Britain is also expected to send 6000 troops in the next few days to supplement the 20000 already in

Britain is also expected to send 6,000 troops in the next few days, to supplement the 20,000 already in position in Kuwait.The final destination of the American soldiers was not certain because of Turkey’s refusal to allow Washington to deploy ground troops there. Pentagon officials said the initial plan was to send the troops and equipment to Turkey, but that they might have to be diverted to Kuwait, where more than half of the American build-up is already stationed.General Tommy Franks, the head of US Central Command, was beginning two days of talks in Washington yesterday and the issue of troop deployments and war plans in the light of the Turkish decision was likely to be high on his agenda.The call-up notices went out to 26,000 members of the 1st Armoured Division, based in Germany, with 160 of their tanks; 17,000 men from the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas and 10,000 men from the 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment from Fort Polk, Louisiana. The rest were marines and reservists.One official said those men were not expected to arrive in the Gulf for several weeks and would be part of a second wave of any attack.Others waiting a call-up were 12,500 members of the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, who had expected to go to Turkey. Their final destination has yet to be determined.The United States already has five aircraft carriers in the Gulf and Mediterranean within striking distance of Iraq with a sixth on the way. Britain also has an aircraft carrier there.The first American B-52 bombers arrived at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Monday.

Other B-52s and B-1 bombers are already in the Gulf area and radar-evading B-2 “stealth” bombers have been told to go to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, which is within striking range of Baghdad.. American and British military planners will be forced to adopt high-risk strategies for an invasion of Iraq if Turkey cannot be persuaded to reverse its refusal to allow in US troops. More than 90 party deputies voted against the government at the weekend, and public hostility means that the proposal might not be put to the vote again for another two or three weeks.Turkey is also refusing to allow British troops on its soil, apparently because of lingering resentment at Britain’s role in detaching the Mosul and Kirkuk oilfields from the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s and incorporating them into Iraq. A formal request six weeks ago from the Ministry of Defence for British troops to land in Turkey has been ignored.Even if the troops of the US 4th Mechanised Infantry Division were to be allowed into Turkey, they would probably need at least two to three weeks before they were ready to fight. With the parliamentary delays, that could postpone the launch of an invasion of Iraq well into April.

Instead, planners are looking at much riskier alternatives, including an airborne assault on Mosul and Kirkuk or switching the 4th Infantry Division to Kuwait, from where they would be asked to make a long and dangerous dash around Baghdad to reach Republican Guard divisions protecting President Saddam’s home region of Tikrit.Even the original plan, based on 20,000 ground troops crossing into northern Iraq from Turkey, was complex and difficult. The mountainous terrain would have required some elements to leapfrog ahead of the main body to secure the northern oilfields and prevent the regime setting them ablaze. Another important aim would be to secure Kirkuk, claimed by Turkey as well as Iraq’s Kurds, who see the city as the capital of what they hope will one day be an independent state. Failure to do so would create a risk of fighting breaking out between Turks and Kurds behind the American advance.The main objective would be to confront the Republican Guard in Tikrit and prevent it falling back to defend Baghdad.Without the use of Turkey as a jumping-off point, American and British plans will have to incorporate a much larger airborne element.