British troops had been told an invasion of Iraq would begin on March 17: paper

LONDON, March 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British troops had been told an invasion of Iraq would begin on March 17, with a huge bombing campaign being launched four days earlier, the Daily Express in London reported on Thursday, March 6.

The paper quoted a senior government source with direct access to British military planning in Kuwait, as saying that "everything is being geared up towards a ground invasion beginning on Monday".

Meanwhile, British newspapers reported that Britain and the U.S. were considering an amended new United Nations resolution giving Iraq “a short time” to disarm or face imminent military action.

The Times said that London and Washington were to force a vote on a new resolution early next week, but were studying ways of luring wavering Security Council members into their camp.

But the compromise move  may not be enough to bring round the French, Russians and Germans.

They threatened on Wednesday, March 5, of using veto power not to let a second resolution pass if it authorized the use of force, opposing U.S, British and Spanish calls for UN approval for war. China, another veto-wielding power, supported the joint French-Russian statement.

One possible solution would be to introduce an ultimatum into the resolution, or a protocol alongside it. The intention would be to give Iraq a few more days to produce chemical and biological weapons, or furnish evidence of their destruction, added the paper.

Three-day Ultimatum

The pro-war Sun, said that U.S. President George W. Bush would give Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a 72-hour ultimatum to disarm next week after a crucial Security Council vote on or face the biggest blitz in history.

"The order to strike would be given even if France vetoed a new resolution that aimed to pave the way to military action," read the tabloid.

Action was expected to begin towards the end of next week, and senior allied commanders had set April 10 as the target date for the end of the war, before temperatures in Iraq soared and the cost of conflict spirals, The Sun said.

U.S. Army chief General Tommy Franks said: “If the President gives the order we are ready. There is no doubt we will prevail.”

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld rammed home the message - and signaled Britain will join an attack even if the UN fails to pass a new resolution.

Bush would give Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a 72-hour ultimatum to disarm next week or face the biggest blitz in history: paper

In an editorial, the tabloid renewed an attack on French President Jacques Chirac, calling him "Le Worm" for what they called his "spineless" refusal to back the tough U.S. stance on Iraq.

The Sun claimed Chirac was trying to protect his country's trade deals in the region, and "never meant it when he opposed military action".

France could do a "massive U-turn" if chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix delivered a negative report to the UN on Friday, and Chirac could "emerge with a vestige of respectability," the paper said.

The paper also slammed Russian opposition of war as signaling that it is using France to wring a better deal out of the allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to inflict irreparable damage on the U.N. and his relations with America by vetoing a crucial resolution, said The Sun, adding that Putin’s aim is to protect multi-billion dollar oil contracts with Iraq once Saddam falls.

The paper quoted a senior source as saying “They are trying to ratchet up pressure on America to get a higher price for their vote.

The right-wing Daily Mail said on its front page that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's staunchest supporter in the Iraq crisis, had been dealt a "double hammer blow" by Blix saying that Iraq's destruction of a number of banned Al-Samoud missiles was “real disarmament", and by the declaration by France and Russia.

Blix hailed Iraq's cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors as proactive, declining to say how long it would take to complete the inspections because the track record has not been very good in the past.

But Blair said he is confident that the proposal would be approved in the Council.

Meanwhile, Bush met with top Iraq war planners, including Rumsfeld and commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf, Army General Tommy Franks for what is seen as a gathering for final touches of a seeming inevitable war against Iraq.