Washington: The US has begun ground phase of the war in Iraq by deploying special
Operations troops in the country to hunt for weapons sites, establish a
communications network and seek potential defectors from Iraqi military units.
US troops, comprising two Special Operations Task Forces with an undetermined number
of personnel have been in and out of Iraq for well over a month, two military
officials familiar with their direct activities were quoted by a daily as
saying.
They are laying the groundwork for conventional US forces that could quickly seize
large portions of Iraq if President George Bush gives a formal order to go to war,
the officials said.
Also, the ground operation points to a Pentagon war plan that is shaping up to be
dramatically different from the one carried out by the US and its allies in the
UN-sanctioned war of 1991 to liberate Kuwait.
Instead of beginning with a massive aerial bombardment, the plan envisions a series
of preliminary ground actions to seize Iraqi territory and effectively encircle
Baghdad before a large-scale air campaign hits the capital, Defence officials said.
"It is possible that ground movements could come in and occupy large portions of Iraq
almost unimpeded," said one person familiar with the Pentagon war planning. In
Northern Iraq, the source told the 'Washington Post, "we might get to the outskirts
of Tikrit without firing a shot."
Tikrit, a city North of Baghdad, is Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's ancestral home
and a major base of his power.
PTI
