Saddam's mistake

Washington Times ^ | 4/18/03 | Arnold Beichman

[kattracks]

How could Saddam Hussein have been so fatally wrong? How could he have so misjudged President Bush? How could the late Iraqi dictator, with access to informed judgments by his allies like French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, not have realized that President Bush would go to war?

[goldstategop]

Absolute tyrants have yes-men and toadies around them. The advisers of tyrants know better than to offer a candid and factual appraisal of the real world outside. As a result the tyrant becomes isolated both from the outside world and from his own people. We can be thankful tyrants are not as appreciative of truth and the power of free ideas as are the leaders of free societies. That's what's made the rout of Saddam Hussein's Iraq so awesome. Freedom beats tyranny, hands down, every time there is a conflict between the two philosophies.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Apparently, he was relying on The Great Satan's ramblings that the U.S. would never attack!

[VOA]

Saddam obvious went with General Pershing instead of Patton.
"Trust the French" vs. "I'd rather have a German division in front of me
than a French one behind me".

[The Great Satan]

Well, since he's still alive, he obviously wasn't fatally wrong, was he?

[goldstategop]

Depends on what the Chiraqs and Pukes of the world mean by "fatally wrong."

[The Great Satan]

Fatally = dead. Look it up in the dictionary.

[EaglesUpForever]

I think Saddam's logic was that Russia had been against him the first time, or at least "neutral," while this time he had their full support: their awesome advisors, their fierce weapons, and their diplomatic prowess. How could he lose? After all, he had all of Hollywood behind him as well, and all the Democrats.
The combination of Russian military might and the Americans' inability to tolerate the inevitable high number of casualties was bound to make us turn away with our tail between our legs...

[Aric2000]

Do you have proof of this, I believe that he is buried under a whole lot of rubble the first day of the war, when the target of opportunity was taken out.

[nopardons]

He most prbably is NOT still alive, dear. :-)

[AgThorn]

Even if they believed Iraq was on a losing streak, Saddam's subordinates would not have dared utter a defeatist word lest they and their families suffer.

I guess that explains the absolute lunacy of Baghdad Bob's claims in the closing days as well ...

[Billthedrill]

Well, if you want to avoid the shredder ride at Saddam World, you may not wish to be entirely candid with the boss in regard to that armored division camped in his eponymous airport. Nevertheless, his behavior suggests to me more that he thought that the invasion could be prevented diplomatically than that he felt it could be defeated in the field. If the latter, somebody with a Slavic surname deserves credit as the best con man since Newman's character in The Sting. If the former, that surname is likely to be Gallic, not Slavic.

A guess on top of a guess, but it seems likely enough to me at this point - somebody told our boy that the U.S. would never take gross military action alone, and in the absence of UN sanction, and that the latter could be prevented by the use of a veto on the part of...let's see, Great Britain is eliminated, so, France, Russia, China? Three powerful pieces, any one of which could checkmate the U.S. in the UN...unless somebody from Texas kicked over the board. International diplomacy's much more like poker than chess anyhow...

[nopardons]

You've left out a tiny piece to the puzzle. Saddam's army was being coached by old Russian generals. He and they had planned a new " STAINGRAD ". The only thing they didn't consider, was that Baghdad isn't Stalingrad, his army would rather emulate the French, and WE don't rely on " old " war plans...we invent NEW ones.

[The Great Satan]

He most prbably is NOT still alive, dear. :-)

And your reason for believing this is...?

[agincourt1415]

Speaking of the UN. Now the UN is trying to play games with the Sanctions.

This is almost as dangerous (for the UN) as what Saddam was trying to do.

The UN is on a DOWNWARD SPIRAL.

They're going to push and push until they force the United States to bypass the Sanctions and buy Iraqi Oil directly.

Then the United Nations is DONE!

[Billthedrill]

Those Russian generals were who I was referring to as con men with Slavic surnames. And con men they were. One of them is said to have received a medal from Our Boy for his expertise in air defense. Yeah, air defense. I hope he cashed the check reeeeeal quick.

In any case, the Sovs don't really have much experience stopping a Blitzkrieg, Stalingrad included. The Germans outran their logistics, and we nearly did the same. But we solved the problem and the Germans did not. And we avoided known seasonal weather difficulties and the Germans did not. And we won, and the Germans did not. Runner-up is not an entirely comfortable position when the Red Army's knocking on your doorstep...or the Third Infantry Division, either.

[nopardons]

WEll, for starters, it's what Hunt has said, it's what's been alluded to by Rummy, the " chatter " has been exactly that, we have so many special ops on the ground that we would have had another big BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM , if it was even hinted at, that he was somewhere, and you have been SO consistently wrong about so much about this war, that if YOU think Saddam's alive, I can't possibly do so. :-)

[The Great Satan]

So why do you think that the administration is not trumpeting Saddam death? Or Uday's death, or Qusay's death? Do you think they have an interest in hiding the evidence? I'm not clear on your mental process here.

[the lone wolf]

Saddam thought Bush II was like Bush I and Clinton.

He was wrong.

[konaice]

Pretty lightweight artical, all questions and no answers, and not any really good guesses.