|
|
Article: Drive Seen Straining Iran's Forces;Battle for Iraqi City of Basra Is One of Longest in War
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 21, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
|
Iran's drive against Iraq's second-largest city has now become
one of the longest sustained military operations of this six-year-old
war and western intelligence officials are debating whether Iran can
keep it up.
Iran has committed 40,000 to 60,000 troops to its campaign
against Basra, in the south, but western analysts say they are not
certain whether it has shown its full hand on the battlefield.
Westerners here monitoring the war say it is still possible that Iran
will throw an unprecedented number of additional troops, weapons and
materiel into an all-out "final offensive."
There is a consensus, however, that the duration of the fighting
has heavily strained Iran's depleted economic ...