US War Plan Calls for Precision Bombing Wave to Break Iraqi Army

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 03, 2003

US War Plan Calls for Precision Bombing Wave to Break Iraqi Army

US war plan for Iraq calls for unleashing 3,000 precision-guided bombs and missiles in the first 48 hours of the opening air campaign, the New York Times reported Sunday.

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US war plan for Iraq calls for unleashing 3,000 precision-guided bombs and missiles in the first 48 hours of the opening air campaign, the New York Times reported Sunday.

The effort intended to stagger and isolate the Iraqi military and quickly pave the way for a ground attack to topple a government in shock, US military planners said.

The initial bombardment would use 10 times the number of precision-guided weapons fired in the first two days of the Gulf war of 1991, and the targets would be air defenses, political and military headquarters, communications facilities and suspected chemical and biological delivery systems.

They said the immediate goals would be to break the Iraqi Army's will to fight, driving large number of troops to surrender or defect -- and offering them guarded sanctuary if they do -- while cutting off the leadership in Baghdad in hopes of causing a rapid collapse of the government of President Saddam Hussein.

The air campaign would be carried out by about 500 Air Force attack, radar-jamming and support planes flying from bases scattered throughout the Gulf region and nearby, as well as by Navy planes from either four or five aircraft carriers, each carrying about 80 attack and support aircraft.

About 300 American warplanes are already based at airfields north and south of Iraq. Two of the aircraft carriers are now stationed in the region, with two more scheduled to arrive within striking distance later this month.

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