Sources: Some Iraqi Troops Won't Fight

March 18, 2003 -- The deadline for Saddam Hussein to meet President Bush's ultimatum is only hours away, and sources say war could begin as early as Wednesday night.

But the war itself could be over just as quickly. There is growing hope among U.S. officials that an invading land force could push rapidly up the main highway toward Baghdad without meeting heavy resistance.

Intelligence sources told ABCNEWS the United States is getting clear signals from some senior leaders of Iraq's elite Republican Guard that they are looking for a way to cooperate.

Officials said this follows efforts by leaders of some regular Iraqi army units to let the U.S. military know they do not want to fight.

The regular army units, stocked with conscripted soldiers, did not provide much resistance during the 1991 Gulf War, and were not expected to do so any upcoming conflict.

But Saddam is expected to rely on the Republican Guard — long commanded by Saddam's youngest son and heir apparent Qusai — to defend key areas like the capital Baghdad and Saddam's hometown of Tikrit.

By leaflet and radio broadcast, U.S. officials have been planning to provide instructions on how to avoid a U.S. attack — turn tank turrets to the rear and point the main gun at the ground. The message is clear: don't shoot.

On Monday, U.S. forces made the biggest drop of leaflets to date in a months-long psychological warfare campaign. According to the U.S. Central Command, 1.4 million leaflets were released over Iraq.

Cautioning the Civilians

As for Iraqi civilians, there is a constant pitch being made that the fight is not with them.

In delivering his ultimatum to Saddam in a speech Monday night, Bush told Iraqi troops: "If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life."

He continued by telling soldiers to listen carefully to his warning that they should not destroy oil wells or use weapons of mass destruction.

Bush then addressed Iraq's civilians, saying: "If we must begin a military campaign it will be directed to lawless men who direct your country and not at you."

He pledged the United States would provide food, medicine and other assistance as Iraq recovers from war.

Echoing that message, Col. William Grimsley of the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry said: "As our fight isn't against innocent people, we ask them to continue trying to live their lives and stay home."

Nevertheless, Iraqi preparations for war continue.

A commercial satellite photograph shows smoke from an oil-filled trench on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. In war, U.S. officials fear Iraq would set hundreds of such fires in an effort to make targets harder to see for U.S. pilots.

How Much of a Coalition?

In camps around Iraq, the soldiers who have become the "coalition of the willing" in the U.S.-led effort have been waiting for the signal to go.

U.S. and British troops moved out of temporary camps and pushed toward the border with Iraq. More than 170,000 are now in Kuwait.

"What we have been training for the past month, six weeks, how long you've been here, will now happen," said Lt. Col. Duncan Francis, an artillery officer with the British military.

The United States today named 30 countries that support its efforts in Iraq, dubbing them a "coalition of the willing." They are mostly small nations like Eritrea, El Salvador, Afghanistan and Albania.

The administration doesn't like to mention there are just two countries next to the United States actually sending troops to actually fight — Britain and Australia. They are a coalition of three.

ABCNEWS' John McWethy contributed to this report.