Guardian: US/UK wargamed Iran invasion in 2004

[moodforaday]

Article in today's Guardian:

Britain took part in mock Iran invasion
Pentagon planned for Tehran conflict with war game involving UK troops

Julian Borger in Washington and Ewen MacAskill
Saturday April 15, 2006
The Guardian

British officers took part in a US war game aimed at preparing for a possible invasion of Iran, despite repeated claims by the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, that a military strike against Iran is inconceivable. The war game, codenamed Hotspur 2004, took place at the US base of Fort Belvoir in Virginia in July 2004.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman played down its significance yesterday. "These paper-based exercises are designed to test officers to the limit in fictitious scenarios. We use invented countries and situations using real maps," he said.

(...)
The senior British officers took part in the Iranian war game just over a year after the invasion of Iraq. It was focused on the Caspian Sea, with an invasion date of 2015. Although the planners said the game was based on a fictitious Middle East country called Korona, the border corresponded exactly with Iran's and the characteristics of the enemy were Iranian.

Full text here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1754307,00.html

So hey, they picked the country by accident, right? But they didn't pick Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia, or - dare I mention North Korea? - but Iran. "Korona" by the way is "corona" is "crown", of course - as in "crown jewel", by any chance?

[EVDebs]

1. Conplan 8022 is already operational

Not Just A Last Resort?
A Global Strike Plan, With a Nuclear Option

By William Arkin

Sunday, May 15, 2005; Page B01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/14/AR2005051400071.html