America's Stunning Victory-(Modern Day Blitzkrieg and the M1-Abrams)

Global Analysis ^ | April 3, 2003 | JR Nyquist

[JudgeAmint]

[JudgeAmint]

Ping

[colorado tanker]

Beautiful pictures!

Unfortunately, Secretary Rumsfeld's brain trust and the current Army leadership seem to think the M-1 is obsolete, a relic of the past. I wonder if the Iraq campaign will change any minds?

[RoseofTexas]

It's scares me when media outlets are declaring this war a VICTORY already when the toughest job is yet around the corner!! It' ain't over TIL it's over!! The FAT LADY HASN'T SONG YET! Still praying for the OUTCOME of victory!! God bless our troops and president!!

[JudgeAmint]

Spectre...in addition to the Abrams, the AC-130 have held their own as well!!

[Dead Dog]

Thought you might find this interesting.

[Mister Magoo]

I suggested in a post (later moved to chat) that the Invasion should be called Operation Desert Blitzkrieg.

[blam]

"Those in the media who erroneously allege that U.S. officials promised victory in hours or days have been lying, and their ulterior motives deserve closer scrutiny. "

[Slings and Arrows]

But...but...how can this be? We're in a quagmire! Nothing's going right! We're all gonna dieeeeeeeee! The Media said so, dammit!

[TheJollyRoger]

Fools request that OTHER FOOLS believe their lies. We see before our very eyes that Jessica Lynch is freed from the torture and humiliation (?) that she endured. God DOES empower HIS warriors..IRAQ is the worldly personification of satan. Kill this WORM (Sadamn is DEAD) and then kill the NEXT worm. I apologize...my emotions overpower me..MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA...and MAY GOD BLESS PRESIDENT BUSH...if I get to make a personal request...THANK YOU Jessica Lynch!...we love you...you are an AMERICAN HERO! Get well soon.

-TheJollyRoger

[Dionysius]

An Abrams'll give you an edge!

[Fury]

The Soviet theorists of the 1960s were correct when they wrote: “Strategic missile troops will be the basic troops of modern massive armed forces. They are the decisive force at the disposal of supreme commands.” If you cannot win with conventional forces, if you are thoroughly outclassed on the battlefield, you must turn to the great equalizer. What the United States must do now, in the wake of its victory in Iraq, is anticipate the anti-American coalition’s intensification of WMD proliferation. This will be their response to America’s victory. Since this is a potentially effective strategy, the United States must solidify its defenses against such weapons.

This would seem to parallel statements made by several folks on FR concerning initial use of WMD against the US.

[CyberAnt]

And ... Ms. Pelosi said 1000 of our soldiers were going to die. I don't know how she knew that ...??

[aristeides]

This is faster than Blitzkrieg. Can one speak of Ueberblitzkrieg?

[LS]

Actually, it will go the other way. If this campaign showed us anything, it is that even the CURRENT M1s (note that the most upgraded versions with the 4th ID didn't even see battle yet) are plenty sophisticated to defeat any foe. What we need is better airlift and transport for what we have.

If I were Sec Def, and had limited resources, I wouldn't build additional tanks, but instead would build additional air/sealift to deliver the tanks we have to ANY battlefield, Turkey or no.

[Paleo Conservative]

Unfortunately, Secretary Rumsfeld's brain trust and the current Army leadership seem to think the M-1 is obsolete, a relic of the past. I wonder if the Iraq campaign will change any minds?

Rumsfeld wants to develop the next generation of vehicles to replace traditional tanks with gun turrets. Rumsfeld want to pay for the new generation by doing away with the program to convert original M1 tanks to M1A2's. Supposedly they will use missles rather than guns, and have a longer range. The weight savings by eliminating the turret will allow them to be tranported with fewer aircraft and ships. Also the new armored vehicles will be able to fire their weapons even more quickly than the current M1A1; this is due to elimination of the time it takes the turret to rotate.

[konaice]

"the current Army leadership seem to think the M-1 is obsolete, a relic of the past. "

Perhaps they have something better up their sleves? ;-)

It is a gas guzzeler, and needs better rear protection.

If the M-2 comes along and can solve those problems
it should be untouchable.

Gulf I saved the Warthog, perhaps Gulf II will save the
Abrams.

But will we need it? With hunter-killer missiles currently
under development, we might be able to do with fewer tanks.
Remember that the Battleship was expected to dominate WWII's naval battles. Maybe a faster stronger Bradly controlling an armada of long-loitering hunter-killer cruise missiles will win the next war.

I for one am glad our Military is not always preparing to fight the Previous war.

[Al B.]

Ping.

[colorado tanker]

If I were Sec Def, and had limited resources, I wouldn't build additional tanks, but instead would build additional air/sealift to deliver the tanks we have to ANY battlefield, Turkey or no.

Amen, brother! That's a much better idea than trying to build cracker box armored cars to fit on C-130's. Any ideas how long a Stryker armored car, which a .50 cal can pierce, would last on a battlefield infested with RPG's and Kornet's???

[LS]

Now wait: I didn't say I wouldn't build those, too. We definitely need a force mixture. That is NOT the tank-heavy brigades that the Gulf War generals watned, but we can't go all light, nor can we ignore transport.

The best force is a balanced force. But those LAVs with the Marines sure don't seem to have much trouble, and you have to admit that right now, the threat from Iraqi tanks is virtually nonexistent.