million barrels of oil a day to world-wide production. It was seen as an effort to calm markets nervous about worsening unrest in Venezuela and a possible war against Iraq. ------------------------------------- PRISONPLANET.com |
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