An Iraqi military spokesman described one bombing on September 25. "Hostile American and British planes violated our airspace at 9:30 p.m. local time, flying from air bases in Kuwait," he said. "The enemy attacked our civilian and service installations in Dhi Qar and Meisan provinces, injuring one civilian." The Pentagon reported that the strikes had hit surface-to-air missile sites near Tallil and Al Amarah, around 170 miles and 165 miles southeast of Baghdad, respectively.

U.S. and British warplanes attacked again just after midnight the next day, hitting an air defense communications center at al Kufah, a town in south-central Iraq. Other jets bombed a mobile air defense radar system at an airport in the southern port city of Basra. Iraqi authorities condemned the attack, pointing out that the airport is a civilian facility."

In an acknowledgment that the invading forces have bombed civilian areas, U.S. officials accused the Iraqi government of stationing military equipment at nonmilitary sites in "hopes coalition forces will not strike for fear of injuring civilians," the Associated Press reported.

Over the last decade, the frequent Anglo-American air assaults have left many civilians dead or maimed. In February of last year, Washington Post columnist William Arkin revealed that the U.S. military had used antipersonnel cluster bombs in its attacks in the imperialist-imposed "no-fly" zones over Iraqi territory. The bombs will "kill and wound innocent civilians for years to come," he wrote.

While U.S. military spokespeople claim that officers order attacks in response to Iraqi antiaircraft fire or to signals that the ground defense radar has locked onto them, U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld disclosed in mid-September that the planes are now concentrating on the destruction of major fixed air defense facilities, "rather than the specific guns and radars used against U.S. and British pilots," reported AP.

The U.S. and British planes have especially targeted sites in an air corridor in the southeast of Iraq, in the region of its border with Kuwait. In public discussions of the invasion by Pentagon and White House officials, Kuwait is regularly mentioned as a possible staging ground for an infantry drive toward Baghdad.  
 
U.S. troop buildup in Kuwait
The number of U.S. troops in Kuwait has grown to 10,000. U.S. amphibious, air, and ground forces are staging "Operation Eager Mace." Another exercise entitled "Operation Desert Spring" is due to begin soon. Some 4,000 U.S. marines are taking part in these maneuvers, more than double the number involved in similar exercises in the past.

"Such exercises have been common for nearly a decade, giving U.S. forces desert experience and bolstering military ties with gulf allies," reported the San Diego Union Tribune.

Since the end of the Gulf War, a decade that has spanned three administrations, Washington has established a number of new bases in Kuwait and other Gulf states, and organized regular military maneuvers from them.

Washington has also built or extended military facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, as reinforcements and alternatives to the long-standing Prince Sultan Air Base and other bases in Saudi Arabia. Prince Sultan still houses the command headquarters for overflights of the "no-fly" zone in southern Iraq.

In a survey of the current official position of Iraq’s neighbors, the October 1 Wall Street Journal listed the regimes in Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar in the category of willing "help and support" to a U.S.-led war.

Along with Kuwait, the government of Turkey is likely to provide a launching pad for a U.S.-led assault both on the ground and in the air. On September 30, the Turkish government played host separately to U.S. officials and the Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz. Nonetheless, "Turkey knows they can’t stop America," said a Turkish journalist, "so they are trying to get some sort of compensation, at least in economic terms, and in political terms, they are trying to get guarantees against a possible Kurdish state."

The north of Iraq and the south of Turkey are home to millions of Kurds, who have waged many struggles for self-determination against the Turkish and other governments in the region. U.S. officials are presently trying to pressure Kurdish capitalist parties to collaborate with Washington in its escalating war moves.

The Journal listed the governments of Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia in the "help but [officially] oppose" category. Only Iran and Syria were placed in the "no help or support" corner at this stage of the U.S. drive to war. Washington has recently criticized both countries for supposedly providing missiles to Hezbollah, an organization based in the south of Lebanon near the border with Israel.  
 
