A classified war game was held earlier this month.The biannual event,known as "Internal Look,"is conducted to test the integration of communications and the battle staff coordination for the U.S. Central Command,all the way from the Pentagon to CENTCOM headquarters and commanders in the field,and to gauge how well U.S. forces would respond to real world crises in the region.CENTCOM covers the Middle East and parts of Central and Southwest Asia.
This particular game was focused on the scenario of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities,according to sources familiar with the matter.In this game,Israel bombed the facilities into a one-year setback of the Iranian nuclear program.Iran then attacked a U.S. warship in retaliation,killing 200 U.S. service members.Such an attack could be carried out with an Iranian anti-ship missile,for example.The U.S. subsequently responded in the scenario with its own attack on Iran's nuclear facilities,setting the Iranian program back a further two years.
Israeli intelligence reportedly doesn't believe such an operation would result in a regional conflagration,but the CENTCOM Commander,General James N. Mattis,U.S. Marine Corps,a man with combat experience at every level in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility,is said to be gravely concerned about what Internal Look revealed regarding the consequences of an Israeli strike on Iran for U.S. forces in the AOR.
The Internal Look war game was used in 2002 to assess the U.S. plan to invade Iraq,which indeed was implemented in 2003.
Besides his combat commands in Operations Desert Shield,Desert Storm,Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom,General Mattis is also a graduate of the National War College.
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