BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS: Game of chicken with N. Korea

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U.S. Orders 24 Bombers to Guam to Deter N.Korea
21 minutes ago


By Charles Aldinger

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is sending 24 B-1 and B-52 bombers to the island of Guam in the western Pacific to deter any aggression by North Korea (news - web sites) in case of a war in Iraq (news - web sites), defense officials said on Tuesday.

The U.S. officials said the deployment was a prudent measure to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula, where tensions have risen sharply over North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions.

But they said it was not prompted by the interception of an unarmed U.S. Air Force reconnaissance jet by North Korean fighters in international air space over the Sea of Japan on Sunday.

"These movements are not aggressive in nature," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon (news - web sites) spokesman. "Deploying these additional forces is a prudent measure to bolster our defensive posture and as a deterrent."

Davis refused to provide any details on the weaponry being moved from the United States, but other defense officials told Reuters privately that two dozen swing-wing B-1 jets and heavy eight-engined B-52s were being moved immediately to Guam under orders signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The additional forces were requested a month ago by Navy Adm. Thomas Fargo, who directs U.S. forces in the Pacific and Asia from Hawaii.

Air Force officials said a squadron of B-1s will go from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and a squadron of B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

Washington says it intends to settle differences with the hardline Communist government in Pyongyang peacefully and officials stressed that any deployment to the region to curb North Korean "adventurism" to take advantage of any war in Iraq would not include ground forces to join the 37,000 U.S. troops now stationed in South Korea