Why has Saddam only used his second-rate missiles so far? That's the question Slate's Fred Kaplan is asking.
He replies on a report saying that Saddam used Soviet-made FROG missiles in yesterday's attack. "The Frogs have a range of just 70 kilometersless than half the range of Scuds," Kaplan writes. "Frogs also can carry about half the payload of Scuds, and they tend to be even more wildly inaccurate (falling, on average, about one-third mile from their targets)."
But if earlier reports -- which said that Saddam would concentrate his defense around Baghdad -- are to be believed, then the answer to Kaplan's question is simple: Saddam's waiting for American troops to come closer to the capital before unleashing his deadliest weapons.
Why has Saddam only used his second-rate missiles so far? That's the question Slate's Fred Kaplan is asking.
He replies on a report saying that Saddam used Soviet-made FROG missiles in yesterday's attack. "The Frogs have a range of just 70 kilometersless than half the range of Scuds," Kaplan writes. "Frogs also can carry about half the payload of Scuds, and they tend to be even more wildly inaccurate (falling, on average, about one-third mile from their targets)."
But if earlier reports -- which said that Saddam would concentrate his defense around Baghdad -- are to be believed, then the answer to Kaplan's question is simple: Saddam's waiting for American troops to come closer to the capital before unleashing his deadliest weapons.