Troops on the Move

By MARK THOMPSON

ONE WAY TO TELL THAT WAR is drawing close is to visit an army town. In Hinesville, Ga.--adjacent to Fort Stewart, home of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division--the barbershop outside the base's main gate has started trimming women's hair because the number of $5 buzz cuts favored by G.I.s has dropped 70%. By the time the entire division is shipped out to Kuwait, the town's population will have shrunk by a third.

The pace of the U.S. military buildup is accelerating. Some 60,000 U.S. troops now surround Iraq, and an additional 50,000 or so are on the way. With more than 100,000 troops on standby in Europe and elsewhere, that's enough to launch a war. They'll be ready to strike by the end of January, Pentagon officials say.

Details of what the war might be like are also becoming clearer. The planned force of some 250,000 soldiers is just half the size used in the first Gulf War, because the U.S. military intends to use far more precision-guided munitions and because the Pentagon believes many Iraqi troops will sit out this war if they think Saddam's rule is doomed. U.S. commanders are planning for a short air war followed by a multifront invasion of Iraq. Instead of building up their forces along the Iraqi borders and invading on the ground, many U.S. troops are likely to fly directly into Iraqi airfields that are expected to be seized by U.S. troops in the conflict's opening hours.

Some of those soldiers will come from Fort Hood, Texas, where President Bush last week rallied 4,000 members of the largest army base in the U.S. "The leader in Iraq has publicly proclaimed his hatred for our country and what we stand for," Bush told the troops. They roared approving "Hoo-ahs!" when he said they might be called on to fight.

That enthusiasm isn't shared overseas. Hopes seem to be dimming that Turkey will allow its bases to be used as stepping stones to open a northern front against Iraq. Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said last week that his nation isn't interested in "opening a front against its neighbor." Nearly 9 of every 10 Turks oppose a U.S.-led war against Iraq, according to a recent survey, and only 5.9% think Turkey should provide any assistance Washington needs. --By Mark Thompson