I have to admit to having mixed feelings when I read something like

this, even though, on the face of it, it's just another piece telling

us what we already know really. We all have some idea what to expect

in the war that seems inevitable.



Like a lot of people, I have moral scruples. Fighting doubt and

distraction over the past few months, I have come round to the idea

that it is right and proper to get rid of this tyrant and support the

war to liberate Iraq.



But the idea that "There will not be a safe place in Baghdad" is not

something that fills me with hope. I hope there are
some safe

places because we are not at war with the Iraqi people remember. I,

and a lot of people, are putting our faith in our leaders to fight a

just war and always steer a course that minimises the death of

innocents.



Let's not reduce war to the economy of missiles.

OJ:



I doubt we will use even as many as 100 cruise missiles. They are, as you note, extremely expensive per shot, and are useless against hardened targets. Their chief benefit is in heavily defended areas, by reducing the risk to non-stealthy manned platforms at night, or all of them on a clear day.



Keep in mind the extremely stealthy B-2--excoriated by Democrats as a Cold War relic. Each one can carry roughly (as in SWAG) 60 GPS guided precision bombs that cost about $30k apiece. Add in B-52s and B-1s, and we have the ability to very selectively apply massive amounts of force, for far less cost than a cruise missile attack would cost.



I also wouldn't be surprised to see the first use of directed energy weapons that emit intense microwave bursts upon exploding. They can severely damage or destroy every electronic component within (SWAG) a 1/4 mile radius without doing much more damage than breaking windows.



Some very specific parts of Iraq will in fact be very dangerous places to be. The vast majority of the country will be able to set up tailgate parties to watch the fireworks.



The Iraqi leadership has utterly no idea what they are in for. Desert Storm was a fair fight in comparison.



My opinions, by the way, are based on 13 years as an F-111 pilot, Fighter Weapons School grad, and experience in DS I.



Respectfully,

Jeff Guinn

NPR has a corresponent in Baghdad and she and the host on All Things Considered were bewildered by the fact that everyone there thinks war will start any day and no one's worried. Perhaps after a decade of war with the US they believe in these precision munitions and our good will towards civilians?

Almost all the bombs dropped during

Gulf War I were dumb and, as usual, none

of them came anywhere near their

targets.



There's a rule in air warfare, at least if

the target has anything in the way of

AA -- if you go low enough and slow

enough to make hits, you get killed.



Stand-off weapons have changed that rule,

but you need to do the math. A cruise

missile with a conventional warhead can

do as much damage as medium iron bomb.



Would 800 500-pound bombs, even if

every one hit its target dead on, wreck

Iraq? Obviously not. Most Iraqis would

not even notice their fall.



Reporting is my trade, military reporting

my hobby. There is not, so far as I can

tell, a single competent military reporter

working today for any U.S. news

organization. Except maybe me, and I

ain't going.



This CBS story is a fine example of how

stupid reporters are.

I tend to agree with Jeff - in the past 10 years or so the US has seemed to be very concerned with not hitting innocents - a massive bombing campaign like this doesn't fit the mold. Precision targeting to get Saddam out with the minimum of effort and destruction seems to be the way we'll go.

The article seems to be a case of misinformation and trying to psych out Iraq. And March? that seems a bit far off.

I have to agree with Alex (AWW) on this one -- this story has the appearance of misinformation. In fact, the whole psyschological aspect of the thing (scare them into submission rather than beating them militarily) is reminiscent of Mr. Robert McNamara's DoD. And if you look at the senior officials and aides in Rumsfeld's DoD (Wolfowitz, Cambone, Feith, Crouch, etc), I see a whole lot of ANTI-McNamara types. Somebody used this reporter, and he fell for it.