looking back

Pentagon: Iraq invasion will take a week

Wednesday, March 12, 2003
2:50:52 PM

An invasion of Iraq could be completed in just seven days, a senior Pentagon official claimed.

The attack would be the most spectacular military operation in history and involve minimal allied or enemy casualties, the unnamed defence official told the New York Daily News.

The Pentagon has repeatedly said the massive bombing campaign they expect to unleash against Iraq will cause “shock and awe“.

The US Air Force yesterday attempted to further intimidate Saddam Hussein by testing a massive 21,500lb bomb, the world’s most powerful non-nuclear weapon.

Pentagon officials also predicted that the US presence in post-war Iraq would be far shorter than some opponents of the expected invasion have forecast.

“I’ll probably come back to hate this answer, but I’m talking months,” a senior official responsible for organising the reconstruction effort said.

The Iraqi regular army would used for much of the work while being paid by the US, he said.

“They can help rebuild their own country.”

http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2003/03/12/story91424.asp