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At 11:23 PM 2/12/2003 -0800, you wrote:
>Special Operations Units Already in Iraq
>Weapons, Defectors, Communications Links Sought
>
>By Thomas E. Ricks
>Washington Post Staff Writer
>Thursday, February 13, 2003; Page A01
>
>
>U.S. Special Operations troops are already operating in various parts of Iraq,
>hunting for weapons sites, establishing a communications network and seeking
>potential defectors from Iraqi military units in what amounts to the initial
>ground phase of a war, U.S. defense officials and experts familiar with
>Pentagon planning said.
>
>The troops, comprising two Special Operations Task Forces with an undetermined
>number of personnel, have been in and out of Iraq for well over a month, said
>two military officials with direct knowledge of their activities. They are
>laying the groundwork for conventional U.S. forces that could quickly seize
>large portions of Iraq if President Bush gives a formal order to go to war,
>the officials said.