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 Don Shepperd: U.S. begins war game in tranquil Qatar
By Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd (Ret.)
DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- The Muezzin's baritone call pierces the air just as the sun breaks the horizon over the Persian Gulf to the east: "Allahu Akbar. La Illah Ila Allah. Muhammad Rassul Allah." (God is great. There is no god but The God. Muhammad is his prophet.) Along the Al-Corniche, the 7-kilometer road bordering Doha Bay and Dhow Harbor, Qatar, Muslim worshippers drop to their knees and bow toward Mecca. Along the coast, a soft breeze blows a thin wisp of morning fog past floating Arab boats, called dhows, bobbing on azure waters. As the morning prayer ends, the United States begins a military exercise meant to simulate war. Gen. Tommy Franks and his CENTCOM staff "push" at zero hour. Masses of aircraft launch from bases in the United States, Turkey, the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Navy fighters catapult off aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. As precision-guided weapons and missiles begin to hit key enemy command-and-control centers, leadership targets and suspected weapons of mass destruction (WMD) sites, Special Forces teams prepare to be inserted, and Army airborne forces load into C-130 aircraft, bound for secret drop zones. Patriot missile battery radars scan the skies for inbound Scud missiles, as Air Force F-15s launch to protect regional bases from air attack. An enemy missile launch is detected by overhead satellites. Warning comes from North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and is relayed through secure communication links back to headquarters at As-Sayliyah military compound in Doha, Qatar. NORAD tracks the missile and predicts impact at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Warning is passed, and Air Force personnel quickly don chemical gear. The dreaded is happening: a possible WMD attack is in progress. Meanwhile, at the City Center, Mall Center and Landmark Center, Qataris order early morning Starbucks coffee. As merchant doors open, early morning shoppers pick through sale tables for Tommy Hilfiger shirts, Body Shop gels and Dr. Scholl's foot care products. One is reminded that there is truly a world economy -- same products, same stores worldwide, with shoppers searching for bargains. The traditional Arab market -- souk -- is hurting. Half burned-out, it is left to compete with Chili's, Fuddruckers, Hardee's, Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, Finnegan's, TCBY. At the Doha Golf Club, a foursome of European businessmen prepares to tee off on the wide, emerald green No. 1 fairway. Young, diminutive African boys prepare to mount up as jockeys at the camel races. The camels may cost as much as $2 million. The camels race while Qataris circle outside and inside the track in late-model autos, accompanying and exhorting their favorites. Meanwhile, contact is lost with a Navy carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Persian Gulf, and simultaneously with an air base in Kuwait. Is it an attack or communications failure? Technicians race to figure out the problem. The U.S. loses a satellite. "OK, what are our procedures for distributing the ATO (air tasking order) in event of satellite failure?" asks the joint forces air component commander (JFACC) by video-teleconference from Saudi Arabia. This is all a drill, a practice, an exercise -- in fact, Exercise Internal Look in Qatar, the first day. The exercise is to test the new CENTCOM deployable headquarters (CDHQ) that might be vital if military action is required against Iraq. Meanwhile, Qatari men dressed in dish-dashas and women in traditional abayas stroll the Doha streets with General Franks' exercise electrons beaming above their heads, each oblivious of the other. East is East and West is West, and now the twain have met. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd is a military analyst for CNN. Shepperd led the Air National Guard, commanding more than 110,000 personnel, 1,400 aircraft, 88 flying units and 250 support units.
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