Volume I No. 63
 03-30-03
 Separating Truth From Fiction
 { Pausing The Iraq War To Bring In More Troops }
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2003

  Somewhere in his suite of State Department offices the Bush
 Administration "dove," Colin Powell, must be having a good 
 chuckle. Not a disrespectful chuckle. But a chuckle nontheless. 
 All of those administration "hawks" are having to backtrack 
 a bit and take a pause in their video-game war until more 
 troops are in place in Iraq.

 The Powell Doctrine has been vindicated. 

 The 1991 Gulf War was envisioned differently. Weeks of patient 
 air strikes were used to soften up the Iraqi forces before the 
 ground campaign even began. The go-ahead for surface hostilities
 was not given until sufficient and overwhelmingnumbers of 
 army personnel were on location. Twice the number than are 
 currently in Iraq right now.

 There was not this mad rush across empty and meaningless
 miles of desert sand to within 50 miles of the Iraqi capital. 
 { while avoiding serious military encounters in such significant 
 Iraqi cities as Basra and Nasiriyah } Clearly, Secretary of Defense 
 Donald Rumsfeld, operation commander General Tommy Franks, 
 and other subordinate military advisors believed that the Iraqi 
 troops would be intimidated by the fast-moving coalition columns, 
 and not have the inclination to fight to save Saddam's regime. 
 And that the Iraqi people would welcome the coalition forces 
 as liberators.

 They were wrong on both counts.

 Rumsfield and Co. under-estimated their adversaries. Having 
 witnessed the Iraqi's surrender en masse in 1991, these experienced 
 military men somehow misjudged that Saddam and his evil regime 
 would not take the hard weapons learned in the Gulf War and 
 change their strategy. Thus a third rate military has caught the 
 world's only superpower trying to fight a war on the cheap and 
 without the advantage of a large international coalition of militarily
 significant nations. Not to mention the acceptance if not the 
 moral support of the entire civilized world.

 President Bush is only fooling himself if he believes that the
 so-called "Coalition of The Willing" approximates the international 
 support of military action against Saddam Hussein that existed
 in 1991. The present situation has only laid bare the great political
 disadvantage of Bush's cowboy unilateralism. 

 The Iraqi's are free to fight their guerilla war, summarily execute 
 coalition POW's, and use every barbaric method at their disposal 
 short of utilizing chemical weapons. { which would  immediately 
 legitimize the coalition military action } Because most of the 
 international community is more afraid of the American unilateralist 
 President than they are of an Iraq ruled by Saddam Hussein. 

 Thus the condemnation of any misdeeds by Hussein's dying 
 regime, will be drowned in the din of noise voiced against the 
 American military presense in Iraq. 

 The Bush administration has badly bungled the Iraqi situation.
 Both militarily and diplomatically. But all is not lost. Although 
 the outcome of the war is not in doubt. How this war is won 
 will determine if Bush and his compadre, Tony Blair, can regain
 respect outside of their own two countries.

 The pause in the war - that is not officially a pause - was the
 correct move. Precision airstrikes designed to weaken the
 Republican Guard forces on the outside of Baghdad, must
 continue. And before the Battle of Baghdad officially begins,
 the necessary coalition forces must be available for immediate 
 use. Such that the assault is overwhelming and unstoppable. 
 Lest the attack deteriorate into a mere siege of the city. Or 
 worse yet, a Vietnam-like quagmire that drags on and on. 
 With no end in sight.

 A quick conclusion to this conflict assured by overwhelming 
 military might is the most merciful outcome for all involved. 
 Especially the Iraqi citizens unlucky enough to call Baghdad
 home. Let us show the world that we have also learned from 
 our past mistakes. -- Bush's War will not become another Vietnam.

 So, let Rumsfeld have his pause. 

 And then let's get on with it. And get this ill-advised conflict
 done with. Sooner, rather than later.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2003

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