I agree with the Army’s assessment. If overthrowing Saddam was so important, we should’ve worked with people within the Ba’ath Party to stage a coup and keep the governmental infrastructure in place. While the Ba’ath regime was a brutal one, it was effective in providing a counterweight to Iran in that region. To invade and upend the entire government was an unnecessary venture that paid off far less compared to the losses and expeditures incurred. It was truly a collosal mistake.
I have to think that if the Baath regime would have overthroen Saddam, we’d have taken that route.
They wouldn’t.