Reuters December 13, 2002
US troops in Gulf may see peaceful Christmas
By Douglas HamiltonDOHA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - General Tommy Franks isn't saying how much of the force his U.S. Central Command wielded in a computer-simulated war this week was virtual, and how much would be at his fingertips for use right now against Iraq.
But there is no sign of a stampede by America to cram more forces and weapons into the Gulf to support an invasion reckoned to require 250,000 troops and five or six aircraft carriers.
War rhetoric has also retreated from its November levels.
President George W. Bush promises to take time for a thorough assessment of Iraq's mammoth declaration on banned weapons to the United Nations, and with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying this will take weeks, many U.S. troops in the region should be able to relax over the coming holiday season.
Rather than war with Iraq, it will be Christmas at home for the several thousand U.S. Navy sailors and airmen of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier battle group, who only last week were braced for orders prolonging their stay in the region.
The carrier passed through the Strait of Gibraltar earlier this week on its way back to the United States.
The USS Harry Truman battle group is on its way to the region and the USS Constellation is due in the area this weekend, according to analysts. The Japan-based USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group is somewhere at sea, its location secret.
Rumsfeld visited Franks' new mobile headquarters in Qatar this week for a look at the exercise, to sign a new deal with the emirate allowing Washington to further upgrade bases here, and thank states in the region for help in the "war on terrorism".
He would not be drawn on whether he planned a quiet Christmas.
NO TENSION AT BASE
This was "perhaps the most stressful time that any of us have ever seen in our lives", Franks told the troops in a "town hall meeting" with the Defense Secretary.
But only one question out of a dozen he and Rumsfeld fielded on military housing, dental benefits and career prospects was aimed at finding out if war with Iraq was imminent.
"We are at an early stage," Rumsfeld answered. "It would be out of line for me to opine." Bush had brought the matter to the world's attention and "Iraq is in the process of responding...time will tell".
Reports of U.S. deployments have dried up considerably since October. In its latest assessment dated December 16, the military Web site GlobalSecurity.org says there is now too little data for a reliable picture of current deployments.
It reckons there are about 50,000 personnel -- of which 10,000 are army and the rest sailors and airmen -- and 370 combat aircraft, including European Command forces in Turkey.
The U.S. and its NATO allies needed 1,000 aircraft in the 1999 bombing campaign against Yugoslavia and analysts say they would use the same or more for an attack on Iraq.
Troop levels in recent years have averaged 20,000 to 25,000 and some 200 aircraft, GlobalSecurity says.
According to the analysts, satellite imagery of the harbour at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia showed two dozen ships loaded with military gear were still at anchor in mid-November.
But the imagery also showed shelters had been completed for the formidable B-2 stealth bomber, so that it could be used against Baghdad if Bush ordered.
© Copyright 2002 Reuters
