My Take
posted in General |MY TAKE
As long as our troops remain in harm's way and hostile gunfire continues, it is both premature and unwise to say the the Iraqi War is “over”. But it is fairly certain that Saddam and his henchmen are history and a new day is dawning. Most wars have a specific end date, but maybe the 2003 Iraqi war will not since it may just transition into the next phase of the war on terrorism. But at this stage, this is my take on what has happened.
1. The War Plan —- despite the nay-sayers, fault-finders and knee-jerk critics at the NY Times, LA Times and Washington Post, the plan devised by Rummy, Gen Franks and the Pentagon was first rate. Drive right at Baghdad in all haste and get Saddam on the run. If we had plodded thru the Euphrates/Tigris river towns and cities, we would still be there creeping up on Baghdad. Give credit where it is due. Rummy, Franks and the Pentagon were right.
2. Basrah — Big miscalculation here. The Planners had every reason to expect that the Iraqi Shiites would turn on their long time tormentor as soon as the Coalition troops arrived. But they didn't. After having been burned in 1991, they played it cozy until they could see who was going to win. Can't blame them, but their hesitance tied up the Brits and cost us 2-3 weeks in controlling the country. No awards here, but at least we saved the oil fields.
3. The Republican Guard Divisions – frankly, I think they could have been a very formidable opponent. Better trained and equipped, they would have been very difficult to dislodge, and the 3rd Infantry, the 101st Airborn and the Marines could have been tied up for weeks with very heavy casualties. But the Iraqis just didn't count on the tremendous power of the USAF, the Navy and the whirlybirds. The Guards had to mass to some extent to maximize their firepower, but when the did so they became sitting ducks for incessant bombardment by GPS, radar and laser guided bombs. Hour after hour, day after day, high level B-52s and lower level fighter bombers. By the time Saddam's Republican Guard Divisions had been reduced to hamburger, there was neither the will nor means to fight. They probably never knew what hit them. Credit the air war – big time.
G-2 – we probably won't read much about it for a few years, but we must have had super “on-the ground” intelligence to direct the military strikes and keep the Iraqis on the run. The CIA and Pentagon are special whipping boys in the Press, but they did a good job here.
Now we need 6 months to set up a national infrastructure and a new Iraqi government. And the one thing we do not need is the UN. Certainly, not now!