New Research Exposes "Shock and Awe" War Plans

Not In Our Name (NION)
212-533-2123
http://www.notinourname.net

3-19-03: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The “Shock and Awe” Battle Plan for Iraq:
the Subject of a Detailed Analysis Paper Published by The Not in Our Name Project

The Not in Our Name Project (NION) is pleased to announce publication of The ‘Shock and Awe’ Experiment on its website. This research document is a compilation, analysis, and discussion of available information on the Pentagon’s “Shock and Awe” battle plan for Iraq especially as it affects civilian infrastructure and the civilian population.

(The report can be viewed at http://www.notinourname.net/Shock_and_Awe.html. A printable pdf version will be posted shortly.)

The NION Project is posting this report because it believes the document is a valuable and timely contribution to people’s understanding of the exact nature of the Bush administration’s bombing and invasion of Iraq.

The document contains an in-depth analysis of the concept of “Shock and Awe” warfare as set forth by its architects and authors in “Shock and Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance,” a book published by the National Defense University (December 1996), an institution funded by the Pentagon. The concept came into the news recently when on January 24, 2003 CBS News reported and confirmed that the Shock and Awe concept was the basis for the U.S. war plan for Iraq. CBS reported that a Pentagon official briefed on the plan has said, “there will not be a safe place in Baghdad.”

Primarily, The ‘Shock and Awe’ Experiment seeks to further public awareness, and to build a foundation for press, organizations, and individuals who wish to make informed statements on the subject.

The report, believed to be the first of its kind, is intended to serve as a resource for journalists and students who wish to increase their understanding of the “Shock and Awe” battle plan and its potential impact on Iraqi society. It provides a systematic and rigorous analysis of the “revolutionary” new Shock and Awe doctrine, including a thorough analysis of the plan’s heavy emphasis on targeting civilian infrastructure, and can serve as a research tool for those who care to explore specific dimensions of the issue further.

Shock and Awe warfare explicitly calls for targeting civilian infrastructure such as “water supplies, food processing and sanitation.” It emphasizes bombing in such a way to “create fear” and cause severe, widespread “psychological and emotional” effects. The Shock and Awe Experiment discusses the legal and humanitarian dimensions of war on Iraq in this context, drawing on many reputable and authoritative sources, citing international and humanitarian legal precedents. It references many declassified Defense Intelligence Agency documents and two recently leaked UN humanitarian crisis planning documents. The ‘Shock and Awe’ Experiment also reviews the surprisingly limited discussion of Shock and Awe in the American media landscape during the past 7 weeks since the original news “leak” on CBS News.

NION is a national network resisting the international aggression, attacks on civil liberties, and profiling, roundups, and detentions of immigrants that the Bush Administration has enacted since September 11. NION’s website is at www.notinourname.net .

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