Administration Source: Bagdad Will Fall From Within

Newsmax.com ^ | March 30, 2003 | Carl Limbacher

[swheats]

The Coalition might want the bad guys to not even trust their shadow.

[Burkeman1]

From what I have read the Pentagon brass wanted half a million like in GWI. The neocon ideologues in the white house - like Perle- said it could be done with 60 thousand! Rummy cut the difference between the factions and put it at 200 thousand. I think the Pentagon was playing it safe (but shouldn't we always?) but it is obvious we need about another 50 to a 100 thousand more troops to get the job done. In the meantime we have lost momentum.

[TheLion]

I like Rummy's idea of smaller, faster and more mobile units. They may be more effective than larger units and just more stuff. Remember, we didn't have some of the technology, in the Gulf War, that we have now. They may have screwed up on the numbers, but this is war, and we have to adapt and change rapidly....something we are really good at.

[Mike Darancette]

With most of the war criminals in Bagdad, it seems a bit hard to believe as being a scenario with substantial odds of ensuing.

I'm dubious and you don't believe it but can the Baghdad leadership afford not to believe it?

They will not be inviting each other over the bunker for tea of an evening.

He He He.

[Antoninus]

Wonder how many Ba'athist loyalists will be accidentally shot by paranoid Saddam as a result of this report? Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of criminals. Spread it around....

[kimosabe31]

bump

[mercy]

I'm sure the source was authorized to make the statement. Several heads will roll within the junta now posing as Sadam Hussein. They will be the wrong heads.

[Burkeman1]

Technology doesn't mean doo doo when you have guys fighting with classic guerilla tactics (and an honorable President committed to not murdering civilians unlike our last executive). The fighting- as the marines and the 3ID have said- is just grunt work- hard and nasty. Rummy's preoccupation with special forces actually concerns me. There is no magic bullet and he seems to think they are.

[Burkeman1]

Don't take my illusions of "only if the Czar knew" from me!

[TheLion]

If we had 100's of thousands of troops, many would be sitting around and our casualties, as a result of guerilla tactics would be a lot higher. I actually like the way this has been done. The guerillas, for the most part, can't even find us.

[Burkeman1]

No- my point is that if we had more troops to begin with- then we would have secured the rear areas to Baghdad and not seen these attacks to our South that we see every day. In fact- I would say if we had started this battle with 100 thousand more troops the battle of Baghdad would be going on right now- if not Sadaam dead.

[TheLion]

We would still have needed many days to bombard the RG from the air. I see your point but I think, they think, that Bagdad is the center of gravity. When it falls, the rest will fall.

What I don't understand, is that since they wanted to get around Bagdad so fast and as Wretchard posted on another thread, "to fix the RG in place", why they didn't just fly in the supplies? I really think they underestimated the problems on the resupply route. Like I alluded to before, you have to adapt quickly. I think we are doing that now.

[ambrose]

More PsyOps to induce more random paranoia-induced purges.

[L_Von_Mises]

Maybe the purpose of it is to get people killed. Saddam's paranoia of potential traitors is well known.

That scenario would not surprise me at all. From the onset we have been using psychological tactics to gain advantage and this could be disinformation to create distrust within the ranks. If there is enough then maybe some of his henchmen will turn before Saddam takes them out.

[Burkeman1]

Despite the carrying capacity of our supply planes now- you still cannot resupply a full army from the air. Despite what our military leaders say- I suspect much of this operation was premised on the complete surrender of entire units and the welcoming of our troops with salt, bread, and flowers. They had no idea that Sadaam would employ Soviet tactics.

[KaiserofKrunch]

This is probably true. And, the administration wants it out because it is ratcheting up the pressure on the regime. Remember that this follows the erasure of the Ba'ath party headquarters in Baghdad, and Al Basrah. Which were taken out with Laser guided munitions pinpointed from the ground.

The psychological pressure on these goons must be exquisite. We are overstimulating the paranoia of a leadership that trades in paranoia. "Will my bodyguard turn me in for $25 million?" "Have the Delta Force ordered a special care package for me?," and so on.

Someone in the Iraqi leadership will crack because of this pressure, and we will be able to capitalize on the ensuing developments.

[11B3]

Gee, with all of your military knowledge I guess the Joint Chiefs might as well just go home and let you handle all of it. Your wild assumptions are becoming more than tiresome.

[Eva]

Bret claimed to have a personal friend in the top ranks of the Pentagon.