Simulated Exercises Are Rehearsal for War
D O H A, Qatar, Dec. 9 -- In front of massive, Imax-sized screens and a bank of the most sophisticated computer and telecommunications equipment, Gen. Tommy Franks kicked off one of the most comprehensive computerized war simulations ever today.
For the exercise, dubbed Operation Internal Look, Franks and about 50 of his senior intelligence and operations personnel crowded bleachers in the most secure part of Qatar's As Sayliyah army base, where U.S. Central Command has set up a state-of-the-art mobile command center, the likely headquarters in the event of an attack on Iraq.
"This exercise will give Gen. Franks and the battle staff afront-line opportunity to learn new lessons and improve the command'sability to be decisive on the modern battlefield," said Jim Wilkinson, Director of Strategic Communications for CENTCOM.
According to a senior CENTCOM official, Franks began the exercise by telling his command staff to use the operation to seek ways to be quicker, better and more comprehensive. The official also said Franks saw Operation Internal Look as a way to fine-tune the headquarters.
The center is packed with equipment that can flash images of ships, troops and targets all over the Persian Gulf and let officers deliver commands instantly by e-mail and videophone. Operation Internal Look will not involve real troops. Instead, it's a computerized war simulation.
More than 1,000 command staff are in Qatar to take part in the weeklong exercise, along with about 400 British personnel. Thousands of other U.S. military staff are also taking part around the world. From now until next Monday, the operation will run 24 hours a day.
"This exercise in Qatar will find out whether we can connect the forces in the theater," said ABC News military analyst Tony Cordesman. "The combat troops. Our forces in Bahrain. The forward forces or ground components in Kuwait. We seem to have all of the links but until people have actually practiced this and worked together we don't know. And that's the key reason why this exercise in Qatar is so important."
