Reuters October 11, 2002 1:29 PM ET
U.S., British forces in striking distance of Iraq
WASHINGTON - The following U.S. and British forces are in or near the Middle East and could be used in any attack on Iraq. U.S. officials say "host-nation sensitivities" prevent them from discussing basing arrangements of many U.S. forces in the area.
-- Two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups are in or near striking range of Iraq. They are led by the nuclear-powered Abraham Lincoln and the George Washington, the world's largest warships, each carrying about 70 warplanes and accompanied by Tomahawk cruise-missile firing destroyers, cruisers and submarines plus support ships.
-- The Lincoln, a Nimitz-class carrier now in the Gulf, is the first to deploy the new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, a multi-role strike fighter capable of both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions day and night, including dropping laser-guided bombs.
-- The Washington, also a Nimitz-class carrier, now in the Mediterranean along with the Los Angeles-class Oklahoma City attack submarine and the rest of its battle group.
-- The Ark Royal, a British aircraft carrier, is in the Mediterranean on exercises with eight other nations.
-- Overall, more than 55,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, air force personnel and Marines are now in the greater Gulf area, including about 9,000 in Afghanistan and thousands afloat, according to the U.S. Defense Department.
-- The U.S. Belleau Wood, flagship of a three-ship "amphibious readiness group," has been in the region to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan. An amphibious readiness group typically carries AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters, AV-8B Harrier jump jets and amphibious landing craft to send Marines and their combat gear ashore.
-- One of the group's components, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit based at Camp Pendleton, California, is exercising in Iraq's neighbor Kuwait. About 1,000 U.S. Marines are taking part in the drill, which began on Oct. 1 and involves amphibious, ground, air and surface forces from the United States and Kuwait.
-- Elsewhere in Kuwait, the Army has prepositioned enough weapons to support two combat brigades or about 6,000 troops. The 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia, is currently rotating its three brigades through tours of duty there. Each brigade has about 116 M-1 Abrams tanks, 60 M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 100 armored personnel carriers and 20 155-mm artillery guns, plus a helicopter assault capability and search and rescue personnel. Enough weapons to equip another armored Army brigade are afloat in the region, according to Major Richard Steele, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command's Army component.
-- Qatar, home to the longest runway in the Gulf at al Udeid air base, has recently been upgraded by the United States. Air-to-air refueling KC10 and KC-135 tankers aircraft operate there in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and to police Iraq's southern no-fly zone.
-- Bahrain is headquarters for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and regional headquarters for the U.S. Marine Corps.
-- Oman is hosting U.S. B-1B bombers, most likely from an airfield at Thumarit, said GlobalSecurity.org researcher Patrick Garrett, who is tracking deployments.
-- In Turkey, Incirlik Air Base plays host to more than 4,000 U.S. and allied military personnel, of whom about 1,400 directly support F-15 and F-16 fighters as well as EA-6B Navy Prowler electronic warfare aircraft policing the northern "no-fly" zone over Iraq. A further 150 aircraft and 6,000 personnel support the "no-fly" zone patrols over southern Iraq from different locations on land and afloat.
-- The Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a British base 3,340 miles from Baghdad which was used by the United States as a staging point in the Gulf War, is home to a fleet of B-52 heavy bombers.
-- U.S. and British officials are discussing the possibility of basing radar-evading, bat-winged B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia, Pentagon officials say. The planes, which can carry 16 2,000-pound guided bombs, were most recently used in U.S. attacks in Afghanistan, flying round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
-- Britain has roughly 1,250 troops deployed in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of "Operation Veritas," its contribution to the U.S.-led "Enduring Freedom" operation that toppled the Taliban in Afghanistan.
-- Separately, 1,175 British troops -- mostly air force personnel -- operate alongside the Americans in patrolling the two no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq.
-- Several thousand British troops are based in Cyprus.
Copyright 2002, Reuters
