Iraq: February 16, 2003

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Some 500 American troops arrived in Turkey to install special equipment needed to support U.S. air operations against Iraq. Last week, American troops began preparing Turkish ports to receive U.S. forces for operations in Iraq. 

The United States has informed Iraqi exile groups that an American run government would administer Iraq immediately after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Apparently, such a government would run the country for up to two years, until elections could be held and an Iraqi government would take over. The U.S. has a team of American and foreign experts working out the details of how the U.S. occupation government would operate. 

U.S. and British warplanes bombed Iraqi communications targets (five fiber optic cable repeaters) in southern Iraq.