I have just finished reading Cobra II and I have to disagree on the authors' take on the attack. The authors did not unequivocally come to the conclusion that it was because the TOC was in a well known geographic area. The authors hedged around the entire subject in one small paragraph.
The TOC was hit by an unguided rocket. It was nearly a direct hit on the communication tent. I'm still of the opinion that the transmission grid of the TOC turned an unguided rocket aimed at the general vicinity into a guided rocket that ended up with a direct hit on the TOC communication apparatus. Basic radio discipline broke down and created the right atmosphere for the end result. Also, the authors described the weapon simply as a "surface-to-surface" missile. I'm sure the authors knew it was an unguided rocket weapons system that hit the target. The authors were very specific about missile types used by the Iraqis throughout the book except with the attack on the TOC. There are also no end notes for the incident in the book.Welsey thought the Iraqis had scored a one-in-a-million shot and decided to reestablish the TOC in the same vicinity...[however] one military intelligence officer...thought it had been a mistake to use the facility in the first place. The Iraqis, he reasoned...knew the geographic coordinates of their own facilities and could easily target them. [p. 402]
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