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Article: Iraq's military strength surprises the Allies
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 12, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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THE resilience of the Iraqi military machine has come as a
surprise to Western observers. General Colin Powell, US Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the 1991 Gulf War, aimed to reduce
Iraq's million-strong Army with 5,000 tanks and artillery pieces to
a force of about 100,000 with 1,000 tanks - enough to
counterbalance Iran, without posing an overwhelming threat to other
states.
The Allies failed in that aim, leaving the Iraqis with 350,000
troops, 2,300 tanks and 1,000 artillery pieces in summer 1991.
Initial Gulf war assessments of damage to the Iraqi war machine
proved excessive. The Iraqis made skilful use of dummy tanks, and
many armoured vehicles escaped over the Euphrates. The ...