‘Military action against Iraq not inevitable’

The US military buildup in the Gulf means the use of force against Iraq is possible but not inevitable, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sa...

The US military buildup in the Gulf means the use of force against Iraq is possible but not inevitable, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.

Rumsfeld said President George Bush has not decided to use force against Iraq, but the flow of US forces to the region will give him greater flexibility in dealing with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The US military buildup means ‘‘the use of force is a possibility to be sure,’’ Rumsfeld said. ‘‘But I don’t know why anyone would use the word inevitable. It clearly is not inevitable,’’ he said.

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‘‘The first choice would be that Saddam leave the country tonight, that would be nice for everybody, or he decides suddenly to turn over a new leaf and cooperate with the UN and disgorge all of his capabilities,’’ he said.

Rumsfeld would not say how large a force the Pentagon is assembling in the region or provide details on military units slated for the deployment.

Pentagon officials have said that Rumsfeld signed deployment orders in December that will send some 25,000 troops to the region, and that additional deployments were under consideration.

There are about 64,000 US troops in the region, with about 16,000 in Kuwait bordering Iraq. But they will be joined in coming weeks by troops from the Army’s 3rd infantry division based at Fort Stewart Georgia, and squadrons of F-15 fighters and B-1 bombers.