Massive Iraq Deployment In The Works
While Britain Monday announced plans to send 26,000 troops — fully a quarter of its army — to the Persian Gulf to await a possible war with Iraq, the U.S. Army is sending a specially tailored force of about 37,000 soldiers, spearheaded by the Texas-based 4th Infantry Division, officials said.
Hailed as a major new step to prepare for a possible war in Iraq, the Texas deployment would be the largest ground force identified so far among an estimated 125,000 U.S. troops ordered to deploy by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld since Christmas Eve.
The 4th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Ivy Division, is considered the Army's most lethal, modern, and deployable heavy division, with the most sophisticated information-gathering and command and control equipment.
U.S. officials said Monday that some or all of the 37,000 soldiers in Task Force Ironhorse might be deployed to Turkey if arrangements are worked out to overcome the Turkish government's reluctance to host a large U.S. force.
Britain's Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon announced the large deployment in the House of Commons, where opposition from legislators has been strong to a U.S.-led war against Iraq, unless it is first approved by the U.N. Security Council.
He said the deployment, which will take place in the coming weeks, would provide "the right group of forces for the sort of tasks that may be necessary." Additional reservists also will be called out in the coming weeks to support these troops, Hoon told the legislators.
A deployment on this scale is "no ordinary measure," Hoon said, but he also emphasized that "none of the steps we are taking represents a commitment of British forces to military action. A decision to employ force has not been taken, nor is such a decision imminent or inevitable."
CBS News Correspondent Dan Raviv says Britain's army reports a troop strength of 101,000 people.
Britain already has dispatched its biggest naval task group in 20 years toward the Gulf for long-planned training exercises. The flotilla includes several warships, a helicopter carrier and a submarine, and will carry a total of 3,000 Royal Marines and be manned by some 5,000 sailors.
Britain, America's strongest ally regarding Iraq, also will deploy 14 fighter jets to Iraq's neighbor, Jordan, later this month for a long-planned military exercise with the Jordanian air force.
Marines moved out from both U.S. coasts Friday. In California, a seven-ship armada set sail carrying 10,000 sailors from San Diego and Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Camp Lejeune officials said about 7,000 additional Marines have been given orders to deploy to the Persian Gulf region.
About 60,000 U.S. troops currently are in the Gulf region. About 12,000, mainly Army soldiers, are stationed in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia hosts 6,000 troops, many of them Air Force pilots. The Navy's 5th fleet has 4,000 sailors and Marines in Bahrain. There are also contingents in Qatar, Oman and Turkey.
By the middle of February, the U.S. will have more than 40,000 ground troops in Kuwait or on ships just off shore, reports CBS News Correspondent David Martin. If Turkey and Jordan agree to host American soldiers, there could be a force of 200,000 in place.
But Turkey continued Monday to voice reluctance to hosting any large U.S. force.
Polls show 80 percent of Turks oppose a war against Iraq, and the Turkish government has been calling for a peaceful solution to the tensions.
Western diplomats have said that given Turkey's opposition, the United States is considering scaling back that request.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after talking with top military leaders in Ankara that "Turkey has been a very cooperative partner."
"I would expect them to be in the future as well," he said. He met with Turkish military chief Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul.
Myers declined, however, to comment on any details of the talks, saying it was up to Turkish officials to "characterize the details of that cooperation."
Turks fear that a war would damage the country's fragile economic recovery and lead to instability on the border. International investors say economic losses could reach $10 billion.