Australian SAS in Iraq |
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Posted on 03/27/2003 4:22:42 PM PST by knighthawk
AUSTRALIAN SAS soldiers could hunt down leaders of the Iraqi regime spotted in their operational areas, the Australian commander for the Iraq war has revealed.
Brigadier Maurie McNarn, who is in charge of the nation's forces in the Middle East, said the primary focus of the special forces remained seeking out Iraqi missiles and weapons of mass destruction in the western region of the country.
But they were also on the lookout for any regime leaders, he said.
That could include Saddam Hussein, his sons and generals or officials of the ruling Baath Party.
"If they come into their area and you see someone like that, then we are going to report it," Brigadier McNarn said.
"If they are judged to be a legal and legitimate target such as a member of the military leadership, then they may get a direction to take action against them."
Coalition spokesman US Lieutenant-General Vince Brooks earlier confirmed that regime leaders were targets of coalition special operations forces across Iraq.
"Strategic reconnaissance is on-going to find weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles and regime leaders," he told a media conference.
Brigadier McNarn said Australian Special Air Service Regiment soldiers had seen evidence of support structures for the type of missiles that could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), possibly to neighbouring countries.
"The intelligence we have is that they have Scuds," he said.
"There is evidence that they have and are willing to fire missiles into places like Kuwait. We take that very seriously and our greatest fear is that they would continue to do so or perhaps put WMD warheads on them.
"We would rather stop the missiles being fired before we find out the hard way that they have that capability."
During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq fired Scud missiles with explosive warheads at Israel and Saudi Arabia from remote locations in the west of the country.
Brigadier McNarn said the characteristics of Iraqi missiles indicated the possible areas from which they could be fired.
He said the SAS soldiers were keeping an eye on roads and particular key points as well as looking out for certain equipment.
Brigadier McNarn said the ability of the soldiers to remain on duty for prolonged periods had greatly impressed coalition partners.
"The longest patrol in Afghanistan was 51 or 52 days," he said.
"That gives you an indication of how long they can stay and why they call these guys special. To stay out on task in an incredibly tough and hostile envioronment and keep that focus and high level precision is quite extraordinary. They are not out there just camping."
Both Britain and the United States have made no mention whatsoever of the activities of their special forces so far in the Iraq conflict.
Brigadier McNarn said he remained reticent and sought to balance the need to keep the Australian people informed of the activities of their soldiers with a requirement for operational security.
"At the end of the day if I think there is anything that is going to put the lives of our men and women at risk, I will err on the side of caution," he said.
"We really do try and strike that balance - and it is hard thing to do - between letting people know what the defence force is doing and not compromising these blokes because they are in a dangerous enough business as it is."
Australian SAS in Iraq |
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