SADDAM'S DEADLY PLAN

Sky News ^ | 03-20-03 | Sky News

[Beck_isright]

SADDAM'S DEADLY PLAN

Saddam Hussein has turned Baghdad into a "hornets' nest" ready for a bloody showdown with British and American troops, US officials said.

The Iraqi capital is expected to witness the most fierce fighting if war breaks out.

Saddam's generals are expected to try to drag invading forces into a messy urban conflict in the city.

Military experts say urban warfare gives Iraq its best chance of inflicting a high number of casualties and causing a stalemate which would save it from defeat.

Major General Dan Leaf, the chief US Air Force officer in the headquarters of the allied land command, said:

* Baghdad has been ringed with air defences more formidable than the 1991 Gulf War.

* Almost all Iraq's heavy weaponry has been pulled back to Baghdad to protect the capital.

* Baghdad is packed with surface-to-air missiles, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft artillery.

* Trenches surrounding the city have been filled with oil ready to be set ablaze to hamper British and US air strikes.

* Clusters of anti-aircraft artillery have also been deployed along possible attack routes for cruise missiles.

"It is a hornet's nest right now. There is nothing subtle about it," General Leaf told the New York Times.

"The volume of it is significant. They will be able to put a lot of missiles and a lot of bullets in the air and that will make Baghdad a very tough problem."

Saddam has several Soviet-designed missile systems, some of which he has been upgraded and put into strategic positions, said General Leaf.

"If you put enough lead in the air somebody is going to get hit if they are at the altitudes that those bullets can reach. That's a robust air defence system," he added.

Last Updated: 18:25 UK, Monday March 17, 2003

[Beck_isright]

Thank you. Plus a lot of the armchair generals here don't realize that a 300 mile supply line is not something you build over night. It will take a minimum of two weeks to set up and secure just one link, much less enough to launch a sustained offensive on a major city. I doubt he has nukes because if he did, Israel would have been zapped already. But the biologicals worry the hell out of me.

V

[Beck_isright]

"It's time to test out those E-bombs."

On CNN or ABC? Either or both is fine with me. Or hell, the CBC is good too, God those people are as bad as CNN!

V

[punster]

"Imagine 200,000 people infected with the Plague while we're going house to house dealing with snipers and suicide bombers inside Baghdad."

The only thing I can suggest is just waiting outside the city, blocking travel in or out of the city. We wait until nature takes its course.

[Bobby777]

that's been my fear, but I have not elucidated it specifically ... Saddam could wait for our front-line troops to approach Baghdad, suits not worn, and then pull in a chemical attack on the city ... or bio ... Saddam is completely unpredictable ... only his unpredictability, if you will, is predictable ... my primary concern is for the welfare of the American and British troops ...

[LenS]

The Israelis have them. I think a lend-lease could be arranged.

[Beck_isright]

"Air defenses? Well, a good one needs radar. As soon as it gets turned on, BLAM! "

Per FNC and MSNBC today, over 20 cruise missles were shot down last night. He learned from GWI. You concentrate your fire power to eliminate low level attacks.

"Heavy weapons? Gee, our artillery shoots farther than theirs, advantage, US! "

Much as this makes me puke, yes, we have the advantage, but remember the "baby milk factory"???? We'll have to deal with severe collateral damage if we open up with 155's on a major city.

"Oil trenches? Sure, if they want to ruin THEIR visibility, fine."

They don't care if what they shoot at. If they hit us, fine, they hit their own citizens, fine. This will not be a cakewalk unless we cut off the head.

V

[Bobby777]

Was just watching coverage and felt that commentators are acting like it is a done deal.

exactly ... they're interviewing soldiers like it's the freakin' Super Bowl ... as if they just caught a touchdown pass ... complacency is not called for ... I'm relieved it's been relatively easy so far ... I just don't want to see our guys and gals relaxing out there ... not one minute ... not yet ...

[Beck_isright]

We can't wait sadly. It's not our nature to let millions die like that. We're Americans damnit, not the french or germans.

V

[texasbluebell]

bookmark

[Beck_isright]

100% in agreement. I'm more worried about my friends and the other allies than anything.

V

[general_re]

Imagine 200,000 people infected with the Plague...

Actually, that calls to mind an interesting historical parallel. When the Mongols laid siege to the Genoese city of Caffa in 1346, they were heavily affected by an outbreak of the plague among their troops. Thoughtfully, they shared the wealth before abandoning the siege, by using catapults to toss hundreds of corpses of their plague victims over the city walls. Genoese sailors carrying that plague when returning to Italy is the most likely explanation of how the Black Death was introduced to Europe.

Just something else to mull over ;)

[struwwelpeter]

What if we simply by-passed the nest, formed a new capitol in Basra, and ignored them?

[Bobby777]

amen ...

[MJY1288]

The problem I see with Sky News and it's speculation on hoe Saddam will defend Baghdad is this:

Once Baghdad is sorrounded and all that is left is the most loyal of the "Elite Republican Guard" trying to defend the city of Baghdad, all we have to to is let them hunker down in a defensive posture and fly a Global Hawk somewhere near the city and identify each and every position they have taken and relay that info back to CITCOM and program the JDAMS and the MOABS and every other precision weapon we can deliver with our GPS guided munitions.

What the world will witness is what I could easliy describe as "SHOCK & AWE" when hundreds of defensive positions are simutaniously struck by extremely accurate multible delivery systems

[goldstategop]

Yeah... IF Saddam is still alive. Let's hope he's dead. I'd like to see the paras seize Saddam International Airport to shock the Iraqis into realizing how we can come up right in their face while they're still looking south...

[Bobby777]

LOL ... well if it were me, I'd photo-recon the city by air and perhaps use spectral analyzers to detect anything noxious upon approach ... and then only by the most protected vehicles with a few attack wings of F-15E's and Apaches on nearby "station" ...

I just don't know ... I'd rather be careful and waste time, that rush and get a surprise ...

[eccl1212]

The Ba'ath party leadership will NOT rollover... even IF sadaam's head has gone missing.

They will fight, and run for cover... IN IRAN....
Or, Syria.
The NEXT potential theatre of operations...
and this time, if we need a base to land our ships and planes. we can use the ones we have set up in Iraq and Afghanistan...

and Tony can refuse to help this time, without UN resolutions, and make France happy with him again.

By the time we are done with this... will we be tired of the UN and "coalition" building and breaking?

The brits are already getting squeamish because they lost 12, relative to our 4, in a helicopter crash. I doubt they will be up for another go at it when we move on to the next target in the Axis of Evil....

Or, will they?

[spunkets]

"Imagine 200,000 people infected with the Plague "

Pills would be dropped by the US. Folks would note sodom insane's forces slimed them and attack them for it. They will not act like a Jonestown cult. This is an Islamic society. They will show no respect to Mr. insane's forces that just got pounced big time in no time with zero results to show.

They might attempt a Bopal type kill, but even that would cause the Iraqi troops to revolt. They are after all a proud people that remember their fight with Iran. The slimers are their enemy. Slime would awaken them from their sleep and they'd really be pissed off. The scenerio leads nowhere, but condemnation of the Iraqi criminals by the decent Iraqis.