Desert Storm: Request information

[foxhound]

Hello.
At first thx friends to accept me in your forum, Iam sorry I don't understand arabic, I tried, I searched how to login and finally, I successfully logged into your forum.
As it is an arabic forum, I have problem to find where, and how to post this subject.

I need your help please about information concerning Desert Storm, the first phase of the US-coalition air campaign.
Since 1991, I am trying to find objectives, and relevant informations concerning the subject, however, we find only western view about this air campaign, and the war.
I wish to understand how, and why one of the powerfull, and one of the best trained professional army in the middle east, and in the world collapsed -if it is true ?- during the first days of war.
What is-are- you version(s) ? Could you tell me more please ?

Here is a typical western point of view. It is an academic view about a professional person that could be really honest -Carlo Kopp- :
http://www.ausairpower.net/Analysis-ODS-EW.html
The great problem of this point of view, it takes people for idiots.
Especially regarding these quotes

...This is the oldest trick in the electronic warfare book and the Iraqis fell for it repeatedly, lighting up their radars to engage the would be inbounds, in doing so they provided the monitoring Elint platforms with their positions and the identities of their radars, in turn betraying the composition of their batteries. It is also very likely that the Iraqis indulged in the luxury of live testing and calibration of their radars, further assisting the Allied effort....

And this

...The Iraqis violated a fundamental principle of electronic combat by lighting up radars outside of actual engagements, and then not moving or reshuffling their assets to invalidate Allied reconnaissance. Were they to have done the proper thing, they would have moved batteries to dummy SAM sites, lit up in the presence of Allied Elint aircraft, and then shifted the batteries to implement a scheme of tactical or strategic deception...

I could not imagine professional soliders knowing very well what americans will do, and staying US bombs without doing their possible to avoid it.
Karlo Kopp is relaying the usual US propaganda depicting arabs as unable to understand, unable to fight, unable to dissipline, unable to be a civilized peoples.
Moreover there is another iraqi asset during this air campaign, it was nammed KARI, I wish to read what you will say about.
For that reason I need your point of views.
Regards.



PS: I know there are many ethnic, and confessional problem in Iraq. About Iraq I know nothing, and near all of what it was said concering this country is often lies, and have political goals. This is not what I am searching, Iam looking for objective point view.

[ME-262]

Hi foxhound--These quotes are not far from reality. I have discussed Iraqi air defense issues many times with a former senior officer who was involved in the pre war planning effort. This officer had urged the high command to decentralize the air defense system and allow units to use their mobility as they see fit during battle. This view did not fly with the air force commander and the high command, and as a result the mobility and dispersion plan was rejected in favor of a rigid command and posture. Dictators who come to power through military coup fear nothing more than having officers take initiative.

[foxhound]

Hi foxhound--These quotes are not far from reality. I have discussed Iraqi air defense issues many times with a former senior officer who was involved in the pre war planning effort. This officer had urged the high command to decentralize the air defense system and allow units to use their mobility as they see fit during battle. This view did not fly with the air force commander and the high command, and as a result the mobility and dispersion plan was rejected in favor of a rigid command and posture. Dictators who come to power through military coup fear nothing more than having officers take initiative.

Thx ME-262 for your quick response.
I have many difficulties to believe it, how a very well trained army, a very skilled professional soldiers that have known the october 1973 war, that have known the long war with Iran could do a such fatal mistake.
It is not only an error, but a sellout. If we take a rational explantion it is nearly impossible. For example during Serbian's war, after several weeks of massive air campaign, US could not reach the mobile SAM batteries, it detered the nato's fighter-bombers to fly at low altitude, and most US AGM anti radar missiles were inefectives. They even lost two F-117, and one B2 A was hit. As Iraq experienced long wars they simply could not ignored these assets provided by mobile Surface to air missiles.
Forcing Nato to give up any ground incursion. They prefered instead launching UCK rogue militia against high skill serbian army. The result for the UCK's rogue militia was not a surprise, they were chopped by serbian army, this was the consequence of US poor result of US air campaign.
If Serbs did that, why Iraq didn't do ? I cannot not imagine Saddam happy with this situation. Am I wrong ?



Regards.



PS:I have many questions about iraqi aircrafts, Migs, and Sukhoi after.

[ME-262]

The Iraqi air defense suffered the losses it did largely due to leadership deficits and paranoia (and superior coalition technology), not lack of training. The Serbs, 8 years later, may have learned from Saddam's mistakes in desert storm and managed to avoid some of them. That said, both wars were lost by Serbia and Iraq. A political leadership stupid enough to challenge the US in conventional warfare is doomed to failure.

[foxhound]

The Iraqi air defense suffered the losses it did largely due to leadership deficits and paranoia (and superior coalition technology), not lack of training. The Serbs, 8 years later, may have learned from Saddam's mistakes in desert storm and managed to avoid some of them. That said, both wars were lost by Serbia and Iraq. A political leadership stupid enough to challenge the US in conventional warfare is doomed to failure.

Thx for your help Me-262.