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.