Posted on 03/01/2003 4:26:26 AM PST by kattracks
A US sixth aircraft carrier and B-2 stealth bombers have been ordered to deploy as part of the unrelenting US military buildup against Iraq, officials said amid proliferating signs that war is rapidly approaching.
Iraq's elite Republican Guards were on the move inside Iraq, apparently to shore up the regime's defenses in the Sunni heartland, according to US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
US forces in the Gulf region and the eastern Mediterranean swelled to 225,000 this week, including 111,000 in Kuwait, where US soldiers and marines have been staging for a possible invasion, a US defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The purpose of flowing forces is to demonstrate the seriousness of purpose of the international community," said US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "And I think that is exactly what's taking place."
The navy said the USS Nimitz was ordered to set sail for the Gulf March 3 from its homeport in San Diego, California, adding a sixth aircraft carrier battle group to a 100-ship armada that has assembled in the Gulf and the Mediterranean.
The US air force's sole B-2 bomber wing also received orders to deploy an unspecified number of the radar evading bombers to undisclosed locations for "potential combat operations," an air force spokesman said.
The B-2, used in Afghanistan and Kosovo, is the air force's weapon of choice for opening night air attacks on heavily defended areas like Baghdad.
The air force has built climate controlled shelters in Fairford, England and the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to be able put the bombers nearer to Iraq.
"Put four or five B-2s anywhere in the world and you can have a fairly devastating effect," General John Jumper, the air force chief of staff, told reporters on Wednesday.
In another sign of approaching combat, the navy said it was deploying nearly 800 people to fully staff its 1,000-bed hospital ship, the USS Comfort, which deployed to the region last month with a skeleton crew.
Meanwhile, US intelligence has detected the movement of major elements of an elite Republican Guard division from the north toward Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown and political bastion.
"Major elements of a Republican Guard division in northern Iraq began moving south toward Tikrit prior to February 26," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Their final destination is uncertain but it likely hinges on Turkey's decision to allow the US to stage an offensive on that country from the north," he said.
Intelligence reports said heavy transporters -- used to carry tanks and other armor -- have been moving in the direction of Baghdad, another sign of intensifying preparations for war.
A senior US defense official on Wednesday said the regime has been concentrating military forces in the capital and increasingly are using residential neighborhoods, mosques and other civilian facilities as cover against air attacks.
Rudimentary trenches have been dug in areas around Baghdad, according to US defense officials.
A key part of the US war strategy appears to be falling into place in Turkey, where the government said an agreement has been reached on military aspects of a deal to allow US forces to use its territory for an attack in northern Iraq.
The agreement must still be approved by the parliament, which has convened a session for Saturday after repeated delays to debate and vote on the agreement.
But if approved some 20,000 US troops, along with Turkish forces, would pour across the border backed by US air forces operating from bases inside Turkey.
Key objectives would include securing the oil fields around Kirkuk and Mosul, and taking Tikrit.
President George W. Bush predicted that Saddam would agree to start destroying banned missiles in line with a demand from chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, but insisted this would not save Saddam's regime.
"Should we be forced to commit our troops because of his failure to disarm, the mission will be complete disarmament, which will mean regime change," Bush said as he met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Washington.
"The rockets are just the tip of the iceberg," Bush said. "The only question at hand is total, complete disarmament, which he is refusing to do."
In an interview with CBS television this week, Saddam said Iraq did not have any missiles that breached UN resolutions, strongly indicating that the Al-Samoud missiles would not be destroyed.
Blix has said the destruction must begin by Saturday.
The United States, Britain and Spain have submitted a new resolution on Iraq to UN Security Council which Washington and London hope will be voted on by mid-March. In the face of French-led resistance to the use of immediate force, both sides have intensely seeking support on the Security Council.
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