US calls up 30,000 new troops

US calls up 30,000 new troops
By Roland Watson in Washington and Michael Evans, Defence Editor

Pentagon forced to change tactics
Republican Guard move to attack Marines




MORE than 30,000 American reinforcements were ordered to the Gulf last night as fierce battles raged through southern Iraq and the Republican Guard went on the offensive.
Paratroops were also dropped into northern Iraq, where they seized a key airfield in the first sign that America was opening up a northern front.

The deployments came as war planners were forced to change tactics and put the battle for Baghdad on hold; Pentagon chiefs conceded that they had underestimated the resistance they would face in other parts of the country.

The push towards the capital has been severely hampered by repeated attacks on armoured columns and supply convoys trying to bolster the American front line 50 miles south of Baghdad. These ambushes have fuelled criticism that the Pentagon went to war with too few troops.

Now one of America’s most modern fighting units — the 16,000-strong 4th Infantry Division — is being sent to Kuwait, where its 200 tanks, other vehicles and equipment are waiting. It will be joined by 14,000 more troops from other units, including the 3rd Armoured Cavalry.

The 4th Infantry should have been used to open the northern front through Turkey, but the plans were blocked by Ankara. Instead, a thousand paratroops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade were the first substantial force to move into the north when were flown in last night, paving the way for a more American troops and firepower. Officials said that several hundred special forces troops had been operating in the area and that supplies and equipment for the airborne brigade would follow.

The reinforcements were ordered in after a series of setbacks in the opening days of the war. Last night US forces were involved in a major battle with Iraqi units for control of a bridge over the Euphrates, 13 miles southeast of Najaf. A number of US Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles were destroyed by Iraqi rocket-propelled grenades.

Further south, an 80-vehicle US Marines supply convoy came under heavy attack after it had stopped just north of al-Nasiriyah, another strategic crossing point.

The Marines could also encounter the Republican Guard earlier than expected: a convoy of hundreds of vehicles and thousands of crack troops moved out of Baghdad yesterday under cover of sandstorms, heading straight towards the Marines deployed in al-Nasiriyah.

US intelligence said that Republican Guards had been spotted in two towns along Highway 7, which runs southeast from Baghdad to al-Kut. Their vehicles were being attacked by warplanes and General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that they were being engaged “where we find them”.

Another column of up to 100 Iraqi tanks was heading out of Basra towards al-Faw peninsula. This group also came under fierce attack from warplanes and tanks.

With coalition forces failing to achieve the strides north that they had hoped for — or to take towns in the south — the Pentagon has had to shift tactics. US officials said that they would have to focus their attention on dealing with the resistance in the south before they could put everything into the march north.

The Pentagon war plan had envisaged a lightning march on Baghdad, buoyed by popular support in the newly liberated south. The aim had been to provide a solid platform for the swift toppling of President Saddam Hussein, possibly from within his inner circle.

But officials now concede that they had underestimated the vulnerability of the American supply line and the potency of the guerrilla-style resistance led by the 40,000-strong Fedayin militia that is loyal to Saddam. One official said: “We didn’t think the Fedayin would play such a big role. It’s not a huge deal, but we will have to adjust accordingly.”

Others said that rather than keep pushing north, the allied forces would have to confront the enemy in the south before amassing troops and firepower near Baghdad. However, that means losing the momentum that was supposed to be the key to success.

President Bush continued to try to rally US morale as he prepared to meet Tony Blair for a summit at Camp David, insisting that American forces would be “relentless in our pursuit of victory”. US forces were well prepared for the battles ahead, he said. “I can assure the long-suffering people of Iraq that there will be a day of reckoning for the Iraqi regime, and that day is drawing near.”

He accepted, however, that the war was “far from over” and backed away from declaring that the US was “ahead of schedule” — a phrase White House officials had said he would use.

American officials and the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, had suggested that success in the war would be quick, but yesterday Mr Bush sought to play down expectations while insisting that the result was not in question. “We have an effective plan of battle and the flexibility to meet every challenge,” he said.

Mr Blair arrived in Washington yesterday evening after a flight in which his chartered Boeing 777 was struck by lightning. The aircraft landed safely at Andrews Airforce Base and the Prime Minister flew from there to Camp David for several hours of talks with Mr Bush.

They discussed the Middle East peace process, post-conflict Iraq and international diplomacy. Their crucial council-of-war on the state of the conflict will come this morning with a video conference linking them with military commanders, ministers and officials. They will then move to other controversial areas, including the type of administration that should run a post-war Iraq.



Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Ltd.