Iraq war plan for dummies

[Harborwolf]

posted by aahala:

Since Saddam used the latter plan and believes he won Desert Storm, we can hope he choses it this time as well.

I think you are mistaking crazy for stupid. He says he won the war, but I don’t think he actually believes it. Seems more like propoganda.

As for strategy, It’ll probably go the same as Afghanistan. We soften them up with air strikes to minimize casualties, Then run in with ground troops to mop up.

Saddam will likely hunker his troops down in cities or any area with a high civilian count to beat the air strikes. Chem/bio would be better used on the ground troops when they first land, but he’ll probably panic and use them in a city.

I wonder if Saddam gets the straight dope?

[HPL]

*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole *
**
Of course, Saddam might toss some chemical or biologic weapons the way of the US troops as well. Hard to say if that would galvanize US opinion to kick his ass or cause a recoil of horror that saw demands for the remaining troops return immediately. **

Though, Ironically, this would prove that the adminstration was right about Iraq having WMD.

Though I’d rather that we not get proof in this way.

[starman]

I doubt the effectiveness of using chem/bio weapons aginst US troops. Not only would it (further) galvanise world opinion against Iraq, but US troops are inoculated against all likely bio and some chem agents.
Bio/chem would be much more effective against civilian targets, if such can be found.
-Oli

[First_Amongst_Dave_Stewarts]

The only thing I’ve read which stands out in my head was a two or three pronged invasion - one force coming through from Turkey, and one from Kuwait / the Gulf, intended to divide Iraqi forces.

Having said that, unlikely as it seems, I also read the 101st Airborne is committed to the region: perhaps we’ll see paratroopers descend on Baghdad?

[flex727]

Is the OP asking about the US plan or Iraq’s plan for winning the war? I think a discussion of potential strategies that could be used by Iraq is far more interesting.

[Uncommon_Sense]

*Originally posted by handy *
**Try watching CNN, they often give our plans. Right now looks like we are surrounding Iraq with out troops. I bet Iraq has CNN. **

Don`t matter now, how do you defend against launched missles from the sea?

[Scruff]

Don`t matter now, how do you defend against launched missles from the sea?

(1) By attacking the launch platform.
(2) By having anti-missile missiles
(3) By imprisoning your enemy captives on the target points (the “human shield” defence) which doesn’t work against lunatics
(4) By promising and then committing acts of enormous retaliation against such an attack (which is a variant of the Mutual Assured Destruiction strategy of the Cold War). Note that in the present situation, the retaliatory attack might be conducted against American assets anywhere in the world. A concerned government would have to raise the terrorist alert level world-wide right before a planned attack.

[Sam_Stone]

The U.S. plan to drop 3,000 bombs and missiles in 48 hours is called “Shock and Awe”.

The idea is to so thoroughly confuse, frighten, and demoralize the Iraqi military that they will simply be unable to fight at all. Soldiers won’t get into tanks, command bunkers will be abandoned on fear that they will soon be hit, etc.

To make this all more likely, the first phase of the war is already underway - the psychological preparation. The U.S. is dropping leaflets over military positions telling local commanders that:

A) if they follow orders to launch weapons of mass destruction, they will be treated as war criminals. “Following orders” will not be allowed as an excuse.

B) The U.S. has no interest in punishing mid-level officers for past war crimes. The only people that will be held accountable will be Saddam and his inner circle.

C) Officers and enlisted men who surrender early will be given preferential treatment, and will be allowed to keep their jobs in a post-Saddam military.

D) If you’re job means staying in any recognizable military structure or vehicle, you might want to be AWOL when the war starts, 'cause we’re going to destroy it all.

and most importantly:

E) This time, Saddam is definitely going. There will be no half-measures, so you don’t have to worry about deserting and then facing Saddam’s wrath six weeks from now.

The thinking is that the Iraqi military itself has no love for Saddam, and the only thing that keeps them in line is fear of Saddam. So the U.S. will counter that by making sure that they fear the U.S. even more, but that the U.S. really wants to be friends with them and holds no grudge against anyone but Saddam.

In the meantime, by all reports there are already a lot of special forces in Iraq preparing to sever key communications lines, secure oil fields so Saddam can’t torch them, etc. If the last Gulf War is any guide, there are special forces waiting right now near critical installations. When the war starts, they’ll use laser illuminators on the ground to ‘paint’ targets for smart bombs. This will be done especially in areas where there are sensitive civilian targets nearby that the U.S. wants to make sure it doesn’t accidentally hit.

Of course, the real plan could look totally different. Disinformation is a standard tool in war.

[KidCharlemagne]

That’s powerful stuff Sam and will probably be incredibly effective. I bought the leaflets from the last Gulf War on ebay - the ones with the message on one side and a pic of the currency on the other. It’s devious and intriguing.

[Sam_Stone]

I forgot to add that there will also be a number of weapons used in Iraq that haven’t been seen before. Most are highly classified, but one I’ve heard of is aircraft with extremely powerful electronics that can not just jam radio and TV, but replace broadcast signals with their own.

You can bet that when the war starts, all the Iraqi radio and TV stations will suddenly go off the air, and the population will start receiving CNN and military television broadcasts.

[Persephone]

I have a question about the news broadcasts.

I was watching MSNBC earlier this afternoon, and the expert-of-the-moment (who’s name is escaping me right now) was talking about attacking at night, during the next new moon, or the one after. This is apparently because we’ve got superior night-vision equipment, and they don’t.

My question is this: During the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein stated pretty clearly that he was getting a lot of his information from CNN. I imagine he watches MSNBC now too. Why are the newscasters even allowed to say such things on their broadcasts? I understand freedom of the press and all, but damn. There’s got to be a limit somewhere.

[Harborwolf]

I think the government knows Saddam has cable and gives the media either straight up disinformation or just what they want Iraq to hear. Of course, that is making the assumption that our government has at least some sneakiness to it.