U.S. News & World Report March 24, 2003
A Plan for War
If President Bush gives the order, U.S. military forces are prepared to execute an invasion of Iraq that combines intense bombing of military targets and a fast-moving ground offensive by the American forces massed in Kuwait. U.S. planners hope a high-speed, high-tech offensive would lead to the quick collapse of Iraqi resistance. But officials also note that any war is unpredictable and that war plans often change once the shooting starts.
[Map is not available]
[labels]
Iraq
Mosul
Arbil
5th Corps
Kurdish Autonomous Region
Halabja
Kirkuk
Tikrit
1st Corps
Oil pipeline
Samarra
2nd Corps
Khanaqin
Al Mansuriyah
Baghdad
Al Fallujah
Arar, Saudi Arabia
As Suwayrah
Al Kut
4th Corps
Tigris River
Oil pipeline
An Nasiriyah
Euphrates River
Al Amarah
3rd Corps
Basra
Turkey
Iran
Syria
Jordan
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Iran
Persian Gulf
Turkish troops move in from the north to temporarily claim territory and deal with Iraqi refugees.
Area controlled by terrorist Ansar al-Islam, Iran
Bombing flights may cross Turkish airspace from U.S. aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea.
The 82nd Airborne Division seizes Iraqi airfields.
Special operations teams in Iraq's western desert hunt Scud missiles that could strike Israel.
Heavy bombing targets Baghdad and Tikrit, Saddam's home town.
Special operations teams, staging at a Saudi airbase in Arar, hunt missiles in southern Iraq that could threaten Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and also stand ready to conduct search-and-rescue missions for downed U.S. aircrews.
The 101st Airborne Division flies from Kuwait to northern Iraq since Turkey has not allowed the U.S. 4th Infantry Division to transit its territory. Transport helicopters need to stop for refueling, perhaps at Iraqi airfields captured by the 82nd Airborne Division.
British Royal Marines take control of Basra and Iraq's southern oil fields.
Stealth bombers operating from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean strike Baghdad and other targets.
Air attacks, including cruise missile strikes, would come from U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. Forces:
U.S. Marines
U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division
101st Airborne Division
Iraqi Forces and Facilities
Republican Guard division
Republican Guard tank division
Infantry division
Infantry tank division
Major army bases
Major air bases
Oil refineries
Oil pipelines
Area of Kurdish population
Kurdish autonomous region
Oil fields
Psychological operations
This leaflet says: "Surface-to-surface missiles have been targeted for destruction." The back warns: "For your safety, abandon your weapons systems. Whether manned or unmanned, these weapons systems will be destroyed."
Airdrops of such leaflets in southern Iraq are intended to demoralize regular Iraqi troops and encourage them to flee, reducing bloodshed and the need to contain thousands of prisoners of war.
[Inset map]
Turkey
Mediterranean Sea
Carriers USS Harry S. Truman, USS Theodore Roosevelt
Syria
Lebanon
Israel
Jordan
Egypt
Sudan
Eritrea
Red Sea
Ethiopia
Djibouti
Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Kuwait
Iran
Bahrain
Qatar
Persian Gulf
Carriers USS Constellation, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Kitty Hawk
U.A.E.
Oman
Arabian Sea
Major Bases Used by U.S. Forces
Kuwait
Bahrain
Qatar
Oman
Turkey
Djibouti
IRAQ'S POTENTIAL RESPONSES
The biggest fear of U.S. intelligence officials is that Iraq could use chemical or biological weapons against U.S. troops or Iraqi civilians. But Iraq could also employ a variety of other strategies, such as torching its own oil wells or deploying human shields, to try to slow a U.S. advance. Other possible tactics, according to U.S. defense intelligence reports:
1. OIL TRENCHES: U.S. defense officials say that Iraq has dug hundreds of pits and filled them with oil, largely around Baghdad but also in Kirkuk and Mosul. Smoke from oil fires could obscure some satellites and interfere with laser- and heat-guided weapons.
2. ELECTRIC SHOCK: Iraq could run electricity into swamp areas, rivers or waterfront areas and/or create wet areas that carry electric currents. Iraq used this tactic against Iranians.
3. DIRTY BOMBS: In the last war, Iraqi forces stole medical radiation materials from Kuwait, suggesting an interest in creating a device to disperse harmful radiation.
4. POISONED OIL PIPELINE: Used by Iran against Iraqi forces. Iraq could drain oil from pipelines, punch holes in them, then send poison gas through them when enemy troops are nearby (or downwind).
5. TARGET CHOPPERS: While Iraq's air defenses have been degraded, it still possesses surface-to-air missiles that could threaten helicopters.
Sources: GlobalSecurity.org; International Institute for Strategic Studies; Mountain High Maps
GRAPHIC: Map, A Plan For War (GlobalSecurity.org, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Mountain High Maps; Stephen Rountree, Rob Cady--USN&WR); Picture, Psychological operations (leaflet)
Copyright © 2003, U.S. News & World Report
