Sydney Morning Herald - March 28, 2003
Months to victory, US warns By Marian Wilkinson in Washington, Christopher Kremmer and agencies
Senior Pentagon officials believe the Iraq war could take months, not weeks, to win amid indications that the assault on Baghdad may have to be delayed.
The United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said in a radio interview yesterday the war "may take a little bit longer, [we] don't know how long".
His comments came as the Pentagon ordered another 30,000 troops to Kuwait for eventual deployment in Iraq.
As the US President, George Bush, met Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at Camp David, the Washington Post reported that a debate was raging in the Pentagon over the future course of the campaign.
Vital to their deliberations was whether to delay the final assault on Baghdad until reinforcements arrive to bolster units within 60 kilometres of the capital.
Some elements already in Kuwait, such as the 82nd Airborne Division, could be deployed within days, but others - including the 4th infantry - could take a month or more to arrive.
Unexpectedly strong resistance and appalling weather have stalled the rapid advance that marked the early days of the campaign.
US officials say Iraq has adopted a defence strategy that combines guerilla strikes, regular military assaults and suicide attacks using fuel tankers and buses carrying civilians.
Nervous Baghdad residents were kept awake by more than 30 big explosions on Wednesday night, with the bombardment continuing after daybreak.
US Army officers have been reported as saying that Iraqi forces continue to stream south from Baghdad to confront the coalition, apparently trying to exploit the vulnerability of advance units because of their insecure, 400-kilometre supply lines.
US forces near Najaf and Karbala have run low on water and food, army sources said.
In one move, several hundred vehicles believed to be carrying Republican Guards approached the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division near Karbala, about 90 kilometres south of Baghdad, prompting US commanders to call in air strikes, which they said wiped out much of the convoy.
Another contingent of 2000 guards moved south-east from Baghdad towards elements of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force advancing toward Kut.
Fearing a suicide attack, marines fired on a bus that sped towards them on Highway Seven, killing 20 Iraqis. They were wearing what were described as makeshift uniforms and had two pistols between them.
Washington and Baghdad have accused each other over the deaths of up to 15 Iraqi civilians when a bomb or missile hit the city's Al Sha'ab market district, the worst civilian casualties in the capital since the war began.
Rejecting responsibility for the mounting civilian toll, the Pentagon is blaming all civilians casualties on Saddam Hussein.
But the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, rejected this and voiced increasing concern about the casualties.
President Bush, during a visit to Central Command headquarters in Florida, pointedly praised the commander of the coalition forces, General Tommy Franks, and the military strategy.
He also praised the role of allies, including Australia, which he said was providing "naval gunfire support and special forces and fighter aircraft on missions deep in Iraq".
But Mr Bush dropped a line that said the military plan "is ahead of schedule", saying instead that he could not forecast the final day of the Iraqi regime, but "that day is drawing near".
Despite the obstacles elsewhere, about 1000 US paratroopers were dropped into Kurdish-dominated northern Iraq, opening a new front the coalition hopes will force the regime to redeploy some forces now defending approaches to Baghdad. They may also deter Turkey from carrying out its threat to occupy parts of the area.
In the south, US and British commanders said they had destroyed much of a column of up to 120 Iraqi vehicles moving south from Basra.
Iraq fired a missile at Kuwait, but it was intercepted by a Patriot battery, a Kuwaiti Defence Ministry spokesman said.