posted on Jul, 19 2003 @ 03:47 PM
U.S. Attacked Iraqi Defenses Starting in 2002
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
AS VEGAS, July 19 � American air war commanders carried out a comprehensive plan to disrupt Iraq's military command and control system before the
Iraq war, according to an internal briefing on the conflict by the senior allied air war commander.
Called Southern Focus, the plan called for attacks on the network of fiber-optic cable that Saddam Hussein's government used to transmit military
communications, as well as airstrikes on key command centers, radars and other key military assets.
The strikes, which were conducted from mid-2002 into the first few months of 2003, were justified publicly at the time as a reaction to Iraqi
violations of a no-flight zone that the United States and Britain established in southern Iraq. But Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the chief allied war
commander said that the attacks also laid the foundations for the military campaign against the Baghdad government.
www.nytimes.com...
[Edited on 19-7-2003 by Mokuhadzushi]