WASHINGTON, Aug 6: The commander of US forces in the Gulf briefed US President George W. Bush on a new plan to invade Iraq with significantly fewer than the 250,000 troops previously proposed, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The Journal said the new plan that Army General Tommy Franks outlined at the White House on Monday hewed closer to a proposal for a 50,000 to 80,000-strong invasion force, backed by heavy air power, that was gaining support among Bush administration officials. Further details were not immediately forthcoming.

“We’re not talking about what he talked to the president about,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman when asked about the report.

However, it was the latest in a series of leaks on an internal debate on how best to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The options range from an invasion requiring a 250,000-strong force attacking Iraq from three directions to a direct assault on power centres in Baghdad that would combine ground and air power.—AFP