Elite US division flies to Gulf

Elite US division flies to Gulf

The elite division will boost the coalition

The United States army will soon fly 12,000 troops from its 4th Infantry Division to the Gulf, the US military has announced.

The division, which is based in Texas, had been intended to go to Turkey to open up a northern front - but the Turkish Government has refused to allow the use of its territory.

Last week ships carrying the division's tanks and armoured vehicles were diverted to the Gulf.

The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says Wednesday's confirmation that the 4th Infantry is going there added to the sense US planners might have underestimated the task in Iraq.

The top officer in the US military, General Richard Myers, defended the American strategy, calling it a "brilliant plan" that had thrust the invading force "on the doorstep" of Baghdad in less than a week.

But analysts say planners may have used an invasion force that is too small, while leaving critical forces at home.

State of the art

The 4th Infantry is the army's first "digitised division", and uses the latest military technology.

Its tanks and vehicles are equipped with computer systems which the army says provide unprecedented awareness of events as they unfold in the battlefield.

Further reinforcements are on the way

The troops will start flying to the Gulf on Thursday, but the army has declined to say exactly where they will be sent.

The deployment comes amid questions over whether US and British forces in southern Iraq are sufficient to capture Baghdad and protect their long supply lines against attack by Iraqi irregular troops.

Turkey's refusal to allow American troops to use its territory in the war led the US to abandon plans for a significant invasion of northern Iraq.

Analysts say the Pentagon remains concerned about stability of the region and is determined to establish some sort of presence there, probably by flying troops in. But they will be fewer in number and they will be more lightly armed than the Pentagon would have liked.

Meanwhile the build-up of US forces continues and the total number of American personnel within striking distance of Iraq is now over 270,000.

A sixth aircraft carrier has entered the region and will be in the Gulf in the next few days.