Israeli Military Amazed, "Jealous" At U.S. War Against Iraq

World Tribune.com ^ | 04/14/2003 | Special to World Tribune

[Dirk McQuickly]

TEL AVIV — Israeli defense officials and military commanders have expressed amazement over the capture of one of the largest and most powerful Arab countries by what they say amounted to fewer than three U.S. Army divisions.

The officials said the U.S. strategy of avoiding enemy troop concentrations as well as exploiting combat air supremacy comprises methods far more advanced than those employed by the Israeli military.

"This has been a very strange and unprecedented war and it will take us awhile to learn what took place," Yuval Steinetz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said. "We will have to learn from this war and draw the conclusions."

"I am jealous of them [U.S. military]," Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, head of the Israel military's C4 directorate, said. "They have advanced in areas that we were leading in only a few years ago. They have the ability to put everything together in command and control. Our navy and air force have systems. but we have to integrate them."

Officials and military commanders agreed that the U.S. war in Iraq overshadowed the 1967 Israeli victory over four Arab countries, including Iraq. They said the United States sustained about 100 casualties in three weeks of fighting that resulted in the capture of Baghdad and most Iraqi cities. In contrast, about 600 Israeli soldiers were killed in the six days of the 1967 war, most of them in the ground battle with Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula.

[epluribus_2]

that's everyone except china, russia, and the good guys (US/UK).

[Poohbah]

They got the best ATGMs made in the Former Worker's Paradise...and bagged a grand total of two M1A1s with them. Neither was a catastrophic kill.

Good weapons and inept troops are a very expensive way to purchase ineffective military power.

[AppyPappy]

The Israelis could do the same with their airpower if they wanted. We are going to find that anyone using US technology will rule the battlefield.

[epluribus_2]

and we probably sealed lots of deals with Iraqi generals. We won't find out about this tell our kids tell us about seeing it on "History Channel" years from now.

[epluribus_2]

I think the R+D for cruise missles is going to go up in a lot of countries. And for defending against them.

[Centurion2000]

That's true. Try wargming this strategy against a hypothetical UK or Israel-like opponent. The mismatch in resources would eventually lead to an end with the same result as in Iraq.

True, but with higher losses. The interesting wargame would have put Iraq on the spoiling offensive and attempting to inflict mass casualties with every weapon they had.

Thank God our enemy was a total idiot this time.

[Centurion2000]

that's everyone except china, russia,

Even china and russia are slipping further and further behind us.

[js1138]

I did think it was quite a coincidence that the lights went out in Baghdad at 9:00 pm during a new moon, and that 36 hours later, Fox was showing film of the drive into the city. It would be interesting to find out exactly what caused the lights to go out. Last fall I expected that to be the first act of the war, so I was prepared for what happened.

[dead]

I'm still not sure the very existence of EMP bombs wasn't a clever bit of pre-battle disinformation designed to keep them busy countering imaginary weapons.

[polemikos]

Don't forget U.S. troop superiority in training, equipment, motivation, morale, etc.

[AppyPappy]

The world will keep buying that Russian and Chinese junk. Countries like India would be wise to cozy up with us instead of buying that failed equipment.

[BunnySlippers]

Bookmarking and bumping ...

[FReepaholic]

>>...Key components of the strategy: pick a country that...<<

5)Has adjoining countries willing to allow US bases.

(What would we have done without Kuwait?)

[eBelasco]

Just a bit higher It's smart not to pick a fight with someone who will really hurt you, unless it's life or death. I read somewhere some quotes from some Marines that they could not believe the tactical ineptness of the Iraqis they faced. They said it was like they had no officers, and the ones they did have couldn't do anything right.

[eyespysomething]

Ha Ha. Me and my hubby tell my 7 y.o., who likes the History channel now, that he will be watching this on the History Channel when he is our age, and be telling his kids about it.
More film than any other war also, IMHO.

[JaimeD2]

I don't think anybody wants to find out. Iraq couldn't harm Kuwait this time. North Korea has been in a perpetual state of military readiness for the past fifty years; its army is ready for immediate deployment, and would likely overrun Seoul and kill millions of South Koreans within days of the first sign of an invasion. Add to that the possibility of nukes, and the equation looks like this: we'll eventually win, but millions will die in South Korea, and there may not be a Seoul or Tokyo left at the end of it.

[IvanT]

You're right, I don't think it'd work....

[js1138]

I suspect we did everything possible to portray ourselves as the supermen we are. No sense running up needless enemy casulties by giving false hope.

[John H K]

and would likely overrun Seoul and kill millions of South Koreans within days of the first sign of an invasion.

In my opinion this is a ridiculously exagerrated number, though you often see it claimed in a variety of articles.

[tiki]

The Americans were inspired. As a Christian I would say that they were inspired by God.