NEW YORK, Oct 13: Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he has ordered military commanders to rewrite Iraq war plans to make best use of precision weapons, intelligence and swift deployment, The New York Times reported Sunday.

The US military then go to war at less notice and with fewer troops than thought possible before the September 11 attacks, Rumsfeld was quoted as saying.

The move “is already shaping the work of General Tommy Franks, head of the United States Central Command, in his planning for a possible war against Iraq,” the Times quoted senior Defence Department officials as saying.

“The command has stockpiled weapons and positioned some troops in the ... Gulf in an effort to be able to stage a quick offensive against President Saddam Hussein that planners say would be vastly different from the 1991 war over Kuwait,” the report said.

“A faster mobilization could give (President George W.) Bush extra time to pursue more avenues of diplomacy or to allow weapons inspections to run their course,” it added.

And the faster use of smaller and more agile forces could give Bush better scope to work with the United Nations, if weapons inspectors return to Iraq, while at the same time preparing for an offensive that could be carried out in coming months, “the optimal season for combat in the desert,” the report noted.

Rumsfeld told the daily the new approach reflects the need after the September 11, 2001 terror strikes to update war plans continuously and respond faster to threats from terrorists and nations with biological, chemical or nuclear arms.

“Looking at what was overwhelming force a decade or two decades ago, today you can have overwhelming force, conceivably, with lesser numbers because the lethality is equal to or greater than before,” Rumsfeld said.

Washington has “to look at lethality, where you end up with precision-guided munitions which can give you 10 times the lethality that a dumb weapon might, as an example,” Rumsfeld added.—AFP