Israel's bombing of Lebanon close to matching US 2003 'shock and awe' tactics in Iraq

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The severity of Israel’s bombing of Lebanon almost matches that of the US aerial assault on Iraq in 2003 during the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, according to the Israeli Air Force’s own account of its campaign.

The bombing of Iraq, intended to stun regime forces into rapid surrender, was envisioned by planners as a “shock and awe” assault, mainly by air before the ground invasion began. The strategist behind the “shock and awe” phrase, Harlan K. Ullman, said the aim was to use overwhelming force to make the enemy feel helpless.

It remains one of the most intense bombing campaigns in history but was focused on about 700,000 Iraqi forces - many of whom chose not to fight - across an area close to the size of France, about 400,000 square kilometres.

Lebanon is about 10,000 square kilometres and much Israeli bombing is focused on the south and Beirut. Hezbollah is thought to number anywhere between 20,000 and 50,000 fighters, according to various analysts.

At least 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 8 last year. Health authorities say the toll includes 127 children and 73 medical workers. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah fighters. Deaths are rising sharply.

The initial plan in Iraq called for 3,000 targets to be struck in the first 24 hours of the assault. But problems including sand storms and rapidly dispersing Iraqi forces made it a struggle to find targets so the number averaged about 500 daily for the first four days, US pilots said after the war.

Fires burn in Baghdad during the first wave of attacks in the 'shock and awe' phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 21, 2003. Getty Images

Overall invasion bombardments, including those launched by British jets, soon stepped up as fighting intensified and peaked at about 2,000 bombs a day, according to a post-war analysis by an RAF veteran group commander of the conflict.

Israel’s air force said it has mounted several days of strikes comprising more than 4,600 targets hit between September 20 and October 3. While this averages 383 targets struck per day, the Israeli air force said 1,600 targets were struck in the first 24 hours of the assault, close to the height of the Iraq invasion.

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Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish

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1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”