Do you think the Republican Guard Understands?

[George_F]

What exactly Air Superiority means?

Im refering to the Columns coming out of Baghdad and Bosrah.

Im dumbfounded by their tactics, which are leading to getting themselves killed. Dont they know that the Allied forces can see them forming and moving through satelitte pictures?

None of these troops will ever make it far enough to even see a battle against Allied troops. They make themselves a sitting duck to Allied bombers and other Air support, which is well capable of their entire groups.

Does this plan have some masterful brilliance I dont see? Or its as stupid as it appears to be?

[Neil Derryberry]

I'm sure they are brainwashed.

[RichW]

It is extremely hard to wipe out ground forces from the air. Our helicopters can do some severe damage when weather permits them to fly, but it will still take the Army and Marines to rout the enemy on the ground. Also, air sortees against fround troops are far more dangerous missions than bombing Baghdad fixed targets. You have to fly lowere and within range of enemy guns. We must not underestimate the enemy.

[mainedish]

They are stupid but also very dangerous. Good will win over Evil.

[Rick_EE]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/27/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html



Air traffic controllers with the U.S. Air Force told Rodgers, embedded with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry of the 3rd Infantry, that the bombers pounded the convoy "almost into oblivion."

Brooks said that the Iraqi force was smaller than initial intelligence reports suggested and that most of the force was destroyed.

[James_F]

Or that they really don't have anything to lose... We have said the will be tried for war crimes so why would you just lie your weapons down?

[mainedish]

Some reports from our Soldiers are that some of them look like terrorist. No way? Terrorist in Iraq?

[John Corn]

I think many of the soldiers understand. But Saddam is a moron.

Lets be happy for that fact.

[RichW]

By most estimates, there are about 80,000 "hard-core" Iraqi soldiers who have extreme loyalties to the present administration in Iraq. If even a small portion of them fade into the background, they represent a formidable guerrilla force once our victory is achieved. Look haow hard we find it to maintain order in Afghanistan even though we "won" there.

We need to carefully craft our post-war strategy so that the people of Iraq are better off than what they were. That would include winning over the loyalties of many of those Republican Guard troops.

Quite frankly, I don't know what that strategy might be, because, like Afghanistan, and the Balkans, ethnic hatred and greed have corrupted the people for years.

[Mike123abc]

Just saw report on NBC evening news that half the tanks and artillery of the Republican Guard has been destroyed (showed nice pics of B52s just blanketing them with bombs). But, they want to try to get almost all the artillery first to prevent them from being able to even fire a chemical weapon.

A strategy is starting to appear. We rush up to scare the Republican guard and keep them from moving away from Baghdad and then fortify our positions while we bomb and bomb and bomb and bomb some more. At the rate we are going, we could wipe out all their artillery and tanks before we even start the real ground war.

I bet we seal off republican guard and absolutely do not allow them to escape their current entrenchments. Then we just keep at them until the run out of ammo and/or men.

[Jacob S]

Aint we running out of supplies ourselves though? What we are trying to do to them has happened to ourselves if that is the case with waiting for them to run out of weapons and supplies.

[waydwolf]

Originally posted by RichW
It is extremely hard to wipe out ground forces from the air. Our helicopters can do some severe damage when weather permits them to fly, but it will still take the Army and Marines to rout the enemy on the ground. Also, air sortees against fround troops are far more dangerous missions than bombing Baghdad fixed targets. You have to fly lowere and within range of enemy guns. We must not underestimate the enemy.

Did you miss the infamous "Turkey Shoot" that wiped out so many Iraqis leaving Kuwait in the last war?

My grandfather, had he heard you say what you did, would laugh himself into a hospital visit. He was in WWII and can directly contradict that claim. Ground forces can easily be wiped out from the air. His unit suffered regular losses from strafing fire from above. Today's air power is a lot more powerful.

[waydwolf]

Originally posted by Jacob S
Aint we running out of supplies ourselves though? What we are trying to do to them has happened to ourselves if that is the case with waiting for them to run out of weapons and supplies.

They have no hope of resupply unless Syria wants to be the next on our dance card.

We on the other hand aren't running out of supplies, we're running ahead of our supplies. We have plenty of supplies, we just need to let them catch up with us.

[AllieVi]

After we've "won" this war, we may regret the peace that follows. As news reports show, we've ignited a hatred of the US in the Arab/Muslim world, even among those who are no friends of Saddam. We may be witnessing the equivalent of Iraq becoming a Middle Eastern Alamo for the Arab world. The fact that military hostilities end does not mean that we can all sleep soundly again.