Posted on 03/09/2002 4:42:37 PM PST by Pokey78
Britain considers joint invasion plan
America has asked Britain to draw up plans for 25,000 of this country's troops to join a US task force to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
In a move which reveals advanced US plans for the next phase of its war on terror, Government departments are considering the plans ahead of Vice-President Dick Cheney's meeting with the Prime Minister tomorrow.
Cheney will come to London armed with fresh evidence against the Iraqi dictator, and will tell Tony Blair that United Nations inspections of Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons may not be enough to head off a new war in the Gulf.
The request for such a large number of British troops shows the high stakes America is now playing for. It will alarm Cabinet doves, thought to include Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, and Robin Cook, the former Foreign Secretary and now Leader of the Commons.
The Government is already facing a split on the issue of military action against Iraq. One Minister described those who had questioned Blair's policy of fully backing a US military campaign as 'appeasers'.
'At some point people have to realise that action has to be taken,' he said.
The request for such a large number of troops is unprecedented in peacetime. It is one of three major options now being considered by the Government which has always insisted publicly that no final decisions have been made on military action against Saddam.
British troops would be part of a 250,000-strong ground force to invade Iraq in an operation similar to Desert Storm in 1991.
The second option is one where smaller special forces units would support opposition forces within Iraq, like the tactic used in Afghanistan, where the Northern Alliance was backed with air strikes and logistical support in its battle to overthrow the Taliban.
The third option - thought to be preferred by the Foreign Office - is one of 'aggressive containment'. Under this plan, air strikes against Iraq would be intensified if Saddam did not agree to a comprehensive inspections agree ment.
Cheney arrives in London ahead of a 10-day 'hearts and minds' tour of the Middle East which is seen as vital in shoring up the alliance against Iraq. After London he will visit Egypt, Israel, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Turkey.
America is confident that with enough evidence against Saddam, the White House can persuade other Arab states to support military action.
'I think they all have legitimate concerns about the regime in Iraq, and they're aware that Saddam continues to represent a threat to the security and stability of the region,' said one White House official. 'I expect they'll all want to talk about it.'
America has already begun a discreet military build-up in preparation for a ground war in Iraq. US special forces are training Iraqi militia to be ready for a strike against Saddam in the coming months.
Teams of instructors drawn from American elite regiments have been arriving in Kurdish-held areas in the north of Iraq in recent weeks, targeting the semi-autonomous areas run by the Kurdish Democratic Party.
The instructors are improving local fighters' tactical and weapons skills and teaching them how to exploit chaos caused by American air strikes. They are also drawing up lists of potential targets, a vital prerequisite to any ground offensive.
Defence sources say a battalion of 24 Longbow Apache attack helicopters also recently arrived in Kuwait. The helicopters, capable of operating up to 250 kilometres behind enemy lines, could be used to attack air defence sites and Iraqi armour in the opening air phase of any war.
In a separate development sources say more than 5,000 US fighting vehicles, mothballed in Kuwait since the end of the Gulf War, have quietly been overhauled.
I was poking fun at the made up number the paper was using. If they can make up 25,000 then I figured I could double it.
25,000 soldiers would push the army to breaking point, leaving little defence for the UK, and what defence there would be, would only be provided by units like the Royal Signals and Catering Corps, and thats a big no-no (no dis-respect to the Scaleys and cookies).
looking at some of the posts on this thread, I'd like to see there opinion about the whole US armed forces being abroad and not at home, leaving not even a token defence force.
Den
P.S. they'd always have me here holding the fort.
The people you are talking about are in a minority group, not the majority. Contrary to what some people in the US believe, Brits 'Put up'. Families and friends of soldiers, expect those same soldiers to be sent around the world fighting for 'good cause', and don't question it, like people do in the US.
Interesting fact for you. If people in Britain are now calling this Peace time, how comes it, that every day since WW2 (except 3 days after the Suez crisis), British soldiers have been in one warzone or another, including the Soviet-Afghan war, and other little known shoot outs like the Guatemala-Belize border conflicts and many others.
Den.
That is why many, many of us have our own guns.
Lets hope the Frogs put up, somehow I don't think so. Besides, wouldn't want them there anyway, not after an experience I had with them and the Canadians in Kosovo. Things got hairy, we jumped straight in thinking they would too, but they just stood by and watched as I and 200 other Brit soldiers from the Royal Green Jackets tried to contain an 800 strong mob, in Pristina. Very poor showing from the French, but I suppose I should have expected nothing less from them, judging with hindsight, from the countless exercise I had been on with them in Germany.
Den.
I've been in the US for nearly a year now, and wouldn't put much faith in some of the lard-arses i've seen carrying guns here. Yes, some ex-military types who you could trust, but the local civvy populations of places, where i've been staying, I don't think so.
I like the US right to bear arms, it is good for the US, maybe not other countries. Its a good second line of defence (after the army). However, Militarily, I think it would only provide a token resistance. It was Ok 200 years ago, against army's who used the same weapons, but not against todays high tech army's.
A lot is written about the comments of Cook and Short, mostly in the lefty Guardian, purely to support its lefty views. But this dynamic duo are generally regarded as no more than comics. They both only have to open there mouths, and i'm in hysterics.
Finally, I hope that Britain does send troops, as I'll probably be taken from my boring existence here, and launched into something more interesting.
Den.
Tony Blair has NEVER been so popular.
Blair is a socialist weenie and you are a ?
Thought I saw a poll article somewhere to the effect that Britons are just a whole lot less than enthusiastic about paying a return visit to Baghdad.
Bad info?
What did the Canadians do wrong?
Tony
Maybe you could answer this.
No enemy would dare invade the U.S. They have to think we are all crazy over here, and wouldn't invade in case it is something in the water.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.