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The planning for the invasion was remarkable for the relative openness of the debate. The main disagreement concerning tactics was between civilian Pentagon officials who preferred a military plan similar to the U.S. action in Afghanistan involving light forces and mobility, and military officers who preferred a variation of Desert Storm with intense air bombardment followed by a massive ground attack.
The resulting plan was a combination of both approaches. It was summarized in a classified document detailing military options, prepared for President Bush by American military planners. Military planning for an invasion focused on a short intensive bombing campaign followed by a land invasion by troops based in Kuwait.
The plan for the invasion proper called for a massive aerial bombardment to begin, possibly intended to produce a shock and awe effect. Unlike Desert Storm, the air war was planned to use a yet untested doctrine known as effects based air war. Instead of generally destroying targets, the air war was to focus primarily at targets whose destruction is time critical and aim at disrupting and paralyzing the Iraqi army rather than outright destruction of units. US military forces spoke extensively on this part of the war. The development of precision guided munitions, especially the JDAM series of munitions, changed American doctrine on an attack in Iraq. Targets were to be similar to those struck in 1991 — air defense radars, missiles, and command-and-control posts, power distribution, and the road network in Iraq — but JDAM munitions allow a greater degree of precision, and an ability to bomb through cloud cover. In addition, precision guided munitions are intended to reduce civilian casualties.
The U.S. government stated that if Iraq used chemical or biological weapons, it might be countered by American nuclear weapons, as per American military doctrine.
A classified document detailing military options for an invasion was prepared for President Bush by American military planners prior to his speech on September 12, 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom at the United NationsFlag of the United Nations The United Nations or UN is an international organization made up of states. Almost all countries are members. It was established in San Francisco on October 24, 1945, following the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, DC, b calling for a UN Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. It is charged with maintaining peace and security between nations. While other organs of the UN only make recommendations to member governments, the Security Council has resolution. Military planning for an invasion seems to focus on an intensive bombThis article is about explosive devices. Bomb can also refer to water bombs or volcanic bombs. Bomb is also a slang term. A bomb is an explosive device, usually some kind of container filled with explosive material, designed to cause destruction when seting campaign followed by a land invasion in the winter by troops based in KuwaitThis article is about the country of Kuwait. For the capital city with the same name, see Kuwait City The State of Kuwait is a small oil-rich monarchy on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia in the south and Iraq in the north. Kuwait is. Depending on the degree of international support, especially as reflected in a Security Council resolution additional resources may be available in Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, with the Persian Gulf to its north-east and the Red Sea to its west. Al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyah as-Sa'udiyah, eastern TurkeyTurkey (officially the Republic of Turkey Turkish Turkiye is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the, QatarThe State of Qatar is an emirate in the Middle East. Situated on a small peninsula off the larger Arabian Peninsula, it borders Saudi Arabia to the south and is otherwise surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The English pronunciation of Qatar varies; see List, Bahrain, Oman and possibly Kurdish areas in northern Iraq. In the case of Qatar, despite being the site of an American base, the government has expressed its opposition to participating in an invasion although no actual request has been made of it by the United States.
Throughout late 2002 and early 2003, an increasing number of US and British troops have been flowing into bases in the area in preparation for action. Current estimates are 25,000 British and over 100,000 US troops.