Attack on Iraq Imminent?
Reports say Special Forces Now Building Tent Cities In Region

July 25, 2002

U.S.-led efforts to oust Saddam Hussein from Iraq are already underway with the construction of "tent cities" in several Gulf states, according to published reports.

The London Evening Standard and Pravda report that American and British special forces are now building staging areas in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, with military action likely within months – possibly as early as August.

According to the articles, the new French government has stated President Bush intends to make a move on Iraq sometime before the congressional midterm elections in November. Foreign Minister Dominique Villepin told diplomats she expects the U.S. to act "soon" against Saddam, following a conversation this month with National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice.

Additionally, Australia is now warning its citizens to leave Iraq as soon as possible and urging would-be visitors to stay away. The Canberra government recently indicated it would support a U.S.-led invasion, despite threats of trade retaliation by Saddam.

Military strategists say allied forces need not attack Baghdad outright, but could establish a blockade of the main land routes into Iraq where battle groups of 1,000 to 2,000 troops would be backed up by attack helicopters and fighter bombers.

Advanced bases would be set up in Mosul in the north and Basra in the south. An estimated force of 250,000 troops in place by next spring would team up with Kurdish rebels and Shiite guerrillas before advancing on Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Russia Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov is urging diplomacy instead of force in the developing crisis.

"The political-diplomatic potential for resolving the Iraq situation is far from being exhausted," Ivanov told Rossiskaya Gazeta.

A key reason cited by the West in wanting Saddam out of power is his alleged development of weapons of mass destruction. Both the U.S. and U.N. have sought to have inspectors return to Baghdad since leaving in 1998, but have been rejected by Hussein.

"It is very important that Iraq in the very near future, accepts the return of international inspectors, who could ... confirm the declarations of the Iraqi leadership that they have no weapons of mass destruction and no program to create such weapons," Ivanov said.

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