David Meets Goliath |
The United States has the ability to kill off any nation on the planet. The biggest bombs, the biggest budget and the biggest army can destroy others in a number of ways. The US military is spoilt for choice when it comes to weaponry.
Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan have provided regular battlefield experience and testing grounds for the US armed forces and their armoury. Depleted uranium, thermobaric weapons, cluster bombs and 6,800 kg 'daisy cutters' have all been tested around the world in the last 10 years.
But even before live trials of these weapons, the United States destroyed much of Saddam Hussein's army with devastating effect. Eyewitnesses to the 'highway of death' near Basra spoke of the remains of 2,000 mangled Iraqi military vehicles, and the charred and dismembered bodies of tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers. Many Iraqi and Palestinian civilians were killed too. Aerial bombardment will always be indiscriminate.
Missile falls on Baghdad
The United States is likely to launch 3,000 precision missiles in the first 48 hours; the objective will be the annihilation of Iraqi air and communication defences. If these missiles are as precise as in 1991, this means that 600 missiles will hit their targets and 2400 will hit somewhere else. This is worrying, as the US is highly likely to test out someof the latest generation of its instruments of death.
Bombs and missiles
The BAT, or Brilliant Anti-Tank bomb, is a self-guided weapon that is delivered by missile and then deployed in mid-air. It uses its onboard sensors to identify enemy combat vehicles by using acoustic and infrared scanners. Iraq has some 90-110 surface-to-air missile launchers.
The BLACKOUT bomb is a non-kinetic weapon that dispenses carbon-fibre filaments that disable electrical power grids. The E-bomb emits bursts of microwave energy that can scramble computer systems. Iraq has 500 - 700 light surface-to-air missile launchers.
The CBU-97 is the first 'smart' bomb for Air Force bombers and uses passive infrared and active laser sensors to find its enemy. The JDAM bomb uses GPS signals to convert dumb bombs into higher precision munitions. Iraq has some 3,000 antiaircraft guns.
The MOAB, contrary to popular opinion, does not stand for the 'mother of all bombs' but rather Massive Ordinance Air Blast. This bomb weighs 9,500 kg and is like dropping a small nuclear weapon. No one has anything like this in any country, least of all Iraq.
Planes and tanks
The SUPER HORNET is the US Navy's new aircraft. It is equipped with a powerful laser sensor and can designate four targets at once. The B2 bomber is now world famous for its ability to pass near undetected and deliver cruise missiles just about anywhere in Iraq.
Out of Iraq's 316 combat aircraft, "only about 20 are advanced planes that have any ability to confront most of the planes possessed by the United States or Israel. The rest are old planes from the 1970s, or even before" according to General Shlomo Brom (ret.), Senior Research Associate Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University. Even these '20 advanced planes' are 1970s and 1980s models, with no major modernisation of avionics, munitions, or electronic warfare equipment.
The APACHE LONGBOW is touted as the most advanced combat helicopter in the world. It can target 16 enemy tanks at once from eight kilometres away. They will precede the advancing US tank divisions. Iraq has 70 armed helicopters - most of which can be operational for at least short periods.
Even in 1991, the earlier models of the US M-1 tanks proved far superior to the Iraq T-72 tanks that were much touted at the time. The US now has M-1A1 Abrams tanks while Iraq has exactly what remained after the last war. Tanks aren't known to improve with age; the US's depleted uranium shells will tear through them.
Latest technology
The US comes into its own in this department. EYES IN THE SKY are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that will play a key role in hunting for Saddam's dozen or so scud missiles across Iraq. DRAGON EYE, another UAV, is small enough to fit into a Marine's backpack. It weighs only two kilos and can beam video pictures to a screen on a soldier's wrist. PACKBOTS are small reconnaissance robots armed with weapons and sensors that can navigate narrow city streets and other areas of danger. While US special forces will be using their intranet and laptops to relay targeting information to attack aircraft and heavy artillery, Iraqis will still be using walkie-talkies, radio and mobiles to coordinate.
Troops
The United States and Britain have the largest defence budgets between them. Investment in each soldier each year works out at more than US$25,000 per year in training alone. Between them, there are 250,000 troops armed to the teeth and supplied by first world countries with first world communications.
Iraq is now a third world country, coming out of the twelve years of sanctions that have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Half of Iraq's conscript army consists of low-grade reservists who are given a gun and little training, then called soldiers.
