Posted on 03/26/2003 8:08:17 PM PST by KQQL
The former supreme allied commander of Nato has accused US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of putting allied troops at risk through poor planning.
Wesley Clark said Mr Rumsfeld's insistence on a smaller invasion force had left troops vulnerable and the 300-mile oil supply line between Kuwait and Basra open to guerilla attack.
Troops had been tied up in "messy fighting" around Nasiriyah and Baghdad, he said, leading to "logistics problems".
He added that hopes of a quick victory spurred by a popular revolt against Saddam had been dashed.
"The simple fact is that the liberation didn't quite occur. They didn't rise up."
Other war veterans have also spoken out against the early stages of war planning.
Miscalculations
Ralph Peters, a military scientist and former Army officer, wrote in the Washington Post that a coalition victory would be achieved "despite serious strategic miscalculations by the office of the Defence Secretary".
The "shock and awe" strategy of aerial bombardment had failed to shatter the will of Saddam's regime, he said, and if anything had encouraged greater resistance.
"It delayed essential attacks on Iraq's military capabilities," said Mr Peters. "This encouraged at least some Iraqis in uniform to believe they had a chance to fight and win.
"Now our forces advancing on Baghdad face the possibility of more serious combat than would otherwise have been the case."
Coalition commander General Tommy Franks's draft invasion plan proposed using four or five heavy divisions moving slowly towards Baghdad.
New warfare
Mr Rumsfeld is said to have rejected this, complaining that it was too similar to the strategy used in the 1991 Gulf War. Instead he insisted on a smaller, lighter force relying heavily on special forces and air power.
Retired US Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, said Mr Rumsfeld had ignored warnings that he was underestimating the number of troops needed.
"I think he thought these were generals with feet planted in World War Two who didn't understand the new way of warfare," he said.
"If the Iraqis actually fight it's going to be brutal, dangerous work and we could take a couple to 3,000 casualties."
Mr Rumsfeld insisted his strategy was working.
"It's a good plan everybody agrees to, and it is a plan that in four and a half or five days has moved ground forces to within a short distance of Baghdad."
I think upchuck was merely pointing out that Wesley Clark is a self-serving Clintonian opportunist who is so unpatriotic that he is trying to insinuate that the war isn't going very well--whereas it definitely is.
I'm not a cheerleader. I'm a cold realist. We are slaughtering Saddam's regime.
Right now, we are taking time to rest a bit, to degrade the enemy's capacity to fight, and to consolidate our gains. Pretty soon we will utterly destroy the Republican Guard and the Fedayeen.
Dumb as a rock democrat.
I am outa here. gotta get some shut eye. stop watching the communist news network and reading the Atanta journal or what ever trash you do. You will wise up in time.
He isn't running very effectively. I'd say he just guaranteed he won't win the nomination--ever.
yes, I don't think we'll move into Baghdad as soon as the armchair generals expect. We will act more like a disciplined offensive football team and "take what they give us" as we destroy what they let us destroy. We will destroy every unit they send out of Baghdad. Only when there are no Iraqi units left outside the Baghdad metropolis...only then will we send armored columns and snipers into the city to liquidate Saddam's vicious paramilitary gangs. We will hunt like the lion, with a combination of patience, speed, and power. God Bless our brave soldiers and their families.
Nothing of the kind has occurred.
Only the dedicated opponents of this nation and this administration persist in this know-nothing negativism.
But that is obvious to many here, is it not?
Go doo a Google, check the FR archieves, and when ( hahahaha ! ) you find uncontrovertable proof, supporting what you aver, then CCP it to this thread.
Since you're into other people answering YOUR questions, how about YOU answer mine.
Do you honestly believe, as you posted today, that the Soviet Union FAKED their downfall?
A debacle-detector, no doubt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.