How Operational Art Was Applied in the Planning of OIF Essay

How Operational Art Was Applied in the Planning of OIF - Essay Example Consequently the planning of the OIF was designed to achieve operational theater strategic objectives by a Quick Decisive military victory (QDV) with minimal casualties on the occupation forces. This strategy however compelled the planners to define their objectives more clearly as well as set objectives that are attainable within a given time frame. CENTCOM included a number of governmental agencies related to national security such as the CIA, the National Security Council in its plans to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein from power. Some of the operation art plans incorporated how to address and mitigate some of the potential risks and challenges that were likely to face the occupation forces in the Iraqi deserts. To achieve these ends while at the same time minimizing risks, the planning of the OIF also took advantage of the massive technological advancements as part of the occupational strategy. This paper uses Cobra II as the context to analyze the application of Operation ar t in the planning and execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom with regard to the objectives, means and risks involved as well as military art and science. From the conception of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the American central command planners primarily focused on the goal of changing the regime of Saddam Hussein in their operation art. In this regard, it is evident that little attention was given to the strategies of realizing a post war stable Iraqi state such as counterinsurgency measures. The military planners of OIF were also obsessed with the size of the invading force that was required to achieve the military objective of regime change in Iraq. For example the then defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, wanted smaller occupation force to be used although this would have made it difficult to deal with the problem of counterinsurgency after the fall of the regime. The main assumption of the war planners was that some of the Iraqi military units will not only surrender but also change si des to support the defeat of Saddam Hussein. The application of the Operation art was particularly influenced by the military operation lessons previously learnt from the Vietnam War. Consequently in order to minimize casualties and costs of the operation OIF, the planners adopted the operation art strategy of Quick Decisive Victory(QDV) where by the occupation forces were to employ any mean available to defeat the forces loyal to Saddam Hussein within a the shortest time possible. With regard to the art and science of combat operations, operation art applied in the planning and execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom includes the use of factors such as force, space and time to achieve the strategic and operational objective of the coalition forces. For example the planning indicated a strong to gain the knowledge of the battle theater as quickly as possible to reduce the number of casualties on the part of the occupation forces while at the same time limiting the amount of time needed to achieve particular operational objectives. With regard to combat space such as airspace, land and sea, the planners assumed the coalition for