Politics Blog

I stand in Shock and Awe at the performance of our troops in battle. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. The 3rd Infantry Division and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been driving towards Baghdad from day one of this war.These troops have had almost no sleep, are living on military rations and haven’t had luxuries like hot showers. Yet they’ve conducted the greatest advance in the history of combat, driving farther and faster into the heart of enemy territory than ever seen before. Now, because of the sandstorms, they can finally get some sleep, get a hot meal, perform maintenance on their weapons and vehicles, and coil up for a murderous assault on the unfortunate Iraqi Republican Guard.

2. Navy SEALs and other Special Forces have been conducting some of the most dangerous operations of the war, taking oil terminals and airfields and working with the Kurds in the north. These unsung heroes work deep in enemy territory and put their lives at risk in the dead of night so that Saddam cannot fire Scuds with chemical weapons into neighboring states.

3. The men and women on the various US ships in the region have had no rest either. They’ve been supporting thousands of sorties from aircraft carriers, moving men and materiel in a dizzying frenzy and firing cruise missiles at key targets. They’ve performed admirably.

4. Navy and Air Force pilots have been flying non-stop for almost a week now, going deep into the heart of enemy territory to drop precise bombs and avoid civilian casualties. Army Apache pilots flew into heavy anti-aircraft fire yesterday to take out Republican Guard weapons and flush them out. These brave men and women have been stretched just as much as the troops on the front lines; but they’ve done an extraordinarily good job.

5. Supply convoys have travelled hundreds of miles through hostile territory to ensure that the troops near Baghdad want for nothing. The logistical planning and execution that has gone into the advance towards Baghdad has been astounding. Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals talk logistics. Now you know why.

These brave men and women have shown the world that, while American troops may not have the braggadocio of the Iraqis, they’re the finest troops the world has ever seen. Even as they destroy the enemy, they treat their prisoners humanely, show compassion for civilians and live and fight with honor.

The good people of Basra have decided to join the fight against Saddam.

David Warren points out that the war is going fabulously well. Via InstaPundit.

Mac Owens says that the US war plan is bold and appropriate. I couldn’t agree more. As I’ve noted, the scale and speed of the US advance is unprecedented in the history of armed conflict.

The Washington Post has a good analysis saying that Americans will be willing to endure casualties as long as the president stands firm. We’ve had less than 20 dead so far, even as we strike deep into the heart of Iraq and Saddam uses every dirty trick in the book. For comparison, here are some of the casualties in recent wars:

Since some 58,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam, the U.S. military has rarely experienced a significant number of casualties. The biggest loss of life occurred in 1983, when a terrorist bombing of a U.S. military barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killed 241 soldiers. Nineteen Americans were killed in the 1983 invasion of Grenada; 23 were killed in the 1989-90 invasion of Panama; 29 were killed in Somalia in 1992-93; 147 were killed in the last Iraq war; and about 25 Americans were killed in Afghanistan.

Ralph Peters explains the upcoming endgame with Saddam.

Don’t worry about the sandstorm. Our ground troops near Baghdad don’t need to move today anyway. They’ll let the planes do their work and make the Republican Guard an endangered species. Our GPS-guided bombs aren’t hindered by bad weather and, if we need to visually track or find targets, we can do it with synthetic aperture radar, which will see right through the storm.

As for those GPS Jammers that Russia sold to the Iraqis, the Americans have bombed out all of them. And they turned out to be ineffective anyway. In fact, one “GPS Jammer” was taken out by a GPS-guided weapon.

In 1991, when Saddam referred to “the Mother of All Battles” he was being hyperbolic. However, what we’ll see in the next few days will, indeed, be the Mother of All Battles. The 3rd Infantry and 1st Marines, along with British forces, will face off against the Medina, Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezar divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard near the Karbala gap (see map.) If the past few days are any indication, the Republican Guard will not surrender, but will defend every inch of territory.

Too bad. For them.

The US military does not fight fair. Expect a gigantic air and ground bombardment to wipe out the Republican Guard units. The Americans will take a stand-off position, out of range of the Republican Guard tanks and artillery, and rain down death upon these Iraqi units. The scale of death and destruction will be truly stunning; but, at the end of it, coalition forces will have little standing between them and Baghdad, with only minimal coalition casualties (which will no doubt be played up by the alarmist media.) Then Saddam will have to face up to his moment of truth: Will he unleash the WMD he has (risking disobedience by his field commanders who will have to carry out his orders) or will he wave a scented handkerchief in surrender and spare his army any more death and destruction?

As I’ve said before, the scale and speed of the American advance has been truly astounding. It is unprecedented in the history of warfare. George Patton famously dashed 400 miles from Normandy to Belgium in World War II, throwing caution to the winds; but he took two months to complete his advance. The Germans pushed hundreds of miles into Russian territory in 1941; but took weeks to do so and took large casualties in doing so. American forces have advanced 400 miles into the heart of Iraq in about four days, without the benefit of a prolonged air campaign to soften up the enemy, and with less than 20 dead. The Mother of All Battles will prove once and for all that this unprecedented advance was no fluke, but reflects the skill, training and determination of a fighting force that can fight for several days with only a few hours of sleep.

This is our proudest hour.

More pictures you won’t see on TV. While the 3rd Infantry is moving up the Euphrates, the 1st Marines are making an equally determined drive towards Baghdad along the Tigris. They’re facing little or no “resistance” and are being welcomed by a friendly populace. By now, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were around Al Kut (see this map.) The 3ID and 1MEF can now make a concerted attack on the Republican Guard near Baghdad.

You heard about the downed Apache; but what you didn’t hear much is that the 3rd Infantry is softening up the Republican Guard near Karbala. As you can see from this map, that’s too close for comfort for Saddam.

I’m stunned at the speed and success of this advance. Never in the history of conflict has an armored force driven so deep and fast into enemy territory. The only comparison is the German movement into Russia in 1941. And even so we are moving faster and deeper, covering hundreds of miles in less than five days.

And we’ve sustained relatively few casualties. Remember that the first gulf war resulted in about 300 dead Americans, even though we were only taking back Kuwait after a 39-day air campaign. Now, as we drive towards the heart of Iraq and the Iraqi regime is throwing every dirty trick in the book at us, we’ve lost about 20 American lives. While even one American casualty is one too many, I think we’ve made quite an improvement.