Pentagon preparing for possible war with Iraq

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is studying lessons learned from the war in Afghanistan and revising military tactics for what could be the next big battle: removing Saddam Hussein from power.

While Iraq lacks the large, well-armed rebel force found in Afghanistan, many of the weapons and tactics tried in Afghanistan could apply to a war in Iraq. A U.S.-led campaign again could rely heavily on special operations forces, which helped defeat the Taliban and disrupt the al-Qaida network.

One of the most important jobs done by the elite commando units was helping guide U.S. pilots -- and their bombs -- to the proper targets. These units could "paint" a target by pointing a laser at it, which a bomb could lock on to, or use high-tech rangefinders to tell pilots a target's precise coordinates to use with satellite-guided bombs.

Guided bombs

Several types of guided bombs, including the satellite-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition, were used extensively for the first time in Afghanistan.

Less than half the bombs used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War were precision guided, compared with more than three-fifths in Afghanistan, including "bunker-busting" bombs designed to burrow into and destroy reinforced targets. These kind of bombs are sure to be used if the U.S. tries to hit Saddam's buried military sites.

The combination of special forces units on the ground and precise bombing from the air represents a major advance in warfare and probably will get wide use in any future conflict, retired Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak said.

For small, moving targets, "You don't need three divisions, you need a handful of guys on the ground" communicating with pilots, said McPeak, who commanded the Air Force during the Gulf War.

Fighting in Afghanistan has demonstrated the strengths -- and limitations -- of working with native forces. With U.S. help, the Northern Alliance quickly swept away the Taliban from major cities in the north and the capital, Kabul.

An interim government headed by Hamid Karzai was installed by Dec. 22, less than three months after the bombing started last Oct. 7.

"Just the fact that it was done that quickly, it seems to me history will reflect, it was remarkable," said Gen. Tommy Franks, the war's commander as head of U.S. Central Command.

But in December, the United States relied on local Afghan forces to do most of the work on the ground in Tora Bora, a mountain al-Qaida hide-out near the border with Pakistan. Hundreds of al-Qaida fighters, perhaps including Osama bin Laden himself, escaped.

Franks has said there were not enough American forces in Afghanistan at the time to go after al-Qaida fighters in Tora Bora, and the Afghan forces were eager to attack.

Changing tactics

The tactics changed in March, when about 2,000 troops, mostly American, combed a mountainous area of southern Afghanistan in Operation Anaconda. The battle was the deadliest of the war for the United States, with eight American soldiers killed. Pentagon officials never estimated the number of al-Qaida dead; Afghans say they saw dozens of corpses.

The war in Afghanistan also has exposed some of the strains on a U.S. military trimmed dramatically after the Gulf War. Crews of refueling tankers and EA-6B Prowler radar-jamming planes have grown tired from continual missions, as have some special forces units.

The military has shown its value in assisting with humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts -- a role derided as "nation building" by President Bush when he was running for the White House. Military teams have helped build bridges, drill drinking water wells and rebuild schools, as well as distributing food, medical care and shelters for Afghanistan's impoverished residents.

Americans are helping to train the new Afghan national army; the third battalion of that army graduated from a 10-week U.S. training course last week.

U.S. soldiers have worked to build links between local leaders and the interim government in Kabul, strengthening the country against any attempt by the Taliban or al-Qaida to return, Franks said.

"If you're looking for the long term in Afghanistan, the Afghans have to be in charge of Afghanistan, without a doubt," Franks said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So the issue is what can be done by the international community to help the Afghan leadership come to grips with all of the issues that we see in a country that for a couple of decades has literally been a mess."