Strategic targeting consists of preplanned missions against fixed facilities. In Iraq, Coalition forces attacked most of these in the first few days of the war with cruise missiles and other precision-guided munitions. Preplanned targets included leadership, government, security, and military facilities, and certain dual-use infrastructure elements such as electrical power, media, and telecommunications facilities. Attacks on these facilities generally did not result in civilian casualties or extensive damage to civilian property for a number of reasons.
Most of the facilities that were hit were in areas to which the civilian population did not have access. Thorough collateral damage estimates were done for each of the preplanned targets. Finally, these attacks were carried out exclusively with precision-guided munitions.
Dual-use facilities are those that can have both a military and civilian application. In Iraq, the United States and United Kingdom considered electrical power, media, and telecommunications installations dual use and attacked examples of each. In some instances, however, it was not clear to Human Rights Watch why Coalition forces characterized certain installations in that way.
He told Human Rights Watch that instead of using explosive ordnance, the majority of the attacks were carried out with carbon fiber bombs designed to incapacitate temporarily rather than to destroy. Electrical power was out for thirty days after U. The city lost power for thirty days. The transformer station is the critical link between al-Nasiriyya Electrical Power Production Plant and the city of al-Nasiriyya.
Although the carbon fiber is supposed to incapacitate temporarily, three transformers were completely destroyed by a fire from a short circuit caused by the carbon fiber. Human Rights Watch was told that the transformers would have to be replaced and the entire facility rewired. On March 23 at a. Hassan Dawud, an engineer at the station when it was attacked, said a U.
