XMAS BLITZAllies have six-week window to bomb Iraq

NEWS OF THE WORLD ^ | 11/24/2002

[Mossad1967]

PENTAGON chiefs have pinpointed a six-week "window of opportunity" in which to launch a war against Iraq.

Officials are now openly brief-ing diplomats that they "want to light the blue touchpaper".

If a blitz is authorised, all the signs point to a December 16 start—with the "window" stretching beyond Christmas until the end of January. Cool clear weather and long winter nights would be ideally suited for a hi-tech bombing campaign...

[Mossad1967]

Any opinions?

[BigBobber]

Last time the U.S. picked January to attack. Whatever reasons they had then are probably valid now. So I would bet on January. However, Iraq may be thinking the same thing, so maybe they jump it up a month to get some element of surprise.

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

Basically the same window of opportunity we had during the first gulf war.

But I don’t buy it as set in stone, our guys proved the talking heads wrong about the infamous Afghan winters, my money will be on the Army and Marines to prove the talking heads wrong about our ability to fight in Iraq during the summer.

The worst thing we have to fear in the gulf will be Saddams WMD’s and friendly fire.

[rs79bm]

However, Iraq may be thinking the same thing, so maybe they jump it up a month to get some element of surprise.

Whatever Iraq is thinking, we are always one step ahead of them. Why do you think the Pentagon exists?

[dennisw]

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/news5.html

XMAS BLITZ
Allies have six-week window to bomb Iraq

PENTAGON chiefs have pinpointed a six-week "window of opportunity" in which to launch a war against Iraq.

Officials are now openly brief-ing diplomats that they "want to light the blue touchpaper".

If a blitz is authorised, all the signs point to a December 16 start—with the "window" stretching beyond Christmas until the end of January. Cool clear weather and long winter nights would be ideally suited for a hi-tech bombing campaign.

Planes and troops could move under the cover of darkness, minimising the risk of casualties.

The campaign would involve hundreds of jets— including British warplanes—cruise missiles and stealth bombers.

The Americans plan to pound Iraq for a month before launching a massive ground invasion from Kuwait in the south and Turkey in the north.

British and Irish diplomats based in Washington were called in last week for the latest update in the plans.

They will be raised in a special House of Commons debate tomorrow.

The government are also expected to call out the Territorial Army to provide emergency cover during the fire dispute—replacing army units currently manning Green Goddesses.

American special forces are secretly training more than 5,000 Iraqi rebels to spearhead their planned invasion.

Senior Pentagon sources have confirmed the dissidents will be ready to join American and British troops within the next two months.

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has until December 8 to disclose how many weapons of mass destruction he has.

America is expected to immediately accuse him of lying. And an immediate attack would be triggered if UN weapons inspectors currently in Baghdad find Saddam has tried to deceive them.

The rebel army—made up of Kurdish rebels from Northern Iraq, Marsh Arabs from the south and military defectors from the elite Republican Guard—has been training in Kuwait since August.

The Kuwaiti government, which last week turned almost half its country into a closed-off US military base, has funded the creation of the force.

As the threat of war grew closer, British and American warplanes hit targets in southern Iraq for the third successive day on Friday.

The strike came after an Iraqi military jet flew into a no-fly zone monitored by Allied planes.

[anobjectivist]

I can't trust the source of this article, looks like it is owned by the Sun.

[jimtorr]

The best observation I have is that this article is from The News Of The World.

These are some of the people who keep finding Elvis, Big Foot and Jimmy Hoffa shacked up together in a nice little cabin in the Colorado Rockies.

If it were from the National Enquirer, now, that might be different.

[Bobby777]

given Saddam's number of doubles and the many places he hides out, I'd be surprised if Saddam falls into American hands, especially within a 6-week window ... Iraq is not exactly a small country ...

I wish it were so ... I wish Saddam and Son's would pack up and join Yasser Arafat in marital bliss on some remote island ... they can take media whore Hanan Ashawri with them as the nanny ...

I don't think the Iraqi people are going to stand in the way of the Americans ... however Saddam has fed them a lot of propaganda ... I wouldn hope that most of the Iraqi army has not the will to fight ... however, they must believe they are being liberated and not *liquidated* ...