Increase in arms manufactures
The Pentagon has increased its orders of bombs and other weapons for use in the fast-approaching assault. At Raytheon plants in Tucson, the Los Angeles Times reported, "Production of Paveway air-to surface and Tomahawk cruise missiles has tripled in recent months. The Paveway...can carry a new bunker-busting warhead that is designed to kill troops hidden deep inside hardened underground chambers." Boeing has doubled production of electronic bomb-guidance kits.

"War fever has intensified at the Pentagon," remarked the September 29 Sunday Times of London. "Planners are fine-tuning what many military experts expect to be a high-speed, high-intensity deployment of forces ready to advance on to Iraqi soil within three weeks of an order from Mr. Bush."

The British paper said, "A growing number of military experts believe the timetable points to Thanksgiving."

Democratic politicians in the U.S. Congress have joined in the war preparations by advocating a U.S. assault "only" after sending U.S.-approved "inspectors" into Iraq under the cover of the United Nations. Edward Kennedy, "the Senate’s preeminent liberal," as CNN described him, gave a speech September 27 criticizing Bush along these lines. "Kennedy said the use of force may prove inevitable, should weapons inspections fail," CNN reported.

Kennedy ended the speech by giving a glowing account of the U.S. government’s role in the October 1962 "missile crisis." He said his brother "won international support before initiating a blockade around the communist island nation" at that time. In that confrontation, driven by Washington’s determination to overthrow the Cuban Revolution, the Kennedy administration brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war but backed down from an invasion after weighing the massive casualties the mobilized Cuban population would inflict on the invaders.

Despite the Democrats’ tactical criticisms of the Bush administration, a Congressional resolution backing the White House’s course is expected to pass with a comfortable majority. "We’re making progress, we are nearing agreement, and soon we will speak with one voice," said Bush on September 29.

Washington is also drumming up backing in the United Nations Security Council. Under a draft resolution sponsored by U.S. representatives and supported by London, UN "inspectors" would be given authority to declare "no-fly, no-drive" zones around alleged weapons-production sites inside Iraq, "enforced by UN security forces or UN member states." Such armed units would be deployed in Baghdad in the center of the country, Basra in the south, Mosul in the north, and elsewhere.  
 
Action will be triggered
Baghdad would be given 30 days to make a declaration about its weapons facilities. If according to Washington the Iraqi authorities "delay, obstruct, or lie about anything they disclosed, then this will trigger action," said one U.S. official.

European diplomats in the United Nations have "complained that the British-U.S. text" of the draft resolution "was so aggressive that it was ‘designed to be rejected,’" reported the Sunday Times.

Washington’s rival powers in Europe have expressed their resentment of Washington’s military and political dominance, seeking to promote their own interests in the Mideast.

A representative of the German government, which has just taken up a temporary position on the Security Council, criticized Washington and London for seeking to create a "whole new structure" of inspectors under their control.

"We do not want to give carte blanche to military action, because we want to fully assume our responsibilities," said the French foreign minister.

Meanwhile, an elite Israeli commando unit has been operating inside Western Iraq to "locate" Iraqi missile launchers, reported the September 29 Jerusalem Post, citing Jane’s Foreign Report. An article in the British publication, reported the Post, "claimed that Israel had struck a secret agreement with Jordan whereby if necessary Israeli planes will be permitted to used Jordanian air space."

On September 26 Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon laid out his response to Washington’s calls on his government to exercise restraint if Iraqi missiles land on Israeli soil. The U.S. government has said it will prioritize knocking out Iraq’s missile silos and mobile launchers to make any Israeli air strikes unnecessary.

"If Iraq hits Israel, but does not hit population centers or cause casualties, our interest will be to not make it hard on the Americans," Sharon said. "If on the other hand, harm is done to Israel, if we suffer casualties or if nonconventional weapons of mass destruction are used against us, then definitely Israel will take the proper actions."

Israeli forces have carried out at least two assassination attempts of leading Palestinian figures over the past week, one of them successful. A number of other Palestinians have died in military attacks, as Apache helicopters, bulldozers, tanks, and infantry have carried out raids and fired on protesters.
 
 
Related article:
Two-sided assault on Palestinians
Pittsburgh rally condemns assault on Palestinians  
 
 
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