"Desert Crossing" 1999 was a series of
war games 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 United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...
(CENTCOM), in order to assess potential outcomes of an invasion of Iraq aimed at unseating
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
. The games were led by Marine General
Anthony Zinni
Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a retired United States Marine Corps General (United States), general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special e ...
(ret.) "When it looked like we were going in
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
Victor Eugene "Gene" Renuart Jr. ( ;
born November 26, 1949) is a retired United States Air Force four-star General (United States), general. His last military assignment was as the commander of United States Northern Command and North American A ...
, 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.
Millennium Challenge 2002
Military exercises involving the United States
1999 in the United States
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