MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax-AVN) - The U.S. and Great Britain will launch a military campaign against Iraq between February 22 and 25, Alexander Shumilin, director of the Center for Analysis of Mideastern Conflicts of the USA and Canada Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, told Interfax-Military News Agency Friday.
"There is more and more evidence that the U.S. and Great Britain will start a military operation in Iraq between February 22 and 25. The next ten days may see the elite 20,000-men U.S. Army 101st air assault division airlifted to Iraqi borders," Shumilin said.
He also said that all the earlier known warfare scenarios were just another bit of the Pentagon's psycho pressure. As media across the globe speculated a fortnight ago, the Pentagon had spilled the beans that the operation would begin with massive missile strikes to hit the morale of the Iraqi army, and then a small-scale land operation would follow.
"Now we have different information: the operation is reported to be started by special operations forces. They will be assigned to seize control over strategic sites in Iraq (alleged armament depots, missile launchers, oil wells, etc.). According to the Washington Post, American SOps have already been acting this way in Iraq," he said.
In his opinion, this information has emerged in view of the report on Iraq to be delivered Friday by Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei. It is probably intended to increase military tension and try to drive the heads of the inspection teams into tougher statements on the results of inspections.
"At the same time, the U.S. is planning to influence other members of the UN Security Council to try to make them take decisions when the war, its first stage at least, has actually begun," Shumilin said.