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Pentagon makes final moves for war
From Barbara Starr
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States and Iraq are making final moves of troops and weapons in preparation for a possible military conflict. With U.S. warships headed to the Red Sea and Iraqi commanders moving troops and anti-aircraft artillery into southern Iraq, near the Kuwait border, the Pentagon is planning for a first night of such terrifying strikes that it will encourage a quick surrender. At Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the first wave of B-2 stealth bombers left Thursday for the Persian Gulf. The United States has built up special facilities at an air base on the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to accommodate the unique needs of the B-2. That means the stealth bomber will require fewer midair refueling missions if ordered to drop bombs on Iraqi targets. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed orders Thursday authorizing the movement of about a dozen missile-firing Navy warships from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea, U.S. military sources said. The ships are now moving through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea. The ships include cruisers, destroyers and submarines, all of which fire satellite-guided Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles or TLAMS, precision weapons with a range of approximately 1,000 miles. Pentagon officials will not say exactly how many ships might be involved, but it is understood there are 10 to 15 Tomahawk-capable ships that may shift position. In the opening hours of a war, the ships could shoot hundreds of missiles across Saudi Arabia toward targets in Iraq. The shift in position is required because of Turkey's continued refusal to grant overflight rights. However, aircraft carriers USS Harry Truman and USS Theodore Roosevelt currently in the Mediterranean are likely to stay there. Their combat aircraft would fly over Israel and Jordan under the current thinking. This provides a shorter distance to Baghdad, and requires less support and refueling. However, sources also say there could still be a last-minute decision to shift the carriers as well. If Turkey were to grant last-minute overflight rights, it is not clear what the Pentagon would then do. Movement near Iraq/Kuwait borderIn Kuwait, sandstorms rage, but ground units remain in staging areas near the Iraqi border. Some 28,000 troops of the 101st Airborne Division are ready to launch assaults to protect oil fields and chemical and biological sites. Small numbers of Iraqi opposition troops await the U.S. forces. Aircrews know action may come quickly. "Yes, we're very ready. Everybody has had enough time to get settled in, get familiar with the area here in Kuwait," said Marine Capt. John Andrew of the Green Knights Squadron. Gen. Tommy Franks, now at his U.S. Central Command desert headquarters in Qatar, is watching Iraqi forces make their final moves. Iraq has moved its troops and anti-aircraft artillery to the southern part of Iraq, closer to the Kuwaiti border, according to one senior U.S. military official in the region. He said intelligence reports also indicate that at least one specific type of Iraqi artillery has the capacity to launch chemical weapons into Kuwait. There are approximately 125,000 U.S. soldiers in Kuwait, many in the northern desert that could be within target range of such weapons. The military official would not disclose any details on how many Iraqi troops and artillery pieces had been moved into the area. Additionally, the official said that there are reports that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein plans to use chemical weapons in the south and blame it on U.S. forces. The artillery and troop movements have occurred south of the 32nd parallel, putting them in the southern no-fly zone. The no-fly zones, designed to protect Kurds in northern Iraq and Shiites in the south from Saddam's regime, were established by the United States and Britain after the 1991 Gulf War. Iraqi officials insist the zones violate the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and refuse to recognize them. Military sources also tell CNN there may be an 11th hour series of very aggressive air strikes against Iraqi troops and weapons in the southern no-fly zone -- rolling back the Iraqis as the U.S. military begins to move on Baghdad. Warnings drop from skiesCoalition aircraft enforcing the northern no-fly zone in Iraq Thursday dropped 240,000 informational leaflets near Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery batteries for the second time this week, according to the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Two locations were targeted -- south of Tall Afar and southwest of Saddam Lake. Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery in those locations have fired on coalition jets in the past, the command said. The message on the leaflet front warns soldiers, "Before you engage coalition aircraft, think about the consequences." The back reads, "Think about your family. Do what you must to survive." It is only the third time leaflets have been dropped by the coalition in the northern no-fly zone in the 12 years it has been in existence. Leaflets were unloaded at the same locations Monday. Frequent leaflet drops have occurred in the southern no-fly zone. CNN Producer Sally Holland contributed to this report.
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