----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: "MER" <•••@••.•••>
From: "Mid-East Realities" <•••@••.•••>
Subject: 100,000 US Troops in place to quick strike Iraq
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2002 11:41:35 -0400
_______ ____ ______
/ |/ / /___/ / /_ // M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S
/ /|_/ / /_/_ / / Making Sense of the Middle East
/_/ /_/ /___/ /_/ www.MiddleEast.Org
News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, Interest Groups,
and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To Know!
READER'S COMMENT
"I try to read each and every article at MER; they
are bold, insightful and direct. Every time I read
MER I say WOW I did not know that! Thank
you for your veracity and the wealth of information."
Nizar Dassouki - 23 August
US FORCES PREPARE TO QUICK STRIKE AND TAKE OVER IRAQ
100,000 TROOPS ALREADY IN PLACE
FATE OF PALESTINIANS NOW OMINOUS
MER - Mid-East Realities - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 9/05/2002:
When the attack comes, and it could be soon, it will
probably be a massive 'surprise' assault upon all Iraqi
military and political leadership sites simultaneously.
One day we will all wake up and Iraq as we know it now
will simply be gone. After that the Americans,
Israelis, and Arab 'client-regimes' will go about
'rebuilding' the region; the Americans insisting that
no Arab or Muslim state be allowed to develop 'weapons
of mass destruction' regardless of the fact that the
Israelis are armed to the teeth with these very same
weapons. Indeed, it is the Israelis (always with
American help one way or another) who not only
introduced such weapons into the Middle East region and
whose policies have greatly escalated the proliferation
of such weapons. Already one can start envisioning what
is to come then. Next in line is Iran, then Syria; to
be followed by insistence that the 'big' regional
Arab/Muslim powers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt tow the
line...'or else'. At the end of the line (which
official Washington doesn't want to discuss at the
moment) is Pakistan, whose nuclear weapons will not be
tolerated in this 'new world order' in which the US,
Israel, and in this case India, will not only be
dominant but controlling.
U.S. BUILDUP ESTIMATED AT 100,000
TROOPS, 1,000 MILITARY PLANNERS
[Wednesday, September 4, 2002]: The United States
continues its military buildup in and around the
Persian Gulf with analysts estimating up to 100,000
troops within striking distance of Iraq.
U.S. military sources and analysts said Washington has
sent tens of thousands of soldiers and military
personnel to Gulf Arab states, Central and South Asia
and the Levant. They said the force includes at least
1,000 military planners who have prepared for a rapid
airlift of forces in case Washington decides on a war
against Iraq.
The U.S. Defense Department has been bolstering its
transport ship fleet as well as preparing its air cargo
fleet to defend against Islamic insurgents and Iraqi
forces, Middle East Newsline reported. On Aug. 27, the
Pentagon said it awarded Northrop Grumman a $23.2
million contract to provide the C-17 transport aircraft
with systems to defend against infrared surface-to-air
missiles.
The Pentagon has also awarded a $20.5 million contract
for the maintenance and overhaul of the U.S. Navy's
reserve air fleet. The award for iBASEt, based om Lake
Forest, Calif., is meant to support a range of air
programs.
Analysts said the total number of U.S. troops in the
Persian Gulf and surrounding regions now number around
100,000. They said this could enable a U.S. attack on
Iraq within weeks of a decision by President George
Bush.
The Washington-based Center for Defense Information
said the U.S. troop deployment effort has been muted
and taken in cooperation with host countries. The
center said in a report that the cooperation is meant
to keep the airlift out of the public eye.
"Notably, the command posts throughout the southern
Gulf states and their implication of offensive
operations are as politically sensitive as ever," the
center said in a report authored by [Ret.] Rear Adm.
Stephen Baker and Colin Robinson. "The U.S. 'footprint'
in each country requires actual personnel numbers,
amount of prepositioned equipment and
support/cooperation agreements made with each country
to be kept out of the publicís knowledge."
The center said the United States maintains 8,000
troops in Afghanistan with several thousand more aboard
naval ships in the Arabian Sea. More than 20,000
additional soldiers are deployed in Gulf Arab
countries.
[On Aug. 30, Germany Defense Minister Peter Struck
warned that Berlin would withdraw its military
personnel from Kuwait if the United States attacks
Iraq. Germany maintains 52 soldiers and Fox infantry
fighting vehicles and has been training Kuwait in
defending against a weapons of mass destruction
attack.]
Moreover, more than 1,000 military planners, logistics
experts and support specialists have been deployed in
command posts throughout the Persian Gulf, the report
said.
They are in real-time contact with U.S. Central Command
headquarters in Tampa, Fla. by video teleconferencing,
satellite imagery and data link and have drafted plans
to ship up to 200,000 tons of heavy weapons and other
equipment to the region.
The center said the United States could also use
military bases in Egypt and Jordan for an attack on
Iraq. Currently, the U.S. 22nd Marine Expeditionary
Unit is exercising with Jordanian forces and the center
did not rule out that the maneuvers comprise a cover
for prepositioning forces at well-sited forward staging
posts. [WorldTribune]
--------------------------
MiD-EasT RealitieS - http://www.MiddleEast.Org
Phone: (202) 362-5266
Fax: (815) 366-0800
Email: •••@••.•••
To subscribe free to MER email to
•••@••.••• with subject SUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe email to •••@••.•••
with subject UNSUBSCRIBE
--
============================================================================
cyberjournal home page:
http://cyberjournal.org
"Zen of Glbal Transformation" home page:
http://www.QuayLargo.com/Transformation/
QuayLargo discussion forum:
http://cyberjournal.org/Productions/ShowChat/?ScreenName=ShowThreads
cj list archives:
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists='cj'
newslog list archives:
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists='newslog'
cj_open list archives:
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists='cj_open'
subscribe addresses for cj list:
•••@••.•••
•••@••.•••
subscribe addresses for cj_open list:
•••@••.•••
•••@••.•••
============================================================================
