WASHINGTON, 26 January 2003 — A US war plan calls for the launch in March of 300 to 400 cruise missiles a day at the start of a war on Iraq, more than were fired during the entire Gulf War in 1991, according to a televised report.

US officials and analysts have predicted for months that an attack on Iraq would be swift, massive and designed to catch Baghdad by surprise.

But the report by CBS News, quoting unidentified Pentagon officials, offered new details of US defense strategy as the Bush administration builds up military might in the Gulf and tries to convince Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that force will be used if he does not disarm.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.

The Washington Post joined CBS in looking toward March as the possible start of military action.

Despite a wave of deployments over the past five weeks, the Pentagon has only begun sending combat elements to the Gulf and cannot assemble the force needed for an invasion of Iraq until late February or March, the newspaper, quoting defense officials and analysts, reported yesterday.

CBS said the battle plan, called “Shock and Awe,” focuses on the “psychological destruction of the enemy’s will to fight rather than the physical destruction of his military forces.”

“If the Pentagon sticks to its current war plan, one day in March, the air force and navy will launch between three and four hundred cruise missiles at targets in Iraq — more than were launched during the entire 40 days of the first Gulf War. On the second day, the plan calls for launching another three to four hundred cruise missiles,” the network reported.

During the 1991 Gulf War, a US-led armored column swept into Kuwait and destroyed Saddam’s elite Republican Guard divisions in the largest tank battle since World War II.

But this time, the target is the Iraqi leadership and the battle plan is designed to “bypass Iraqi divisions whenever possible,” the network reported.

The Post also reported that only a handful of countries — possibly as few as two or three — have pledged to join the Untied States in a military campaign against Iraq, although it has asked 53 countries to join the fray. Only Britain, Australia and the Czech Republic have sent troops to the Gulf. Four Middle Eastern Countries — led by Kuwait — are also offering bases or other kinds of logistical help, the Post said. (Agencies)