US commandos already in Iraq, paper says
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, 6 January 2003 — Commandos of the US special forces and Central Intelligence Agency have been present in Iraq for at least four months in preparation for a possible US invasion, according to a report yesterday in the US daily Boston Globe.
The report says that commandos are in Iraq to identify rocket launch pads, mine fields, oil fields and Iraqi air defense targets in the so-called no-fly zones.
Also under observation are possible sites of activity in suspected Iraqi weapons programs.
Working with the 100 US commandos and 50 CIA specialists are a small number of Britons and Australians, the report said.
In Egypt, Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul urged the region to “work hard to avoid” war against Iraq and opposed the country’s breakup, after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak here yesterday.
“We don’t want to see Iraq to be divided ... We all have to work hard to avoid the war,” Gul told a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Atef Ebeid in this Red Sea resort.
But he played down the importance of comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis who said Friday that exile for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could be considered as an option to end the standoff between Baghdad and Washington. “It’s is not our plan that Saddam goes into exile. In fact, to stop the war there would be many other ways than exile,” he said. He said a Turkish official would travel today to Baghdad to push for peaceful settlement to the showdown.
In Cairo, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher distanced Egypt from reports that Cairo has been asked to provide asylum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to prevent the outbreak of war.
“This question is not being raised, we don’t know anything about it, and we have nothing to do with it,” Maher told reporters late Saturday, asked about the asylum reports in the local press.
The reports said British Prime Minister Tony Blair approached Egyptian leaders with a US proposal for Saddam to go into exile here.
In Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said yesterday Russia will consider any military action by the US and its allies against Iraq without UN approval as illegitimate and unjustified.
Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammed Al-Duri spent six hours trapped in a Baghdad office block after UN inspectors sealed off the surrounding compound during an inspection of an adjacent building.
Meanwhile, Israel successfully carried out a test launch of its Arrow missile interceptor yesterday, sending a salvo streaking across the sea as it stepped up preparations for possible attack by Iraq in event of a US-led war in the Gulf. (Agencies)
Home work is done boys and girls.
Now its time !!!!!!!!!!!
Just a warm up all you little piss ant countries!!
Hell we as Americans like war and killing some much we practice on eachother LOL.
All kiding aside it really is time for this nutt to be removed from power he is one sick puppy.
I say hurry up with this bunch of clowns and on to the next.
the world may think we are crazy now but when its all over you will see .
