Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/10/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ-U-S BRIEFING/QAIM (S-O)

NUMBER=2-302030

BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON

DATELINE=DOHA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A top U-S general says U-S forces are gaining control of the strategically important area around the town of Qaim, on Iraq's border with Syria, from which Iraqi forces could fire surface-to-surface missiles at Israel. As V-O-A's Roger Wilkison reports from U-S Central Command in Qatar, the town is also on a major road to Syria that could be used by Iraqi leaders to flee the country.

TEXT: Central Command's operations director, U-S Air Force Major General Gene Renuart, told reporters that Iraqi Special Republican Guard units, paramilitary forces and some regular army units are still fighting in the area, from which Iraq fired missiles at Israel during the 1991 Gulf war.

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We believe those forces have been significantly reduced over the last week or two, and we believe we're in a position where we can begin to control that area more freely.

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General Renuart says U-S special forces are already controlling the flow of traffic on the main highway between Baghdad and the Syrian border.

The road through Qaim from Baghdad is the shortest route to the Syrian border. The U-S military says that, by controlling that road, it could prevent members of the Iraqi leadership from fleeing to Syria.

The United States has accused Syria in recent days of allowing members of the Saddam Hussein regime to enter the country. (SIGNED)

NEB/RW/ALW/MEM/RAE