Although, the Iraqi government is clearly taking its presentation of the war more seriously than in the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi public relations machine is still no match for the US in sophistication.
Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan have provided regular battlefield experience and testing grounds for the US armed forces and their armoury. Depleted uranium, thermobaric weapons, cluster bombs and 6,800 kg 'daisy cutters' have all been tested around the world in the last 10 years.
But even before live trials of these weapons, the United States destroyed much of Saddam Hussein's army with devastating effect. Eyewitnesses to the 'highway of death' near Basra spoke of the remains of 2,000 mangled Iraqi military vehicles, and the charred and dismembered bodies of tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers. Many Iraqi and Palestinian civilians were killed too. Aerial bombardment will always be indiscriminate.
Missile falls on Baghdad
The United States is likely to launch 3,000 precision missiles in the first 48 hours; the objective will be the annihilation of Iraqi air and communication defences. If these missiles are as precise as in 1991, this means that 600 missiles will hit their targets and 2400 will hit somewhere else. This is worrying, as the US is highly likely to test out someof the latest generation of its instruments of death.
Bombs and missiles
The BAT, or Brilliant Anti-Tank bomb, is a self-guided weapon that is delivered by missile and then deployed in mid-air. It uses its onboard sensors to identify enemy combat vehicles by using acoustic and infrared scanners. Iraq has some 90-110 surface-to-air missile launchers.
The BLACKOUT bomb is a non-kinetic weapon that dispenses carbon-fibre filaments that disable electrical power grids. The E-bomb emits bursts of microwave energy that can scramble computer systems. Iraq has 500 - 700 light surface-to-air missile launchers.
The CBU-97 is the first 'smart' bomb for Air Force bombers and uses passive infrared and active laser sensors to find its enemy. The JDAM bomb uses GPS signals to convert dumb bombs into higher precision munitions. Iraq has some 3,000 antiaircraft guns.
The MOAB, contrary to popular opinion, does not stand for the 'mother of all bombs' but rather Massive Ordinance Air Blast. This bomb weighs 9,500 kg and is like dropping a small nuclear weapon. No one has anything like this in any country, least of all Iraq.
Planes and tanks
The SUPER HORNET is the US Navy's new aircraft. It is equipped with a powerful laser sensor and can designate four targets at once. The B2 bomber is now world famous for its ability to pass near undetected and deliver cruise missiles just about anywhere in Iraq.
Out of Iraq's 316 combat aircraft, "only about 20 are advanced planes that have any ability to confront most of the planes possessed by the United States or Israel. The rest are old planes from the 1970s, or even before" according to General Shlomo Brom (ret.), Senior Research Associate Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University. Even these '20 advanced planes' are 1970s and 1980s models, with no major modernisation of avionics, munitions, or electronic warfare equipment.
The APACHE LONGBOW is touted as the most advanced combat helicopter in the world. It can target 16 enemy tanks at once from eight kilometres away. They will precede the advancing US tank divisions. Iraq has 70 armed helicopters - most of which can be operational for at least short periods.
Even in 1991, the earlier models of the US M-1 tanks proved far superior to the Iraq T-72 tanks that were much touted at the time. The US now has M-1A1 Abrams tanks while Iraq has exactly what remained after the last war. Tanks aren't known to improve with age; the US's depleted uranium shells will tear through them.
Latest technology
The US comes into its own in this department. EYES IN THE SKY are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that will play a key role in hunting for Saddam's dozen or so scud missiles across Iraq. DRAGON EYE, another UAV, is small enough to fit into a Marine's backpack. It weighs only two kilos and can beam video pictures to a screen on a soldier's wrist. PACKBOTS are small reconnaissance robots armed with weapons and sensors that can navigate narrow city streets and other areas of danger. While US special forces will be using their intranet and laptops to relay targeting information to attack aircraft and heavy artillery, Iraqis will still be using walkie-talkies, radio and mobiles to coordinate.
Troops
The United States and Britain have the largest defence budgets between them. Investment in each soldier each year works out at more than US$25,000 per year in training alone. Between them, there are 250,000 troops armed to the teeth and supplied by first world countries with first world communications.
Iraq is now a third world country, coming out of the twelve years of sanctions that have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Half of Iraq's conscript army consists of low-grade reservists who are given a gun and little training, then called soldiers.
Although, the Iraqi government is clearly taking its presentation of the war more seriously than in the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi public relations machine is still no match for the US in sophistication.