"Desert Crossing" 1999 was a series of

war game A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

s known simply as ''Desert Crossing'' that were conducted in late April 1999 by the

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

(CENTCOM), in order to assess potential outcomes of an invasion of Iraq aimed at unseating

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

. The games were led by Marine General

Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...

(ret.) "When it looked like we were going in o_the_ o_the_2003_invasion_of_Iraq">2003_invasion_of_Iraq.html"_;"title="o_the_2003_invasion_of_Iraq">o_the_2003_invasion_of_Iraq_I_called_back_down_to_CENTCOM_and_said,_'You_need_to_dust_off_Desert_Crossing.'_They_said,_'What's_that?_Never_heard_of_it.'" .__According_to_Air_Force_General_Victor_E._Renuart,_Jr..html" ;"title="2003_invasion_of_Iraq.html" ;"title="2003_invasion_of_Iraq.html" ;"title="o the 2003 invasion of Iraq">o the 2003 invasion of Iraq">2003_invasion_of_Iraq.html" ;"title="o the 2003 invasion of Iraq">o the 2003 invasion of Iraq I called back down to CENTCOM and said, 'You need to dust off Desert Crossing.' They said, 'What's that? Never heard of it.'" . According to Air Force General Victor E. Renuart, Jr.">Victor Renuart, the exercise's conclusions were considered but rejected because they called for an invasion force of three armored divisions, while CENTCOM planners favored a force of only one armored division bolstered by a light infantry division.

References

See also