Pentagon plans assault on Iraqi loyalty
From Barbara Starr (CNN Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon plans a major psychological operations campaign against Iraqi military officers and key military units to convince them not to fire chemical or biological weapons if their country is attacked, Pentagon sources say.
For some weeks now, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been urging the Iraqi military to disobey any orders from Saddam Hussein to launch weapons, sources tell CNN.
Rumsfeld has repeatedly pointed out that Saddam would order and delegate any such launch to Iraqi military units he considers loyal. Undercutting that loyalty is the focus of the U.S. campaign, which will try to point out that the Iraqi military has too much to lose if it engages in chemical or biological warfare.
The U.S. message will suggest Iraqi soldiers may retain a role after Saddam's eventual fall from power if they disobey any of his orders to fire, according to sources. By contrast, the U.S. will hold accountable those who participate in launching Iraqi weapons, sources say.
The U.S. effort will include continued public statements by Rumsfeld, covert approaches by the U.S. intelligence community and a major campaign to drop leaflets from the air inside Iraq, sources say.
The U.S. has used leafleting in other conflicts, including most recently in Afghanistan, and considers them successful tools at changing public sentiment.
