January 08, 2003

Western allies ready troops for Gulf

The Western allies are gearing up their troops for possible deployment to the Gulf in the event of a war with Iraq.

The UK said it was calling up 1,500 reservists, with more to follow if necessary, and bolstering naval forces already earmarked for the Gulf.

In France, President Jacques Chirac said soldiers needed to be prepared in case new areas of engagement opened up - his clearest reference yet to the prospect of French involvement in any military action in Iraq.

And the United States Central Command has said it is dispatching battle staff to a new forward headquarters in Qatar, in the latest sign that Washington's build-up is gathering pace.
[...]
Alluding to Iraq, the French president, meanwhile, warned his troops that other theatres of engagement could open up, in addition to areas where French soldiers are currently engaged.

"Particularly, we have to be attentive to the way in which United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 is applied by Iraq," he said.

The BBC's Paris correspondent, Jon Sopel, says Mr Chirac is slowly trying to massage public opinion, readying it in case military action does take place and French soldiers are called to serve alongside American troops.

France has long opposed the prospect of unilateral military action by America against Iraq, insisting any resort to force must be approved by the UN first.
U.S. Deployment
Thousands of American soldiers are being deployed to the region this week, joining the 50,000 already there.

The White House has also ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to abandon its voyage home and return to Australia, fuelling speculation that plans are being made to use the vessel in a campaign.

The giant US Navy hospital ship, USS Comfort, also left her home port of Baltimore on Monday and is thought to be heading to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

At least 10,000 US reservists have been told to prepare for possible overseas deployment as early as this week to support the build-up.

The US Army has also started deploying more than 11,000 soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Benning and Fort Stewart in Georgia - specialists in desert warfare.

Correspondents say that many of these troops are veterans from Desert Storm, the US-led military operation to remove the Iraqi army from Kuwait over 10 years ago.

"Desert Storm vets?" I love it!
These fine soldiers are going to be looking for some serious payback...and for the opportunity to finally take Baghdad, as we really should have in 1991.
As for the 3rd Infantry, I just watched the movie
"Patton" for the umpteenth time (and it was still great!) and I think it was the 3rd Army that Patton led in the Battle of the Bulge...Great bunch of fighters, too!
We don't really need the French to do much...except add some fine field cooking, snappy uniforms like the ones they had for the Foreign Legion and their marvelous war phrases like "Courage, mon brave!," hors de combat and "C'est la guerre!"
I'd like to send a shout out to all our fine, strong men and women in the military who've deployed overseas: we're with you, we're proud of you and we're looking forward to you all coming home soon safe, sound and victorious!