Washington: US military planners are focusing on February as the optimum time to begin a war against Iraq, and they would rely greatly on defecting Iraqi units to topple Saddam Hussein, senior Defence officials said on September 20.

Although the Pentagon has not adopted a final time-frame for military action, the officials said that planners were seeking to design a force build-up that takes weeks and not months as in the case of build-up during the Gulf war.

According to Defence sources, February would be the most likely time to strike, with hostilities over by no later than April. This would give the US and its allies optimum fighting weather before the oppressive heat of the Gulf spring and summer sets in.

The officials said, however, that the timeline has not been approved and that President Bush has not agreed to a plan. The presence of weapons inspectors from the UN inside Iraq, they said, would be a stumbling block and could prevent Bush from ordering an attack on his timetable.

In Iraq, America would rely on defectors and dissidents within Saddam's Army, two senior officials were quoted as saying by the 'Washington Times'.

Defence officials said that troops would be more widely dispersed so as not to create large base camps that could be more easily targeted by Iraq's mobile Scud missiles.

The military is looking at ways to hit as many targets from the air as possible in the opening days of the campaign.

PTI