Moseley: 'Softening' not accurate description

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  • By Senior Master Sgt. Rick Burnham
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  "Softening" Iraqi Republican Guard forces in and around Baghdad is not the way Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley would describe the effect of coalition air strikes.

"We are not softening them up. We are killing them," Moseley said April 5 in a teleconference with Pentagon reporters from his headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

The effect has been dramatic, said Moseley, who commands the combined forces air component of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Two key elements of the guard -- both the Medina and Baghdad divisions -- have been virtually destroyed by coalition air and ground forces, and others appear to have scattered, he said.

"The Iraqi military organized in large-combat formations does not really exist any more," he said. "The equipment is there, and some of the people are there, but being able to bring that combat power to bear against the coalition is not the same as it was two weeks ago."

The remnants will be hunted down with the same vigor and zeal as were the large formations, he said.

"Both the land-component commander and I are looking for them and engaging them," he said. "I am not willing to tell you that we have killed them all, but we've crippled them a little bit, and those who are still out there are walking with a bit of a limp."

Many elements of the guard, along with Iraq's regular army, may very well engage coalition forces in an urban-combat setting, Moseley said. That could present unique challenges because of the coalition's commitment to limit collateral damage to Iraqi civilians, infrastructure and land.

"We are absolutely and totally committed to minimizing the effect of our operations on the civilian population, so ... the infrastructure can be returned back to the Iraqi people ... so that they can get themselves, as fast as possible, back to a functional society," he said.

As a result, he said, air-war planners have a new concept of operations taking into account the need for close air support to aid combat troops on the ground inside the capital city of Baghdad.

"We feel that it is a wonderful, effective plan to provide airborne forward air controllers over the city 24 hours a day," he said.

The plan includes multiple sets of fighters, with various munitions ready to help forces on the ground, according to Moseley.

Moseley also said U.S. Central Command war planners are well aware of the challenges in implementing such a plan, having faced similar tests during recent battles in Afghanistan.

"We know from experience that there are challenges in doing this," he said. "The trick is to use the smallest munitions possible to get the maximum effect, so that you do not create ... unnecessary losses of civilian life or property."

Any close air support mission is a challenge, he said, whether it is in the open desert or in the concrete jungle of a big city such as Baghdad.

"When you are dealing with delivering weapons in the close proximity of friendly troops, it makes it a little more of a challenge when it is in an urban setting because of the civilians who are there," he said. "The population you are attempting to liberate is there, and attempting to minimize the damage on the city itself is something that we take very seriously."