From promising applicant for “Back-up Navy Guy
Jonah,
Here goes on one. The “market bombing” in Baghdad was almost certainly NOT an errant JDAM/GPS-guided bomb, LGB (laser-guided bomb) or TLAM (Tomahawk Land Attack Missile).
To have been a JDAM, that would have meant that the Iraqis have an existing and effective GPS jammer, which they obviously do not (both ineffective and no longer in existence). To have been an LGB, it would mean that the laser spot was lost/diverted (fiery oil-filled trenches) or that the laser spot was placed on the wrong location (which is unlikely for a 1 mile error…trust me, the mission planning for an LGB mission is pretty involved, and the picture you get from military infrared pods like TFLIR and LANTIRN is VERY accurate). To have been a TLAM, it would mean that the weapon was either damaged in flight, which is unlikely given the poor showing by the Iraqi air defense system near Baghdad), or was programmed with the wrong coordinates (again, highly unlikely, as TLAM planning is some of the most involved I’ve ever been involved with).
I think it’s most likely to have been an Iraqi heavy AAA shell or missile landing at the wrong aimpoint. Then again, given the utter disregard Uncle Saddam has for his people, maybe it was an intentional “PR” moment.