American planners have no intention, desire or any real capability to besiege an ancient Arab city of 5 million people, and no interest whatsoever in fighting for Baghdad block-by-block, house-by-house, as they think Saddam Hussein would prefer.
Instead, American war planners foresee a swift, violent ground attack that will rely on accurate, up-to-the-minute intelligence from the very heart of the Iraqi regime. Relying on spies, electronic sensors and other intelligence to pinpoint Saddam and other top leaders, coalition special operations forces could infiltrate the Iraqi capital from all directions.
Armor-tipped infantry columns would blast into the heart of Baghdad along several corridors and swiftly isolate key areas from the rest of the sprawling city. Company-size infantry units - Marines and light infantry from the Army's 101st and 82nd airborne divisions, supported by tanks - then would attack the areas where Saddam and others were hiding.
One expert familiar with planning such an operation said it would require lightning strikes from rooftops, sewer tunnels and "entryways" blasted into the sides of buildings by the tanks.
It probably would require three to four days to plan the operation and rehearse it, and four or five days to carry it out.
"The idea is to cut off those areas, isolate them and then, with precision maneuvers and precision strikes, take them down," the expert said, speaking only on the condition of anonymity. "You've got to focus on the head head of the snake. Look at the Israeli operations in the '73 war: You put armor attacks down specific corridors, raid the targets, then come back out."
Instead, American war planners foresee a swift, violent ground attack that will rely on accurate, up-to-the-minute intelligence from the very heart of the Iraqi regime. Relying on spies, electronic sensors and other intelligence to pinpoint Saddam and other top leaders, coalition special operations forces could infiltrate the Iraqi capital from all directions.
Armor-tipped infantry columns would blast into the heart of Baghdad along several corridors and swiftly isolate key areas from the rest of the sprawling city. Company-size infantry units - Marines and light infantry from the Army's 101st and 82nd airborne divisions, supported by tanks - then would attack the areas where Saddam and others were hiding.
One expert familiar with planning such an operation said it would require lightning strikes from rooftops, sewer tunnels and "entryways" blasted into the sides of buildings by the tanks.
It probably would require three to four days to plan the operation and rehearse it, and four or five days to carry it out.
"The idea is to cut off those areas, isolate them and then, with precision maneuvers and precision strikes, take them down," the expert said, speaking only on the condition of anonymity. "You've got to focus on the head head of the snake. Look at the Israeli operations in the '73 war: You put armor attacks down specific corridors, raid the targets, then come back out."
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