Volume 2 Issue 40

March 28, 2003

Resting Up

More supply line trouble, did the Pentagon screw up the plan, and Iowa gets ready to build a bunch of prisons

Some great articles on the war plan today, as the US troops have stopped their advance to try and secure a good supply line before they make a move on Baghdad. While this may prolong the war for a few days, it is necessary, because you don't want to be in the middle of a firefight and run out of fuel or something. But as a Post article noted today, there has been a lot of different types of fighting so far in this war, and the challenge is probably much more than even some commanders thought it would be. Instead of weeks, I think most agree we're talking a few months now, though I remember in Afghanistan when we thought we were bogged down we ended up finishing off the Taliban in a week. Sorry no big rant or anything today, late start and keeping busy! Good articles below should keep you busy though!

Doubts about the war plan: The Commanding General of the Vth Corps said that they had not anticipated the level of Iraqi resistance they have encountered, resulting in a bogged down campaign -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38166-2003Mar27.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/28/international/worldspecial /28GENE.html

All these doubts are getting the Bush Administration nervous -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/28/international/worldspecial /28CND-PREXY.html

They're nervous because the criticism seems to be directed at them, not the military commanders -
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-626434,00.html

How the war plan was conceved...and screwed up: This is a fantastic must read article that originally appeared in National Journal about how the war plan was formed. Basically, a few students in the Army's planning school brainstormed it at a bar one evening, and then spent a few months refining it...and then saw the Administration cut the number of troops down and seriously imperil the timeline in of the mission. The plan did call for a 125-day campaign though, but with twice as many troops as there are now, so that the supply lines could be secured from guerrillas. It's long but good. If you want to know what's happening in Iraq and why, read this article -
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0303/032803nj1.htm

Criticism of the war plan came today as well from an unlikely source: The Wall Street Journal compared it to Hitler's invasion of Russia during World War II. Though, we of course have not committed all of our possible forces yet, but then again, if we continue to fight under limited rules of engagement to protect civilians and infrastructure...here's a quote or two:

The U.S. Army's current sprint across miles of open terrain, bypassing population centers, has several successful antecedents in American military history, from Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in the Civil War to Gen. George Patton's dash across France and Belgium in World War II. But another characteristic of the current campaign -- moving out so quickly that resupply lines are stretched tight -- has brought trouble, and occasionally disaster, in other campaigns. In World War II, Adolf Hitler sent three million soldiers -- roughly 70% of his forces -- into Russia in a "lightning war" that was shattered by crumbling logistics and harassment of supply lines by small Russian units.

Long supply lines have often been a problem, even for powerful armies. History's main cautionary tale may be Hitler's drive into Russia. At the end of a severely protracted supply line, German troops ran into trouble. They battled their way into Stalingrad and then got pinned down in a vicious, house-to-house battle lasting 66 days. In the end, Hitler's forces found themselves surrounded and starving in the dead of winter. In February 1943, an entire German army group surrendered: 23 generals, 2,000 officers and at least 130,000 troops. Historians consider the Battle of Stalingrad the turning point of World War II.

The vulnerability of supply lines, and the strategy of attacking them instead of an army's main force, have been facets of warfare since at least the days of the Roman Empire. Both Hannibal of Carthage and Julius Caesar of Rome grappled with huge supply-line problems, and sought to disrupt the lines of their opponents.

I'd recommend this one if you can get it.

The Northern Front: General Wesley Clark on why the Northern front will take at least two weeks to get going -
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-626299,00.html

Basra: More fighting in the city, though it looks like it's mainly Iraqi militia trying to prevent refugees from fleeing, rather than a full scale uprising -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2894867.stm

Hidden problem? The attack on the 101st Airborne at it's camp by a US solider again points out an interesting dilemma...is the US doing enough to keep militant islamists from infiltrating its forces? Can it without discriminating against Muslims as a whole?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2080770/

France is on our side: The French say they want us to win -
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/5504738.htm

But is Turkey? A good look at how the US bungled the diplomacy that could have given us a Northern Front -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39794-2003Mar27.html

Pot calling the kettle black: Iraq warned today that the US may use weapons of mass destruction -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/28/sprj.irq.iraq.saha f/index.html

War Photo of the Day:

I'll see your 2 MRE's and raise you a Hershey bar...

Gamblin' Man? Yes, you can put down money on the war if you'd like -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/03/28/betting.saddam.a p/index.html

That Other Country: North Korea is pissed at Japan now -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2893869.stm

Please!? Can someone please get that Marine off of American Idol and put him with his unit?
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/19/deadline-finke.php

Daniel Patrick Moynihan: More tributes today, first from Mickey Kaus -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2080628/

George Beach (NPR) - http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/7506

The Unfriendly Skies: American Airlines may go bankrupt next week -
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/030327/airlines_american_3.html

And the government is cutting back on the screeners and the air marshal program as well -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/03/28/airport.screeners.ap/in dex.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Transportation-Security.html

Reality Check: A record industry executive finally has admitted that they probably won't be able to make file-sharing go away -
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/03/27/financial2101EST0174.DTL

Get the jails ready: An Iowa town wants to make lying a crime -
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/ 5504016.htm