Posted on 03/21/2003 3:19:09 AM PST by Indy Pendance
Stage one: US and British forces have advanced deep into southern Iraq, after launching an intense artillery attack across the Kuwaiti border. At least three American divisions are pushing forward from Kuwait, but one unit, the First US Marine Expeditionary Force, has been halted by stiff resistance just inside Iraq. In the south-east, British marines have attacked the al-Faw peninsula - an important route for Iraqi oil exports. Baghdad has come under heavy aerial bombardment for a second night, and several government buildings have been hit. Explosions have also been reported in the southern city of Basra, and in the northern city of Mosul.
US 3rd Infantry Division: American troops with about 250 main battle tanks are expected to push into south-western Iraq with the aim of moving swiftly north towards Baghdad.
US 1st Marine expeditionary force and UK 1 armoured division: US Marines and around 25,000 UK ground troops and armour are expected to cross into southern Iraq in a second offensive, analysts say. Royal Marines from the UK's 3 Commando Brigade are expected to occupy the strategically important southern city of Basra.
US 101st Airborne Division: Several thousand US airborne troops are expected to land in northern Iraq with the objective of capturing the strategically important city of Kirkuk and securing oil fields. The US had wanted to station about 60,000 troops in Turkey with the aim of carrying out a full scale ground invasion – but the plan has been blocked by the Turkish Government.
The Pentagon says there are currently about 225,000 US military personnel in the Centcom region, which covers the Middle East, south-west Asia and north-east Africa. These include army, navy, air force, engineering and command forces.
Another 72,000 troops are either en route to the region or have received orders to deploy, according to estimates by military analysts.
Some 45,000 British military personnel are involved in operations in the region. A Naval task group, air assault brigade and British tanks have been deployed. In addition, about 100 aircraft will be positioned in the Gulf.
Australia has already sent about 2,000 troops to the Gulf, including elite SAS commandos, along with fighter jets and warships.
Military build-up - Naval forces: Five aircraft carriers are within striking range of Iraq - the USS Constellation, USS Kitty Hawk and USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf and the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Harry S Truman in the Mediterranean.
In early March, the USS Nimitz battle group was dispatched to the region from its base in San Diego. It is expected to relieve the Abraham Lincoln.
Another carrier, the USS George Washington has been placed on alert.
About 5,000 personnel and 75 warplanes are stationed aboard each carrier. Each vessel is accompanied by half a dozen cruisers, destroyers and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and helicopter carrier HMS Ocean are also in the Gulf.
In mid-March the US began moving about a dozen warships, which are also armed with cruise missiles, from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
Two US amphibious task forces - Amphibious Task Force East with 7,200 Marines aboard and Amphibious Task Force West with 5,000 Marines - are also in the region. These are designed and equipped to land sea-borne troops into a hostile environment.
Military build-up - Turkey: The Turkish parliament is yet to agree to a deal allowing the US to station 62,000 troops on Turkish territory ahead of an invasion of northern Iraq.
The country was seen as a key gateway to the north of Iraq where vast oil wells would need to be secured in the event of an invasion. In the absence of Turkish agreement, the US could still deploy a significant force in northern Iraq by air from ships in the Mediterranean.
Turkey is already home to British and American troops enforcing the 'no-fly zone' over northern Iraq. About 4,000 air force personnel and some 60 aircraft – including some British Jaguar GR4 aircraft - are typically based at Incirlik air base.
Three patriot missile systems were installed on Turkey's southern border with Iraq in early March.
Djibouti: About 3,000 US special forces, marines and air force personnel have established a base in Djibouti with the aim of tracking down al-Qaeda members operating in Yemen and Somalia. A hi-tech command-and-control ship, the USS Mount Whitney, is co-ordinating the movement of troops and equipment.
Analysts say these forces could easily be diverted into the Gulf to join an attack on Iraq.
Military build-up - Diego Garcia: This British-owned Indian Ocean island is expected to be a key air base for any attack on Iraq.
Sources have told the BBC that four of the United States' 21 hi-tech B-2 stealth bombers - which would be likely to spearhead a bombing campaign - were given orders to deploy there in mid-March.
A number of older B-52 bombers, fitted with laser-guided 'smart' bombs, are also based on the island.
Seventeen ships loaded with tanks and other equipment for ground forces are anchored at Diego Garcia.
Military build-up - Kuwait: There are at least 110,000 US troops in Kuwait, military analysts say. These include:
-- The 17,000-strong 3rd Infantry Division, which has routinely based some troops in Kuwait for much of the last decade. It is now deployed near Kuwait's northern border with Iraq.
