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| Axis of Evil |
| Communications Exercise In Qatar Prepares For War |
| 2002-11-25 |
| The American general who would run a war against Iraq is assembling hundreds of battle planners in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar for a war game that will test their ability to command and coordinate land, sea and air forces throughout the region. Although planning for the exercise, code-named Internal Look, began long before the U.N. Security Council gave Iraq a Dec. 8 deadline to account for any weapons of mass destruction, timing of the operation fits in neatly. It will begin a few days before or after the U.N. deadline, officials said yesterday. Handy, don't you think? Movement of the command post to Qatar, where the U.S. Air Force has a major presence at al-Udeid air base, has raised speculation that Franks will remain there to prepare for war against Iraq. In a recent interview, Franks cautioned against reading too much into the timing. "This just happens to be a very good time, a very good place and a very good way" to do the exercise, he said. Smirk Each military service that contributes combat forces to Central Command has its own headquarters, and they need sophisticated communications links to ensure that they coordinate air, land and sea-based operations. The Army component, for example, is based at Fort McPherson, Ga., but it has three forward headquarters sites in the Persian Gulf - in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The Navy component is headquartered in Bahrain, off the coast of Saudi Arabia, because the Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters is there. Central Command also has a Marine Corps component that is normally based at Camp Smith, Hawaii, but is now in Bahrain. Among those who will participate in Internal Look, in addition to the 600 Central Command planners, are members of the headquarters staff of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which began shipping out for Kuwait yesterday from Camp Pendleton, Calif. The Special Operations Command component, based at Central Command headquarters in Florida, is operating from Camp Snoopy in Qatar. Internal Look has been held periodically, most recently in November 2000. The 1990 version took on particular importance because it was held just a few days before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2. Nothing to see here. Just a exercise. Move along. |
| Posted by:Steve |