World Tribune.com


Report: U.S. targets pipeline in plan for February attack on Iraq

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, May 30, 2002

LONDON Ñ U.S. officials last week toured countries that border Iraq to discuss their participation in a ground attack on the Saddam regime.

The countries included Iran, Jordan and Turkey. Jordan has been offered $450 million in U.S. aid during fiscal 2003.

The London-based Al Hayat daily quoted sources as saying the Bush administration has decided to destroy the Saddam regime. The sources said such an attack could take place by February 2003.

Al Hayat daily also reported Thursday that the U.S. military has determined that the Iraqi-Syrian pipeline would be a key target in any military campaign against Baghdad. The newspaper said this information was relayed to European officials during recent consultations with their U.S. counterparts.

U.S. officials were quoted as saying that Iraq exports 150,000 barrels of oil a day to Syria through the pipeline. The pipeline was resumed in late 2000 after a hiatus of nearly 18 years, according to Middle East Newsline.

Al Hayat said the United States could launch a missile strike to destroy the Iraqi-Syrian pipeline even prior to any military invasion of Iraq.

Washington has warned Syria several times that the operation of the pipeline is a violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions against Baghdad.

U.S. officials said the Iraqi-Syrian pipeline is used by Baghdad to generate up to $500 million a year to spend on its military programs. The officials said Syria has become a leading smuggling route for equipment ordered by Iraq for its military and weapons of mass destruction programs.

The Bush administration is said to have accelerated preparations for any military campaign against Baghdad.

For its part, Syria denies that the pipeline has brought any significant amount of oil from Iraq. Syrian officials said the pipeline is being operated on an experimental basis and that Baghdad and Damascus are planning to build a larger facility for the export of Iraqi oil.

Officials said that the new pipeline, construction of which could begin later this year, would not be operated without UN permission. The UN has been authorized to supervise Iraq's oil exports and on Thursday a new so-called smart sanctions regime was put into effect.

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