Friday, July 05, 2002
U.S. Plan Calls for Massive Offensive on Iraq
U.S. Plan Calls for Massive Offensive on Iraq
ABC News
July 5, 2002
N E W Y O R K, A draft U.S. military plan for an invasion of Iraq is said to envision a multi-pronged attack with tens of thousands of Marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait, The New York Times reported today.
Citing a person familiar with the document, the newspaper said the highly classified plan calls for air, land and sea-based forces to attack from three directions in a campaign to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
President Bush has openly declared his desire to remove Saddam by military force if necessary, but has offered few details of how he plans to accomplish that goal.
According to the newspaper, the document envisions hundreds of war planes based in as many as eight countries unleashing a huge air assault against thousands of targets, including airfields, roadways and fiber-optics communications sites.
Special operations forces or covert CIA operatives would strike at depots or laboratories storing or manufacturing Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to launch them, the report said.
Underscoring the preliminary nature of the planning, officials were cited as saying that none of the countries named in the document has been formally consulted about playing a role in any U.S. action against Iraq.
Prepared by Central Command Officials in Florida
Nothing in the document or in interviews with senior military officials suggests an attack on Iraq is imminent, the newspaper said.
The source familiar with the document described its contents to The New York Times on condition of anonymity, expressing frustration that the planning "failed to incorporate fully the advances in military tactics and technology since the Persian Gulf war in 1991," the report said.
The Times said the plan, titled "CentCom Courses of Action," was prepared by officials at the Central Command in Tampa, Fla., again citing the person familiar with the document.
At Brainstorming Stage
The newspaper said the outline indicated an advanced state of planning in the military even though Bush continued to say publicly that he has no plan on his desk for an invasion of Iraq.
"Right now, we're at the stage of conceptual thinking and brainstorming," a senior defense official told the Times. "We're pretty far along."
Officials told the newspaper that neither Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, nor the Joint Chiefs of Staff nor U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks had been briefed on this specific document.
"It is the responsibility of the Department of Defense to develop contingency plans and, from time to time, to update them," Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told the newspaper on Thursday.
ABC News
July 5, 2002
N E W Y O R K, A draft U.S. military plan for an invasion of Iraq is said to envision a multi-pronged attack with tens of thousands of Marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait, The New York Times reported today.
Citing a person familiar with the document, the newspaper said the highly classified plan calls for air, land and sea-based forces to attack from three directions in a campaign to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
President Bush has openly declared his desire to remove Saddam by military force if necessary, but has offered few details of how he plans to accomplish that goal.
According to the newspaper, the document envisions hundreds of war planes based in as many as eight countries unleashing a huge air assault against thousands of targets, including airfields, roadways and fiber-optics communications sites.
Special operations forces or covert CIA operatives would strike at depots or laboratories storing or manufacturing Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to launch them, the report said.
Underscoring the preliminary nature of the planning, officials were cited as saying that none of the countries named in the document has been formally consulted about playing a role in any U.S. action against Iraq.
Prepared by Central Command Officials in Florida
Nothing in the document or in interviews with senior military officials suggests an attack on Iraq is imminent, the newspaper said.
The source familiar with the document described its contents to The New York Times on condition of anonymity, expressing frustration that the planning "failed to incorporate fully the advances in military tactics and technology since the Persian Gulf war in 1991," the report said.
The Times said the plan, titled "CentCom Courses of Action," was prepared by officials at the Central Command in Tampa, Fla., again citing the person familiar with the document.
At Brainstorming Stage
The newspaper said the outline indicated an advanced state of planning in the military even though Bush continued to say publicly that he has no plan on his desk for an invasion of Iraq.
"Right now, we're at the stage of conceptual thinking and brainstorming," a senior defense official told the Times. "We're pretty far along."
Officials told the newspaper that neither Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, nor the Joint Chiefs of Staff nor U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks had been briefed on this specific document.
"It is the responsibility of the Department of Defense to develop contingency plans and, from time to time, to update them," Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told the newspaper on Thursday.
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