Greetings, Please do not take the following comment as any endorsement of the military estimates that are being produced to show how well the US military would do, or to suggest that how well they would do has any bearing on whether or not the US should attack Iraq.
In the '91 Gulf War, the US military did well (if measured in terms of casualty ratios, for instance), BUT it could easily have done far better. The military strategy employed high-level maneuverability tactics, which proved very successful when actually implemented. However, Schwartzkopf, an old-fashioned tactician and believer in attrition-warfare, failed to implement the plan properly, and held up US troops in the Western desert for three years fearing for his flanks and waiting to coordinate with other military operations. The bulk of the Iraqi Republican Guard was therefore able to escape the planned enfoldment, and retreat back from Kuwait into Iraq. As it was, IIRC, 12 Iraqi divisions surrendered to 3 US divisions. The 'victory' would have been even greater had it not been for Schwarzkopf. The military, I would guess, learned from this massive mistake, and would not repeat it again. The doctrine of high-level maneuverability is better accepted, and general officers are in place who are more familiar and comfortable with it than Schwartzkopf was. Again, to be clear, just because someone has the capability to bash another does not mean he should. Cheers, Lawry de Bivort > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Karen Watters > Cole > Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 8:35 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: [Futurework] Barone: Waging postindustrial war > > > Waging Post Industrial War @ > http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030120/opinion/20pol.htm > Excerpt: "How can the Pentagon be so confident that it can accomplish so > much more than in the Gulf War with half as many troops? The > answer is that > our weapons are more lethal and our tactics bolder than they were in 1991. > During the Gulf War, an aircraft carrier could destroy 162 targets a day; > today, the Wall Street Journal reports, an aircraft carrier can strike > nearly 700 targets daily." (end of excerpt). > > Barone blithely describes the new US military capability as so > over-qualified that We the People should rest easy that our own will not > just be victorious, but do so quickly and painlessly to the US economy. > Barone needs to be taken out of the Opinion column and advertised > correctly > under Endorsements and Rubber Stamps. > > Likewise, his (yet another) reference to Bobbitt's book (this week!) > reinforces my half-joking suspicion that it was ordered in mass quantities > by the Bush administration for conservative book clubs to read > and increase > book sales. Hail Caesar. I also noticed on Amazon.com that a Michael > Howard is listed next to Phillip Bobbitt as author, and The Guardian > footnote says his article is "an extract from the foreward" to the book. > Another rubber stamp? Is this the same Sir Michael Howard that > the Guardian > refers to as "the shadow Foreign Minister"? > > While discussing military strategy and capability is one of my interests > (another reason my girl friends think I'm boring), the usefulness of this > kind of propaganda is to make modern warfare seem less horrific, more > efficient, just another run of the mill component to the All American > Economy. All that yucky impulsive, man as beast stuff is done by > uncivilized tribes someplace else. > > For contrast, here is something that came to me yesterday from > Sojourner's, > one of the many religious groups who participated in the anti-war rallies > this past weekend. This photojournalism is not spectacular as much as it > shows what we didn't' see before when there wasn't a supply-and-demand for > it. This war will be different, thanks to the information > superhighway and > satellite communication and the opposition already active. > > *War is not a PlayStation game* > Some 40 photos from photojournalist Peter Turnley, who covered > the 1991 Gulf > war. His images put a human face on war, and his letter has some > excellent > comments: "As a witness to the results of this past Gulf War, this > televised, aerial, and technological version of the conflict is not what I > saw and I'd like to present some images that I made that represent a more > complete picture of what this conflict looked like." > Go to: http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0212/pt_intro.html. Or > http://www.sojo.net > > As families say goodbye to their loved ones, and prepare to make > sacrifices > every day, not just meeting expenses, which many of us can identify with > (especially single parents), we owe it to them not to be complacent, > detached or ignorant of what is really going to happen. It is not > surprising that as people watch these goodbyes and know people who are > suddenly not at work or next door, that public opinion is changing and the > President's numbers are sharply declining. It is also not > surprising that > we are seeing more comments reminding everyone that we should see > ourselves > as soldiers. > Karen Watters Cole > Outgoing mail scanned by NAV 2002 > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
