Russia gave Saddam US warplan, but it did not help much

ABC News:

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Two Iraqi documents from March 2003 — on the eve of the U.S.-led invasion — and addressed to the secretary of Saddam Hussein, describe details of a U.S. plan for war. According to the documents, the plan was disclosed to the Iraqis by the Russian ambassador.

Document written sometime before March 5, 2003

The first document (CMPC-2003-001950) is a handwritten account of a meeting with the Russian ambassador that details his description of the composition, size, location and type of U.S. military forces arrayed in the Gulf and Jordan. The document includes the exact numbers of tanks, armored vehicles, different types of aircraft, missiles, helicopters, aircraft carriers, and other forces, and also includes their exact locations. The ambassador also described the positions of two Special Forces units.

Document dated March 25, 2003

The second document (CMPC-2004-001117) is a typed account, signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hammam Abdel Khaleq, that states that the Russian ambassador has told the Iraqis that the United States was planning to deploy its force into Iraq from Basra in the South and up the Euphrates, and would avoid entering major cities on the way to Baghdad, which is, in fact what happened. The documents also state "Americans are also planning on taking control of the oil fields in Kirkuk." The information was obtained by the Russians from "sources at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar," according to the document.

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It appears that Saddam was more willing to believe disinformation spread by Gen. Franks than he was willing to believe info provided by Russia. Did he think the Russians were giving him disinformation? Possibly. Post war reports indicate that he still believed the main attack was coming from Jordan in the west. Interestingly, the Turks mucking around on permitting the 4th ID to use their facilities, which caused the US to eventually send them through the Suez Canal, may have led him to believe that they would be off loaded at Acuba, Jordon. Franks did some things to give him this impression. He had earlier planted that thought with the leader of Yemen who was in daily contact with Saddam.

Update: Much more information on the Russian action at MSNBC. Some of the information appears to confirm disinformation campaigns by the US.

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“Significantly, the regime was also receiving intelligence from the Russians that fed suspicions that the attack out of Kuwait was merely a diversion,” the report’s authors wrote. They cited as an example a document that was sent to Saddam on March 24, 2003, and captured by the U.S. military after Baghdad fell.

The report said the Iraqi document was titled, “Letter from Russian official to presidential secretary concerning American intentions in Iraq.” The Iraqi document said, “The information that the Russians have collected from their sources inside the American Central Command in Doha is that the United States is convinced that occupying Iraqi cities are impossible,” and that as a result the U.S. military would avoid urban combat.

“The strategy is to isolate Iraq from its western borders,” the document added.

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In the end, one piece of Russian intelligence actually contributed to an important U.S. military deception effort. By telling Saddam that the main attack on Baghdad would not begin until the Army’s 4th Infantry Division arrived around April 15, the Russians reinforced an impression that U.S. commanders were trying to catch the Iraqis by surprise.

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The Pentagon report, designed to help U.S. officials understand in hindsight how Saddam and his military commanders prepared for and fought the war, paints a picture of an Iraqi government blind to the threat it faced, hampered by Saddam’s inept military leadership and deceived by its own propaganda.

“The largest contributing factor to the complete defeat of Iraq’s military forces was the continued interference by Saddam,” the report said.

With the help of the Russians they were less blind than they should have been, but Saddam's paranoia probably got him to discount what he was being told.