War game was fixed to ensure American victory, claims general

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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The biggest war game in US military history, staged this month at a cost of £165m with 13,000 troops, was rigged to ensure that the Americans beat their “Middle Eastern” adversaries, according to one of the main participants.

General Paul Van Riper, a retired marine lieutenant-general, told the Army Times that the sprawling three-week millennium challenge exercises, were “almost entirely scripted to ensure a [US] win”.

When Gen Van Riper agreed to command the forces of an unnamed Middle Eastern state - which bore a strong re semblance to Iraq, but could have been Iran - he thought he would be given a free rein to probe US weaknesses. But when the game began, he was told to deploy his forces to make life easier for US forces.

“We were directed… to move air defences so that the army and marine units could successfully land,” he said. “We were simply directed to turn [air defence systems] off or move them… So it was scripted to be whatever the control group wanted it to be.”

The Army Times reported that, as commander of a low-tech, third-world army, Gen Van Riper appeared to have repeatedly outwitted US forces.

He sent orders with motorcycle couriers to evade sophisticated electronic eavesdropping equipment. When the US fleet sailed into the Gulf, he instructed his small boats and planes to move around in apparently aimless circles before launching a surprise attack which sank a substantial part of the US navy. The war game had to be stopped and the American ships “refloated” so that the US forces stood a chance.

“Instead of a free-play, two-sided game as the joint forces commander advertised it was going to be, it simply became a scripted exercise. They had a predetermined end, and they scripted the exercise to that end,” Gen Van Riper said. He said he quit when he found out his orders were being over ruled by the military coordinators of the game.

The transformation is aimed at making US forces more mobile and daring, but Gen Van Riper said that the “concepts” the game were supposed to test, with names such as “effects-based operations” and “rapid, decisive operations”, were little more than “slogans”, which had not been properly put to the test by the exercise.

comment: A fixed war game no wonder they stick to mass carpet bombing civilian and non civilian targets because if it came to a real fight they bunch of cowards!

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If the opposition forces are capable of original and creative operations, this capability exists with in the US military. Unless, they all quit like General Paul Van Riper. 165million pounds is quite a lot to spend on rigged war games. This article appeared in the Army Times for all to read, mind you! The US cannot carpet bomb Iraq at this stage. Iraq would have had to severely attack the US or Israel for this to occur.

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My guess is that the "fictional Iraq" in this exercise would probably have lasted at least twice as long as their real counterparts (before putting their tails between their legs and crawling over one another to surrender). Talk about opening a can of good'ol American whoop'ass!

So much for the greatest of the Arab armies. I for one am glad though that George Jr. is backing down. The last thing we need is to give the fundo freaks another reason to call for Jihad against america. No offense to yours truly SAIF.

-Stu

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What a bunch of suckers. These games were designed to move troops and supplies into forward positions. They will remain there as thousands more are moving now. The good general was a pawn in more way’s than one, only this was scripted to draw in suckers like this post.

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So it's disinformation?

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Stu

No offense taken i mean we get a lot of brainwashed american extremists on this forum also.

Ex army

Yeah right anything showing america as stupid you can bet you get the same old lame excuses.

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Pretty strong replies from our friends in the world affairs forum :D. No one is denying the military might of the US and there wasnt a need to take this personally :smiley:
If if was disinformation, it does look like a pretty expensive one ($250 million).
Why would they concot out some rigged war games and use the retired general as pawn and script the whole thing to move troops and supplies in forward postion? Whats stopping them? We are at war arent we? Isnt this what CNN says most of the time. George jr. wouldn’t need to make some rerited general look dumb just to move the troops like that :D. Nyaah, I didnt think so either.

The fact remains that they didnt think General Riper would out-wit the American side in many instances. Im sure Iraq could benefit from a military commander like that and put some dent into the US forces in a real time scenario :smiley:

Americans ‘change the rules’ to avoid losing war game

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I guess for people with no understanding of the US military it must be hard to visualize how these games work. First they were all US troops, second all war games are scripted (games). This exercise was confined to the US only, nine bases within the countries boarders.

Major exercises are for the most part great cover for troop movement. During this one 13,000 troops were moved and supplied for future actions in other lands. The good General has played the game for 40 years and knows how to read his lines. By making the whole thing seem to be something it is not may give Saddam some backbone or prepare him for the great war that never was or will be.

