SANDSTORMS and a full moon will decide precisely when the US unleashes its
military might against Saddam Hussein.
The uncertainty over exactly when war will begin was also fuelled by US
intelligence reports that Iraqi troops are ready to use chemical and
biological weapons.
"Saddam Hussein has armed troops south of Baghdad with chemical weapons,"
one said.
The alarming development was picked up from Iraqi military communications,
which also revealed Iraqi troop movements in the south and west of the
country.
The weather and the moon could prove major factors in the countdown to war.
For days fierce wind has thrown up blinding clouds of sand, causing
sensitive allied computer equipment to crash and forcing marines camped on
the Kuwait border to don gas masks just to breathe.
A full moon may buy Saddam more time when his 4am deadline, Baghdad time,
passes tomorrow.
In 1991, the Gulf war bombing campaign started at 3am on January 17.
The opening barrage of missiles and bombs is expected to last 48 hours this
time, but US commander Tommy Franks may have to delay a land invasion for
several days.
Paratroopers like nights with little or no moon.
"The darker it is, the better it is," said Colonel Karl Hurst of the US
82nd Airborne's 2nd Brigade. "Full moon in the desert is like daylight."
In other developments:
TURKEY will today reconsider allowing US troops to launch a second front
from its soil.
THE Dragoneye, America's latest and smallest military plane, is poised to
make its debut over Iraq.
US officials said a Turkish decision to allow the US to use bases in its
country for an attack on northern Iraq could shorten the war and help limit
casualties.
Last week Turkey ruled out allowing invasion from its territory but at risk
of losing $50 billion in US aid the Turkish Cabinet is to reconsider.
If approval is given, US forces would fly into the northern Kurdish zone
and head for Baghdad, forcing Iraqi forces to defend two fronts.
The Dragoneye, an unmanned aerial reconnaissance plane with a wingspan of
only 1.2m, has been rushed into service to add to the already formidable
technological advantage the US has over Iraqi forces.
"We plan to employ it in the first scheme of manoeuvre," said
Lieutenant-Colonel John Mayer, who commands a battalion of marines.
"This will be the first time it has been used in combat."
The tiny unmanned plane, the ultimate model plane at a cost of $70,000, is
sprung into the air with the help of a 10m rubber cord.
It will scout attack routes, loiter over buildings to monitor their
inhabitants, check if bridges have been blown and spare unnecessary patrols.
Marine officers are hoping the Dragoneye, the baby brother of the much
larger Predator and Global Hawk unmanned planes, will save the lives of
troops who will no longer have to scout into hostile territory.
"You just expend a battery instead of risking a marine's life," said
Colonel Mayer.
The allied assault will begin with a torrent of 3000 cruise missiles and
bombs.
US ships and submarines in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf will launch the
aerial assault.
As Tomahawk cruise missiles hit Baghdad and selected military targets,
waves of US fighter aircraft and Stealth bombers will rain hundreds of
laser-guided bombs on Iraq.
The bombers will take off from the US base on the Indian Ocean island of
Diego Garcia and possibly Europe.
The first phase of the war aims to cut all Iraqi military communications
and prepare the way for a troop invasion.
Among the bombing targets will be anti-aircraft batteries around Baghdad,
which can fire missiles.
Another early target will be airfields in western Iraq where Saddam may
have Scud missiles.
Australian and British SAS units and US Rangers will be on the ground
identifying targets and hunting mobile Scud missile launchers.
Once the airspace is secured and Iraqi communications destroyed, General
Franks will then order the army into Iraq.
The main thrust will come from Kuwait in the south, where 130,000 US troops
and 30,000 British soldiers are stationed. Up to 850 tanks will also head
for Baghdad.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6149829%255E661,00
.html
