Massive air, ground assault designed to induce confusion
"If we can move quickly, if we can have that lightning strike, if we can take away [Saddam Hussein's] ability to communicate with his forces .. then that will save in fact a lot of lives by causing the Iraqi military to be in a confused state further enhancing the possibility of them surrendering," Costello told Government Executive in a recent interview from his headquarters on the Constellation.
About 130 U.S. and allied ships were poised in the northern Persian Gulf Wednesday awaiting orders to attack Iraq. More than 30 surface warfare ships would likely kick off the attack by launching Tomahawk missiles from Navy destroyers and cruisers.
Despite employing highly precise and lethal attacks, Costello said he still expects to lose troops if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq.
Costello said the war will be far different from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, which opened with several weeks of air strikes before land forces overwhelmed the Iraqi army in just over three days. The war would unfold from air, land and sea and move more rapidly because the U.S. already is operating further forward, in Kuwait, than it was at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm, he added.
Costello said U.S. forces would combine air strikes with ground and air special forces to increase lethality, as they did during operations in Afghanistan.
Despite the U.S. military's overwhelming advantage Costello said "there are quite a few things I am worried about." He cited the threat posed to his ships by suicide bombers in small boats or aircraft and the possibility of sea mines in the northern Gulf.
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