By David Ho
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000; 6:29 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON –– Poor intelligence information about cities around the world, especially in developing countries, is increasing the dangers to U.S. military forces who may have to fight in urban environments without even accurate street maps, congressional investigators say.

U.S. forces currently don't have adequate information because urban warfare has been a low priority for the intelligence community, the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said Monday.

"The absence of good intelligence for urban settings can impede military operations and leave forces vulnerable to ambushes, friendly fire incidents and unacceptable noncombatant casualties," the investigators said.

In recent conflicts in Kosovo, Bosnia and Somalia U.S. forces often found themselves with inaccurate maps and out of date information on the local people.

Brian E. Sheridan, assistant secretary of defense for special operations, agreed with the investigators' findings.

"There is consensus across the department that significant information and intelligence shortfalls exist for foreign urban operations," he said in a letter dated Feb. 7. He added the Pentagon doesn't have accurate databases and maps for a majority of foreign cities.

Members of the House and Senate subcommittees on military readiness said they had not yet read the report and couldn't comment.

Fighting in cities presents very different challenges to military forces than campaigns in open areas, like the vast expanses of desert in the Persian Gulf War. Military planners expect that future adversaries might attempt to draw U.S. forces into dense urban areas to counter the United States' traditional advantages of superior firepower and mobility.

Planners need to know in advance which streets and bridges can handle the weight of the Army's main tanks and fighting vehicles, which tall buildings can block communications and the location of a city's utilities, transportation and civilians.

The Defense Department is completing a study that will identify the information holes and the specific challenges of urban warfare, Sheridan said.

The investigators said the military should also be working with the intelligence community to reexamine their intelligence gathering priorities.

The Defense Intelligence Agency's databases are still focused on the potential battlegrounds of the Cold War and treat developing countries as a low priority, which leads to problems providing current information, the GAO said.