Military action against Saddam ‘not inevitable’, says US expert

Date: 02/05/02

THE US is more likely to seek the downfall of Saddam Hussein by non-military means than sending in ground troops, a leading American defence expert told a Brussels conference last week.

Dr Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East analyst for Congress, said although Iraq's leader remains a 'major threat' in the war against terrorism, military action is not inevitable.

'I have heard that up to 200,000 US ground troops could be committed to the task but this will be highly problematic and the impression I get, inside the Pentagon, is that other options will be the preferred course of action.

'These would include, for instance, providing increased aid for the Iraqi opposition,' he said.

Katzman claimed that the failure of past administrations to respond to terror acts such as the 1988 Lockerbie Pan Am jumbo bombing, which left 270 dead, was partly responsible for al-Qaeda's attacks on America.

'The removal of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan sent a clear message that there was a 'market price' for terrorism. That was the message that should have been sent 20 years ago.

'It was not sent and the result was 11 September.'

Katzman was speaking at a conference organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies.

The US is more likely to seek the downfall of Saddam Hussein by non-military means than by sending in ground troops, according to leading American defence expert Dr Kenneth Katzman.