Word: scud
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Schwarzkopf's intelligence about the missile was poor. Before the 1991 war, the U.S. believed that the crew of the 45-ton, Soviet-made truck that carries and launches the Scud would require half an hour to disassemble the launch gear and leave the scene after shooting. That would allow a fair amount of time for U.S. military satellites equipped with heat sensors to detect the flash of the launch and provide coordinates to allied aircraft that could move in for the kill. The Iraqi crews, however, were not following the Soviet owner's manual the U.S. was relying...
This time the U.S. has some better ideas about where to find Scud launchers. Israeli special forces belonging to a unit called Shaldag (Hebrew for "Kingfisher") have been conducting reconnaissance missions in western Iraq, looking for likely launch sites that are near good hiding places. Israeli intelligence has identified for the U.S. these possible launch areas as well as the best elevated positions from which to keep track of them. Washington has promised Israel that U.S. commandos would be sent into western Iraq in the war's opening minutes to hunt down the Scud systems and call in air strikes...
Those assurances are largely politically motivated because, in reality, there's a limited chance that commandos would come across Scud teams in the vastness of the Iraqi desert. Another resource for spotting Scud teams before they have shot a missile is the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) airplane, which was used experimentally in 1991. J-STARS scours the ground like an AWACS scours the skies, keeping track of things that move...
...ongoing effort to improve its Scud-killing abilities, the U.S. Air Force last month launched a pair of Scuds--which it secretly obtained from an unspecified Warsaw Pact nation--from American soil for the first time. The firings, from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base out over the Pacific Ocean, were witnessed by U.S. and Israeli defense officials. Sensors on the missiles as well as aboard nearby ships and planes tracked the trajectory of the Scuds. "Because the new Patriot is 'hit to kill,' we need very accurate data on Scud performance," a Pentagon official said...
...military officials say the stakes in any anti-Scud campaign would be high. While Saddam may have few missiles in his quiver, he might in a future campaign have the motivation--and ability--to load them with devastating chemical warheads. U.S. intelligence isn't sure why he didn't do this last time. Perhaps he was convinced by hints that Washington might retaliate with nuclear weapons. Or his engineers might have been unable to perfect the sophisticated fuse needed to spread a cloud of sarin or VX gas half a mile wide, a lethal fog capable of killing thousands...