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This proves that any American action against Iraq would prove fatal for the Americans. Iraq will fight the "Mother of All Battles" and defeat the infidels.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Seminole: *
This proves that any American action against Iraq would prove fatal for the Americans. Iraq will fight the "Mother of All Battles" and defeat the infidels.
[/QUOTE]

I agree we are in big trouble. Just like the mighty Taliban rising up and wiping out the handful of American troops it has taken to keep them in hiding. The mother of all battles was better than any train exercise it was a walk in the park. I’m sure we will see the same lame war cries again.

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Saddam has been right on target with predictions in the past, so the following quote does not bode well for America.

http://66.37.211.229/archives/articles/2002/7/17/81622.shtml

*“Your country will remain unbeatable by the enemy and will come out victorious despite the roaring and boisterousness of the foreigners,” Saddam said in allusion to U.S. threats to attack Iraq and topple the Baghdad regime.

“Iraq will be victorious, victorious, victorious. … All the foreign roaring you are hearing will be withered away by the wind, because the enemy is a greedy oppressor and enemy of God,” Saddam said in the 40-minute speech.*

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This why we use the AWAC’s so intensively. They can detect the lightning bolts before they strike. This is important since we know the troops on the ground in Iraq like Afghanistan are spineless the victory will have to come from the heavens.

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well one thing for sure... Van Viper better be used as an expert..what this is basically saying is that the retired general came up with ideas and approaches to really baffle his adeversaries.

Better use his skills and his expereince in the decision making mix.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *
well one thing for sure... Van Viper better be used as an expert..what this is basically saying is that the retired general came up with ideas and approaches to really baffle his adeversaries.

Better use his skills and his expereince in the decision making mix.
[/QUOTE]

I agree with Fraudia here. The problem with scripted war games are that those who write the scripts sometimes get locked into their own tunnel vision and discount the existence of strategic alternatives that might be pursued by the adversary. Their mentality is that "no one would ever do that so we don't have to plan for it and don't have to include it in the script." The other side is undoubtedly making their own script and it may very well be different than the one our planners are writing.

While there is certainly not a danger that Iraq could militarily prevail in the long run, there is a danger that failure to consider strategic alternatives could cost more lives in the process. I'm glad Viper is on our side.

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My voice

thanks for understanding my point here..the talkign heads and every other johnny come lately military expert says the same senetence, we have to get into the enemy's head, we have to understand unconventional warfare, we have to understand what tricks they may have up their sleeve. People like thsi general are doing a great service by thinking outside the box and really being creative.

I mean this is not just something for war, but also for the business world. I mean u are a lawyer, did u not try to think like the other side in order to neutralize their arguments. I sure have used that approach in my career.

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War games have always been poorly scripted. I went through some bad ones, Wiesbaden Germany in 1978 comes to mind. The biggest multi national games ever at the time. We had 4 day’s to drink and party with troops from around the world then one day in the field. This went on for a month, more like a party than training.

My thoughts are first Viper has true combat experience and does not rely absolutely on technology. We are making a mistake by doing so. One major weakness we have is the true combat veterans are gone, you can’t count the gulf war or Afghanistan where little or no resistance was meet. If we ever reach the point we must stage an all out ground offensive we will lose troops due to the lack of proven leadership in combat. No war game will teach it, no matter how hard we try.

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Ex-Army, you guys got rip-roaring lit just before a major NATO war game? My only hope is that the Soviets jumped into a swimming pool of Vodka, simultaniously. I'm sure it was a great party, meeting all those multi-national troops and what-not.

Your point about real soldiers is true. The last real deal was 'Nam. Maybe that's what that was for? Combat experience.

I was under the impression that the US was training quite extensively for urban warfare. This is a very treacherous type of combat. Some of the worst fighting in WWII was in cities on the Eastern Front. Lots of civie casualties and combatant as well. Saddam has given out rifles to every household making them all potential combatants.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by TOMASSO: *
Saddam has given out rifles to every household making them all potential combatants.
[/QUOTE]

Somehow I doubt that story. I was under the impression he doesn't even give all his soldiers rifles for fear of a coup.

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yeah he has given rifles, but not the bullets :D

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Maybe we should just drop bullets and watch.