Logistics delay Iraq war

US troops being deployed to the Persian Gulf region would not be ready for a full-scale war against Iraq before late February or early March because of logistical complications involved in putting a large fighting force into place, USA Today reported Monday.

Citing Pentagon officials, the report said the timing of a possible US invasion to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had been pushed back from mid-February mainly because of the complexity of putting a large ground force into the field and getting it geared up for war.

A Pentagon spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the report.

USA Today reported that another factor contributing to the delay in the timetable for a possible war was Turkey had not agreed to host some 80,000 US troops who would participate in an invasion of Iraq.

"We need an answer," a defense official was quoted as saying.

According to the report, the delayed timetable contributed to the Bush administration's willingness to accept extending UN weapons inspections beyond Jan. 27 -- the date when UN inspectors are scheduled to give a formal assessment of Iraqi compliance with UN disarmament demands.

President Bush has said that he has made no decision on whether to invade Iraq over US charges that Baghdad is developing weapons of mass destruction.

But Jan. 27 has been viewed by some administration officials as a potential moment of decision on whether Iraq's cooperation has been sufficient to head off military action.

Meanwhile, UN arms inspectors will demand answers from Iraq this week to burning questions that could spark a US-led war against Baghdad, as Washington more than doubles its troops in the Gulf region to 150,000.

The two top UN inspectors, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, will travel to Baghdad next weekend to confront Iraqi officials over what they say are a big gaps in Iraq's declaration that it does not have any arms of mass destruction.

They told the UN Security Council last week that while searches in Iraq so far had not uncovered "smoking guns," or hard evidence, Baghdad had left a "great many questions" unanswered.

Washington has signaled that if Iraq does not provide satisfactory answers, this could be deemed non-cooperation under UN resolutions and therefore a trigger for war.

Saudi Arabia put out peace feelers over Iraq on Sunday as a British minister signaled fresh unease in Prime Minister Tony Blair's government on joining a possible rush to war by Washington.

The United States announced new troop deployments amid signs in Europe and the Middle East that many states were increasingly nervous about war breaking out and wanted all other options explored. Jordan warned of suffering throughout the Gulf region.

President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are the chief prosecutors in the case against Iraq, saying they have intelligence that it does have weapons of mass destruction and threatening war unless Baghdad comes clean.

A January 27 report by the inspectors took on fresh significance at the weekend when sources said Bush and Blair would meet soon afterwards to discuss what to do next on Iraq.

British newspapers said Blair would go to Washington to underscore his belief that the inspectors should be given time to deal with Iraq, but the meeting could turn into a council of war if Baghdad failed to come up with satisfactory answers.

UN officials have expressed dismay that Iraqi minders have accompanied all scientists interviewed so far, and Blix said last week that Baghdad had not cleared up issues such as chemical bombs, VX nerve gas and the import of missile engines.

The inspectors say Iraq must produce credible evidence to back up its stance that it destroyed all material that could be used for weapons of mass destruction while UN teams were out of the country from 1998 to late last year.

Iraq said on Sunday it was cooperating with UN searches. It also said two scientists interviewed by inspectors last month had refused to leave the country for further interviews.