According to an Israeli assessment document prepared for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, officials in Jerusalem believe that the US offensive against Iraq, if ultimately ordered, would be a focused operation, with its goal - - the assassination of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and members of his family, an Israeli daily reported on Wednesday.
The document, dealing with military developments throughout the Arab Gulf region, indicates that the narrow focus would be intended to spur a change in Iraq's regime without causing the country's dismemberment, thus allowing Saddam Hussein’s successor to begin reconstruction, HaAretz daily reported.
In the course of internal discussions in Israel, several officials have suggested that Washington, in its recent air strikes on targets within Iraq, has in fact already begun its military offensive, without having expressly declared this. However, this is a view shared by a minority. The direction of the position presented to Sharon and Peres is that the current strikes represent a widening of previous military activity.
Furthermore, the document states that the US and British air forces are destroying Iraqi infrastructure in an effort to "bait" Iraq's military, particularly its anti-aircraft arm, into a response, in an effort to test its defenses and discover previously undetected targets. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