-- An estimated 45,000 Marines, including troops from the 15,000-strong 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which opened up initial routes from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. It was ordered to move its headquarters to Kuwait last year.
-- A brigade of the 82nd Airborne division is also reported to have arrived.
--The 16,000-strong 101st Airborne division is also deployed in Kuwait. Many analysts expect this force to play a key role in a ground war.
Most of the 26,000 British ground troops ordered to deploy to the Gulf are also assembling in Kuwait.
There is also a small number of Czech, Slovakian and German troops specialising in dealing with chemical and biological attacks.
Key US command and communications staff have been arriving at two major bases, Camp Doha and Camp Arifjan. The majority of ordinary troops are housed in a number of vast desert encampments – the Kabals – in the north of the country close to the Iraqi border.
Ali Al-Salem airforce base is an important staging point for US and British planes patrolling the skies of southern Iraq.
Military build-up - Saudi Arabia: Some 6,600 mainly US airforce personnel are based here. Prince Sultan base in the capital Riyadh serves as an air operations centre, and is likely to play a key part in any attack. A number of British Tornado F3 aircraft are also stationed there.
Two US Patriot missile batteries are stationed near Riyadh to protect against a possible Iraqi missile attack.
Military build-up - Bahrain: The emirate is headquarters to the US 5th Fleet and more than 4,000 US personnel are based here.
Military build-up - Qatar: The US has established a large headquarters for Centcom - the command body in charge of the US military in the Middle East, Asia and north Africa - at the as-Syliyah base in Qatar.
About 1,000 military personnel, including senior US General Tommy Franks began a series of exercises there in December 2002.
Some 3,500 US personnel are also based at the rapidly expanding al-Udeid air base.
Enough pre-positioned equipment for an armoured brigade is deployed in Qatar.
Military build-up - United Arab Emirates: Some 500 mainly US airforce personnel are stationed in the United Arab Emirates. Refuelling aircraft for planes patrolling the southern ‘no-fly zone' operate from al-Dhafra air force base.
Military build-up - Oman: Some 2,000 mainly US airforce personnel are stationed at the al-Seeb base which is mainly used for maintenance and refuelling.
In addition, three US air force sites hold support equipment for 26,000 personnel as well as equipment and fuel to maintain three air bases.
Iraqi bases: Iraq's army is organised into five corps. Iraq has around 375,000 regular troops and some 2,000 tanks, but much of the army's equipment is old and decrepit. The elite Republican Guard is considered to be Iraq's most effective fighting force.
Iraq has numerous airbases but like the army, the airforce is largely delapidated and obsolete.
Iraqi missile range: Under UN rules, Iraq is banned from having any missiles with a range greater than 93 miles (150 km). Controversy has arisen over the al-Samoud Two missile, which has travelled up to 112 miles (180 km) in tests. In response to requests by UN inspectors, Iraq has begun destroying some of its stock of 120 of these.
Analysts also believe Iraq may have some banned missiles, although inspectors have not found any.
These are believed to include a small number of 400-mile (644 km) range al-Hussein missiles, which would be capable of striking Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and Kuwait. Iraq is also thought by some analysts to have 15 to 80 Scud B missiles with a range of 185 miles.
Neither of these is very effective at dispersing chemical or biological weapons, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The 560-mile (902 km) range al-Abbas missile was developed more than 10 years ago from earlier Scud types, but it is not clear whether it reached operational status.
Iraq does not have the facilities to build long-range missiles and would require several years and foreign assistance to do this.
Baghdad: With a population of nearly 4 million, Baghdad is by far Iraq's largest city, and is growing rapidly. It is also the nerve centre of the regime, and all of the main government ministries and several key military facilities are located there.
Weapons sites: Iraq is believed to have once had extensive chemical, nuclear and biological weapons programmes. But the 1991 Gulf War, subsequent UN inspections, international sanctions and raids by US and British aircraft have seriously degraded its facilities.
Some sites are still thought to be active, but these may only be used for civilian purposes such as the production of medicines, or non-military research.
Some analysts believe Iraq to have significant stocks of biological and chemical agents. But others suggest that even if it has, these are now so old they no longer work, and in any case Iraq lacks effective means of delivery.
A recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies concluded that Iraq would require up to a decade and significant help from a foreign power to produce a nuclear bomb.
Presidential palaces: A key concern has been securing full access for UN inspectors to all the so-called "presidential palaces" dotted around Iraq. Most are vast compounds containing presidential and VIP residences as well as offices and warehouses. In 1998, eight presidential sites were identified as being potential weapons sites.
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.