Thursday, March 27, 2003 --- THE WAR ON IRAQ
US officials fear Iraq war could last months
REUTERS in Washingtion -- Updated at 11.59am:
Some US military officials are convinced the war in Iraq is likely to last for months and will require considerably more combat power than currently on hand in the country and in Kuwait, the Washington Post said overnight (HK time).An article posted on the paper's Web site quoted unnamed senior defence officials as saying bad weather, long and vulnerable supply lines and stiffer than expected Iraqi resistance prompted some US generals to conduct a broad reassessment of military expectations and timelines.
Officials told the Post that military commanders on the battlefield in Iraq and in the Pentagon are talking about a longer, harder war than had been expected just a week ago.
''Tell me how this ends,'' the newspaper quoted one senior official as saying in the article, which was also expected to appear in the newspaper's Thursday editions.
But Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke denied the Post's claim that a strategic reassessment had been undertaken.
''There is no major revision under way,'' she said. ''There is no major mid-course correction under way, as suggested in the Washington Post story.'' She added that defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has maintained for some time that the war in Iraq could last for days, weeks or months.
On Tuesday, Mr Rumsfeld and Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, fended off criticism that the invasion force was too small and not packing enough armour, after Iraqis inflicted casualties and caused numerous problems for US and British troops in southern Iraq. General Myers called the US strategy ''a brilliant plan.''
Meanwhile, the Post article said some military planners favour a continued push north to Baghdad but that most Army commanders favour a pause so that US-led forces can replenish supplies of water, food and ammunition.
Strained supply lines have been accompanied by a degree of chaos exacerbated by sniping and immense traffic backlogs from the Kuwaiti border, the Post said.
The Army's 4th Infantry Division, which has begun putting equipment into Kuwait after Turkey refused use of its territory to launch a second front in northern Iraq, could take nearly a month to move its tank-heavy operation into combat positions, the newspaper said.
Other forces heading to the Gulf region, including the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, and the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, will need months to move their tanks and other armor into combat, the Post said.
US officials fear Iraq war could last months
REUTERS in Washingtion -- Updated at 11.59am:
Some US military officials are convinced the war in Iraq is likely to last for months and will require considerably more combat power than currently on hand in the country and in Kuwait, the Washington Post said overnight (HK time).An article posted on the paper's Web site quoted unnamed senior defence officials as saying bad weather, long and vulnerable supply lines and stiffer than expected Iraqi resistance prompted some US generals to conduct a broad reassessment of military expectations and timelines.
Officials told the Post that military commanders on the battlefield in Iraq and in the Pentagon are talking about a longer, harder war than had been expected just a week ago.
''Tell me how this ends,'' the newspaper quoted one senior official as saying in the article, which was also expected to appear in the newspaper's Thursday editions.
But Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke denied the Post's claim that a strategic reassessment had been undertaken.
''There is no major revision under way,'' she said. ''There is no major mid-course correction under way, as suggested in the Washington Post story.'' She added that defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has maintained for some time that the war in Iraq could last for days, weeks or months.
On Tuesday, Mr Rumsfeld and Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, fended off criticism that the invasion force was too small and not packing enough armour, after Iraqis inflicted casualties and caused numerous problems for US and British troops in southern Iraq. General Myers called the US strategy ''a brilliant plan.''
Meanwhile, the Post article said some military planners favour a continued push north to Baghdad but that most Army commanders favour a pause so that US-led forces can replenish supplies of water, food and ammunition.
Strained supply lines have been accompanied by a degree of chaos exacerbated by sniping and immense traffic backlogs from the Kuwaiti border, the Post said.
The Army's 4th Infantry Division, which has begun putting equipment into Kuwait after Turkey refused use of its territory to launch a second front in northern Iraq, could take nearly a month to move its tank-heavy operation into combat positions, the newspaper said.
Other forces heading to the Gulf region, including the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, and the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, will need months to move their tanks and other armor into combat, the Post said.