I would hope this is just propaganda put out by the USA because there are a lot of variables ... including Saddam putting a bio or chem weapon into Israel and that could change things dramatically ... if and likely when the Israelis respond to such all bets are off and we may see a sizeable Middle East war ...

[RWG]

The time mentioned would be ideal. Other articles have indicated that no big deal if the thing has to go on for months. Window is not now or never option.

[Edward Watson]

No a chance. Do you think the Arab countries are suicidal? If Saddam decides to use WMD against Israel and Israel retaliates by nuking Baghdad, do you seriously think the other Arab nations are going to pick a fight with Israel afterwards? Of course not. They're going to be worried the same destruction is going to be meted out to them. The Arab nations may be murderous intolerant racist religious fanatics, but they will always, and I mean always, save their own skin first before engaging in a losing war for the sake of other Arabs.

Just look at the Palestianian problem. No matter how much the Palestinians beg, they aren't getting the military support they want because the Arab nations are terrified to enter another war, rhetoric notwithstanding.

[A CA Guy]

If this is true, why the hell would they broadcast this all over the world? It was meant to be a leak perhaps.
If I was Sudam and this was true, I would first kill myself - LOL. That aside, I would be nice the first 6-7 weeks then stop. It would be his style.
That is if you consider murder in the name of the moon god a style at all!

[APBaer]

"Why do you think the Pentagon exists?"

I've recently learned that the answer is to examine my shopping list.
Got milk?

[JasonC]

The way you persuade the rank and file of the conscript army not to fight is not by refraining from a threat to annihilate them, but by presenting exactly such a threat. They surrender when it is clear to them they death would be pointless and accomplish nothing. It is easy for them to discover they don't care for Saddam when that means life, and fear of their officers instead is a death sentence. We have to bring enough force to kill them all if they resist, and that needs to be perfectly clear to them. We have more than enough conventional military power for that. Then, hopefully, lots of them will surrender - but we will also be ready if they don't.

[byteback]

I would bet against a war during Xmas but it's hanging over the economy and needs to be done soon.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

We have seen this kind of thing almost daily for 10 months now. I am not willing to believe anything until the President comes on the TV and announces that an attack is underway.

The little boy has cried wolf hundreds of times by now, and I'm not willing to buy into it anymore.

Frankly, I think the reason we aren't attacking is that we are unwilling to do so when the entire rest of the world would condemn us diplomatically. We talk a lot about how the opinion of France and Belgium and Luxembourg doesn't matter to us, but I think, from their actions, it DOES matter to the people calling the shots.

So until we see otherwise, I'm not believing anything like this.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Everyone here needs to see this:

Proof That Saddam Bankrolls Terrorism

[jiggyboy]

It's "Weekly World News" that does the LOL stuff. I've seen opinions here pretty much across the spectrum for whether NOTW is trustworthy or not.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

"But I don’t buy it as set in stone, our guys proved the talking heads wrong about the infamous Afghan winters, my money will be on the Army and Marines to prove the talking heads wrong about our ability to fight in Iraq during the summer."

While I agree that Marines are a hardy bunch, I don't agree with you about fighting Iraq during the summer. Today, more than ever, our military is facing chemical and bio threats. I think the risk of heat casualties, especially given the fact our troops might have to wear their MOP gear more days than not, is simply too great a risk. These folks are better off going in when it's cold.

[Bobby777]

what about 1973? ... Israel already had nukes and the Russians were shipping nukes to Egypt by ship ... Nixon intervened and the Russians decided the Middle East was not worth nuclear war ... that was a close one ...

but Israel having the nuke (and several of them) didn't dissuade Syria, Jordan and Egypt that year ... from launching a suprise conventional attack ... which is exactly the kind of situation that can precipitate a nuclear response ...

Combine Islam with fission or fission/fusion bombs and you've got a guarantee they'll "push the button" when they have a chance ... and they're working on it ...

I say this, sadly because it's not a good thing, but if Israel were to unleash nukes on Iraq, the suicide attacks might go up 10-fold ...

I'll be happy if this thing goes all nice and smooth ... Saddam is still a wild card, though ...

[dennisw]

bttttttttttttt