Posted on 01/21/2003 11:07:16 AM PST by efnwriter
Northern Front
Jonathan Rhodes
21 January 2003
Negotiations between Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Turkish military leaders in Ankara, have resulted in agreement to base US troops in Turkey to control northern Iraq airspace and protect the Kurds from Iraqi attacks once the invasion begins from the south. Meyers was quoted: "Turkey has been a very cooperative partner. I would expect them to be in the future as well."
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The US Army 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), (Ivy Division) the most advanced heavy division in the arsenal, equipped with Abrams tanks, attack helicopters and artillery, is heading a group of 37,000 soldiers ordered to reposition to the Persian Gulf region. 12,500 soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, nearly 4,000 soldiers from the division's 3rd Brigade at Fort Carson, Colo., and more than 20,000 troops from 10 other installations comprise Task Force Ironhorse, ordered deployed today. The DOD said it was "possible" part of the task force could go to Turkey.
Much had been made of Turkey's valid domestic concerns about a large US invasion force being hosted for operations in to Iraq. The shrill reports in the mainstream press have suggested Turkey is against the US invasion of Iraq. Turkey's main concern is actually the status of Iraqi Kurdistan in a new Iraqi government. However, military planners have held that US forces coming out of Turkey would be utilized for protection of the Kurds and continued dominance of the northern Iraqi no-fly zone. Hosting a major invasion from Turkey is not logistically attractive. The closest Black Sea ports are small and over 450 kilometers away while the larger Turkish ports on the Mediterranean and Black Sea are over 550 kilometers away. Roads are poor through the southeastern Turkish mountains into Iraq. The airbase at Incirlik is too small and too distant (900 kilometers from Baghdad) for major strikes into Iraq but more than sufficient to control the air and strike ground targets in northern Iraq. The main strategic advantage to the northern front is to deny Saddam the ability to attack the Kurds in response to an invasion from the south, secure the western SCUD launching areas, and attack Iraqi missile positions along the Syrian border to eliminate the local WMD threat and continue on to the northern Iraqi oil fields in Mosul and Karkuk. This can be accomplished with a force of around 25,000 plus airpower, fitting well with Turkey's agreement to permit basing of roughly 20,000 troops there.
The carrier fleet has also been further mobilized.
USS Abraham Lincoln has left port in Australia and will redeploy to the middle east as expected.
USS Theodore Roosevelt, based in Norfolk recently completed exercises in the Atlantic and will be deployed ahead of schedule. USS George Washington, also based in Norfolk is also ready for deployment and could be ordered to the region. The George Washington has been on call since it returned to Norfolk Dec. 20 from a six-month cruise to the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf. Its sailors have been told to be ready to redeploy within 96 hours notice.
USS Constellation and USS Truman are already deployed to the Gulf/Mediterranean.
USS Kitty Hawk is permanently deployed to the Pacific out of Yokahama, Japan and could rapidly reach the Persian Gulf area if needed.
USS Nimitz and USS Vinson have accelerated preparations for deployment. The Vinson is now ready to leave on a few days' notice. The Nimitz will be ready next week after a final training exercise off the San Diego coast.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday at the Reserve Officers Association meeting in Washington,
"The United Nations resolution did not put the burden of proof on the United States or the United Nations to prove that Iraq has these weapons. The U.N. resolution put the burden directly on Iraq to prove that it is disarming and that it does not have these weapons or if it does, it is willing to give them up."
"The disarmament of Iraq, whether it be by diplomatic pressure, which is our hope, or if necessary as a last choice, by the use of force, will make clear to other terrorist regimes that pursuing weapons of mass destruction will make them less secure, not more secure."
"In the case of Iraq, we're nearing the end of the long road, and with every other option exhausted."
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After 8 years of, Bill 'I did not have sex with that women' Clinton, its great to have some real adults in charge.
Great maps!
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