(New York Times) The U.S. will soon have enough heavy tanks, warships, aircraft, bombs, and troops in the Persian Gulf region to enable it to begin an attack against Iraq sometime in January, senior military officials say. By late next week, four aircraft carriers will be poised to strike Iraq on short notice, with a fifth in Southeast Asia ready to steam to the gulf in a crisis. The force in place by next month would be large enough to begin the "rolling start" of an offensive, but additional armored and air forces would have to be sent from Europe and the U.S. to sustain a larger attack that could mass 200,000 to 250,000 American troops.
2002-12-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive