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00:02Next on Secrets of War, the real stories of secret operations behind enemy lines in the
00:09Gulf War, the German undercover agent who worked for Iraq, the secret role of the U-2
00:15spy plane, the hunt for mobile scud missile launchers and the Allied Coalition's intelligence
00:21blunders.
00:22The Gulf War, Secrets in the Sand is next on Secrets of War.
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34:04countries and in a very strange way he's obviously very proud about this my
34:14my unconditional yes to Iraq and its president Saddam Hussein still stands it
34:20stands as firm as ever my stunt one of the sobering lessons of the Gulf War is
34:27that 50 years after Hitler's v2s wreaked havoc in southern England and Belgium
34:32there is still no effective defense against mobile ballistic missiles
34:39to the extent that it diverted precious coalition military assets
34:44Saddam Hussein's scud campaign was his only real success in the war
35:04even before the onset of the scud attacks General Schwarzkopf's planning efforts for
35:09the ground war had become mired in frustration
35:14US intelligence had overestimated the size and strength of the Iraqi forces
35:22we saw numbers as high as 540,000 modern equipment the vaunted Republican guards almost invincible I
35:31called it a fourth-rate army and when I did that in my book the US Army became very upset
35:36with that but
35:37they were they weren't even a fourth-rate but still you know they were an army they had weapons
35:42they had several hundred thousand of them but they were nowhere near what was purported to be while
35:49the Air Force was laying out a detailed air campaign the ground campaign was foundering
35:54just foundering he couldn't he couldn't come up with a way that everyone would accept to kick Saddam out of
36:02Kuwait
36:04the preliminary offensive plan that sent calm produced was based on the number of US troops then in Saudi Arabia
36:11approximately 215,000
36:16it called for a so-called straight-up-the-middle attack directly into the teeth the enemy's defenses
36:25no one liked the plan not even Schwarzkopf
36:29President Bush and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney were horrified at the projected casualties
36:37the response from the Bush administration to the up-the-middle proposal was immediate and unambiguous
36:46they said well what do you need to do a good plan they said I need twice as many forces
36:50they said you got it and that's when they sent the 7th Corps from Germany and additional forces over
36:56and the addition of those additional forces eight divisions of army and a couple of divisions of Marine Corps
37:02gave General Schwarzkopf options including the option to do the left hook
37:08the ground plan that finally emerged had three closely coordinated elements
37:14diversionary amphibious operations off the coast
37:17the first and second marine divisions attacking directly into Kuwait
37:23and a knockout blow provided by two army corps
37:27the 7th and 18th attacking and enveloping the main Iraqi force from the west
37:34they would also block western escape routes and destroy the republican guards
37:41one of the most extraordinary military achievements of the gulf war took place while the allied bombing campaign effectively blinded
37:50the Iraqis
37:53the coalition moved over a quarter of a million soldiers and 64,000 tanks and other vehicles
37:59300 miles into western Saudi Arabia in preparation for the western envelopes
38:06this mass repositioning is considered one of the most successful deceptions in military history
38:18in the early morning hours of the 24th of February 1991
38:23the firepower, speed and agility of the coalition ground forces were brought to bear against the Iraqis
38:30the final act of Operation Desert Storm would last only 100 hours
38:38less than four days
38:41that the coalition prevailed came as a surprise to no one
38:47what stunned Schwarzkopf's commanders was the swiftness of the Iraqi collapse
38:57the speed of the marine frontal attack into Kuwait
39:00and the corresponding flight of Iraqi forces to the north toward Basra
39:04through the carefully planned timetable of events off kilter
39:09suddenly a campaign of maneuver and contact turned into one of hot pursuit
39:16facing a rapidly changing situation
39:19and deprived of good information on the strength of the Iraqi forces in its path
39:247th Corps chose not to deviate from the original plan of advance
39:29a controversial decision
39:33what was to have been a demonstration of swift maneuver and envelopment
39:37resembled instead the spoke of a giant ponderous wheel
39:41with five divisions perfectly aligned
39:47U.S. ground offensive and particularly the movement of 7th Corps was done in a very carefully orchestrated fashion
39:55this gave the Iraqis considerable time to retreat out of Kuwait
40:00and also to form up a defensive line, a screening force of Republican Guard divisions
40:07for some members of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment whose reconnaissance function at the front relied on speed to surprise
40:14their choice of a World War II icon for inspiration only heightened the sense of frustration at the slow pace
40:25Rommel was the desert fox for a reason
40:28and it was because he took maneuver warfare in the desert to a high art
40:32we captured an Iraqi major
40:35had a picture of Rommel on my turret shield door
40:39he did a real double take
40:40when he saw the picture of Rommel on the turret shield door
40:45and it had a private in there guarding him
40:46this is a wonderful thing about young American soldiers
40:48the Iraqi major says to the private
40:51why do you have a picture of one of your enemies in your tank
40:55and the private says to him
40:56well if you knew a little bit more about a Rommel
40:58you wouldn't be sitting in the back of my track, would you?
41:02brief but sharp armored engagements
41:05with the Republican Guard defensive screen did occur
41:11the Gulf War was a showcase for the M1A1 Abrams tank
41:18a study in angular sculpted power
41:21this 50 ton turbine driven monster
41:24swept across the sands with a high-pitched whine
41:27that belied its lethal punch
41:31the Abrams dominated tank combat
41:34it outgunned the best Iraqi contender
41:38the Russian-made T-72 in every engagement
41:45its superior fire control
41:47and thermal imaging system
41:49allowed crews to fire on the moon
41:52achieving first-round kills
41:54at an incredible 3,000 meters
41:57but the key ingredient
41:59responsible for this devastation
42:01was never discussed publicly
42:07although it has existed in the U.S. arsenal
42:09since the late 70s
42:11the Gulf War marked its combat debut
42:15no armor will stop it
42:17tank crews called it
42:20a silver bullet
42:30stark images of turretless tanks
42:33bear mute witness to the violent efficiency
42:36of modern-day armored combat
42:41hapless Iraqi tank crews were the first to experience
42:44the blinding flash of death
42:46a silver bullet
42:49I saw one T-72 destroyed
42:53in which it literally disappeared as a vehicle
42:57leaving a giant crater in the road
42:59many, many of the T-72s
43:02when hit with the M1A1 tank gun
43:05the turret would explode
43:07and fly off the vehicle
43:08as far as 50 to 150 feet
43:12only after the war
43:13was this weapon's startling secret revealed
43:18it is radioactive
43:23the official U.S. military designation
43:26for this tank-killing ammunition
43:28is M829
43:29armor-piercing, thin-stabilized
43:32discarding sable
43:34it is essentially a heavy metal dart
43:38or penetrator
43:39made from depleted uranium
43:41or DU
43:44the round's muzzle velocity
43:46of 1500 meters a second
43:48combined with its high density
43:50provides extreme accuracy
43:52the DU penetrator
43:54kills by pure kinetic energy
43:56no explosive charge is needed
44:00but it has another
44:02very important property
44:04that makes it so effective
44:05on the battlefield
44:06it's what scientists would say
44:08was pyrophoric
44:09literally burn on impact
44:11it'll weld a hole
44:13through the strongest
44:14of tank armors
44:16as it goes in
44:18as it goes in
44:19there's radioactive
44:19heavy metal spalling
44:21which is the uranium pieces
44:22breaking off
44:23which can catch fire
44:25and now we have a shower
44:27of so to speak
44:28BBs
44:29that are extremely heavy
44:31moving very fast
44:33and on fire
44:35as fuel and ammunition
44:37inside the tank ignite
44:39the result
44:39more often than not
44:41is a catastrophic explosion
44:46kinetic energy penetrators
44:48were developed
44:48during the 1970s
44:50to counter what was thought
44:51to be advanced
44:52Soviet tank armor
44:55the heavy density properties
44:57of depleted uranium
44:58were well known
44:59and nuclear waste
45:01already cheap
45:02and plentiful
45:02provided a ready source
45:04for DU ammunition
45:09the Pentagon's enthusiasm
45:11for depleted uranium
45:13was not limited
45:14to the Abrams tank
45:17the Air Force A-10
45:18with its 30mm gatling gun
45:21was actually responsible
45:22for most of the depleted uranium
45:24released in the Gulf
45:27some 630,000 pounds of it
45:31what makes depleted uranium
45:33so effective as a weapon
45:35is also what makes it
45:37so dangerous to soldiers
45:39and that is
45:39it burns on impact
45:40literally releasing
45:42oxidized particles
45:43of uranium
45:44that can be inhaled
45:45ingested
45:46by anyone
45:47who comes in contact
45:48with say a tank
45:49or a bunker
45:50that was hit
45:51by a depleted uranium shell
45:53fortunately for the coalition
45:56the Iraqis
45:57didn't have DU ammunition
45:58in 1991
46:01however
46:028 Abrams tanks
46:03and 15 Bradley
46:05fighting vehicles
46:06were struck
46:06by DU rounds
46:09victims of so-called
46:11friendly fire
46:12by other Abrams
46:1412 Bradley crew members
46:16were killed
46:17and 43 were wounded
46:20during the recovery
46:21of these vehicles
46:22the scope of DU contamination
46:24and exposure
46:25in the Gulf
46:25was revealed
46:29when our depleted uranium team
46:31arrived on site
46:32to start to assess
46:34and clean up
46:35the damaged
46:35and destroyed equipment
46:37we found out rapidly
46:39first off
46:39that no safety precautions
46:41had been taken
46:41nor had the individuals
46:43been informed
46:44of the hazards
46:46associated with depleted uranium
46:49because of the degree
46:50of radioactive contamination
46:52six of the friendly fire
46:54Bradley vehicles
46:55had to be buried
46:56in place
46:57in Saudi Arabia
46:59but what of the soldiers
47:01not only those
47:02who were wounded
47:03by friendly fire
47:04but the potential
47:05thousands of US
47:06and coalition troops
47:07who were exposed
47:08on the battlefield
47:09while looking over
47:11destroyed Iraqi equipment
47:12or simply inhaling
47:14pervasive smoke
47:17In spite of conclusive
47:19post-war analysis
47:20conducted by the army
47:21the Pentagon
47:23consistently downplayed
47:24the severity
47:25of depleted uranium exposures
47:27during the Gulf War
47:31Indications are
47:32that many soldiers
47:33were never informed
47:34of possible DU contamination
47:39Dr. Asaf Starakovich
47:41a colonel
47:42in the US Army Reserve
47:44was a radiation safety officer
47:47for the Veterans Administration
47:49It should be remedied
47:51instantly
47:52by involving
47:53the experts
47:54and professionals
47:56in management
47:57and diagnostic care
47:59of those patients
48:00and making sure
48:01that certain
48:03risk assessment
48:04will be given
48:05to each one of them
48:06so they will not be
48:08in the constant fear
48:09of what might happen
48:10to them tomorrow
48:13The army remains
48:15conflicted
48:15over its
48:16super weapon
48:17The congressionally
48:18mandated
48:19DU training program
48:20was completed
48:21in 1995
48:22but not implemented
48:24To the man
48:26once responsible
48:27for passing on
48:28this information
48:29it remains
48:30a mission
48:31uncompleted
48:33We were tasked
48:34to complete a job
48:35to identify
48:37to identify
48:37the problems
48:38to clean up
48:39a mess
48:40to develop
48:41the training
48:42to ensure
48:42medical care
48:43is provided
48:44for those people
48:44that were exposed
48:46to this hazard
48:46of war
48:48We gotta finish it
48:51Doug Rocky
48:52is himself
48:53suffering
48:54from the effects
48:55of depleted
48:56uranium exposure
48:58Information
48:59A simple word
49:01with profound
49:02implications
49:03From the day
49:05in August
49:051990
49:06that Iraq
49:07crossed the border
49:08into Kuwait
49:08the demand
49:09for information
49:10never ceased
49:13Through the very
49:14last day
49:15of the war
49:16the 28th of February
49:17intelligence operations
49:19churned
49:20through vast amounts
49:21of data
49:22to comprehend
49:23the ground situation
49:24Ground truth
49:25however
49:26was never
49:27fully attained
49:29We bombed
49:30the Iraqis
49:31to smithereens
49:33Yet
49:34without the aid
49:35of any
49:36high-tech
49:37communications equipment
49:38Saddam's generals
49:40were able
49:40to execute
49:41a retreat
49:42under the most
49:44severest of conditions
49:45Maybe they did it
49:46with motorcycles
49:47and notes
49:48I don't know
49:48But they did it
49:50We had all the
49:51equipment in the world
49:52and we couldn't
49:53prevent it
49:53May God
49:55blend our
49:55military
49:56and their
49:57family
50:00After 100 hours
50:01of ground combat
50:03President Bush
50:04ordered a ceasefire
50:07The Republican guards
50:09Saddam Hussein's
50:10trusted protectors
50:11of the realm
50:12escaped
50:12to fight
50:13another day
50:19Kuwait was liberated
50:22But Saddam Hussein's
50:24continued presence
50:25and the conflict's
50:27undetermined
50:28physical toll
50:29is a somber reminder
50:31that superior technology
50:32has yet to lift
50:34the fog of war
50:57We had a chance
51:05to get rid of
51:05to grime
51:05as we can
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