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WASHINGTON, Jan. 21: The Pentagon on Tuesday ordered two additional aircraft carriers to deploy to the Gulf region in preparation for an invasion of Iraq.
Pentagon officials said the aircraft carriers, USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln, should arrive in the region in three to four weeks.
Two other carriers, the Kitty Hawk and the Carl Vinson, have been notified to stand by for possible orders.
The Theodore Roosevelt, based in Norfolk, is taking part in exercises off the US east coast and will accelerate its training. The Lincoln was heading back to its west coast base after a Gulf deployment, but will now turn around.
The Roosevelt could first join the USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean, says NBC Television’s military expert Jim Miklaszewski.
Both the Truman and Roosevelt could launch airstrikes against Iraq from the eastern Mediterranean, and one or both could eventually be ordered into the northern Red Sea to launch strikes, said Miklaszewski.
The Lincoln will join the carrier USS Constellation in the Gulf.
Officials said the Kitty Hawk was expected to eventually join the Constellation and Lincoln in the Gulf, and the Carl Vinson would probably be ordered to cover the Pacific region vacated by the Kitty Hawk.
Because of tensions with North Korea, there is concern about leaving the Pacific completely uncovered by a carrier, Pentagon officials said.
Having carriers in the Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean would put hundreds of navy fighter-bombers in position to attack from three directions.
The US navy has 12 aircraft carriers and each travels with destroyers, cruisers and other ships, plus a submarine. Aboard each carrier are about 70 aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters and support planes.
In the 1991 invasion, the navy had four aircraft carriers involved _ two in the Red Sea and two in the Gulf.
APPEAL TO IRAQI SOLDIERS: The US Central Command, which oversees military operations in Iraq, is urging Iraqi soldiers to rebel against Saddam Hussein in an effort to prevent him from persecuting the people of his nation.
The message, aired to the Iraqi soldiers in special radio broadcasts, said the Saddam deceives his people by creating a false sense of national pride.
Coalition forces dropped thousands of leaflets in southern Iraq over the weekend, encouraging Iraqis to listen to the broadcasts.
The coloured leaflet introduces the new radio, set up by coalition forces, simply as Information Radio, which can be heard between 1800 and 2300 hours daily at the following frequencies: 756 KHZ AM, 693 KHZ AM, 9715 KHZ SW, 11292 KHZ SW and 100.4 MHZ FM.
“Soldiers of Iraq: since the beginning of time, there has been no profession more honourable than that of a soldier. Soldiers are decorated with awards and medals that show their achievements and mark their skills.
“The uniform of a soldier is an article that demands respect, and loyalty. Soldiers are the defenders of their people, and the protectors of women and children. A soldier is willing to sacrifice himself for his country and their way of life. Soldiers sacrifice their own personal freedoms to protect others,” says the message.
“Saddam has tarnished this legacy. Saddam spews forth political rhetoric along with a false sense of national pride to deceive these men to serve his own unlawful purposes. Saddam does not wish the soldiers of Iraq to have the honour and dignity that their profession warrants. Saddam seeks only to exploit these brave men. Saddam uses the soldiers of Iraq not as protectors of the peace, but rather as his own personal bodyguards.”
