[Beck_isright]

He is 100% correct. In a 4-6 week campaign, it is too early to get excited. I hope that we do have a plan to engage and obliterate the Republican Guard however. We do not need two years of war crimes tribunals to try all of the officers in these divisions after the war. I'll be more intersted once it comes out what new units are introduced in the coming weeks before the battles around Baghdad begin in ernest.

V

[MEG33]

There are a lot of threads I know that could use this dose of reality.

[AHerald]

What a relief from the past two days of near hysteric defeatism, negativism and uninformed criticism about the war. Good article, clearheaded and informative. Peters knows his stuff.

[goldstategop]

This is a soldier's perspective on the campaign unfolding before us. Its an unbiased and open-minded analytical view of what's happening on the ground and in the air. One wishes media reporters wrote as wisely as this former army officer free of cant and with a strict adherance to the facts at hand. Sure we have suffered in skirmishes here and there but the overall truth is we are setting the momentum and the Iraqis have the hopeless task of trying to slow us down enough that we lose our confidence and concede defeat and slink away. Dream on. If they think they haven't met the American military yet they will soon and they'll find the outcome will be quite different from what they have been promising the world and it won't even be close. Talk about the Mother Of All Wars Saddam or whoever now runs Iraq will wish he had avoided in the first place.

[diamond6]

Very encouraging.

[omniscient]

Thanks. I needed that.

[EternalVigilance]

We are not going to be lured into a "Stalingrad" in Baghdad. Ignore the prophets of doom, who have been wrong consistently. As this column has steadily maintained, we have time, but Saddam doesn't. If we have to sit in a ring around Baghdad for several weeks while the last resistance is dismantled in innovative ways, then that's what we'll do.

Grave dangers lie ahead. Only a fool would underestimate them. But this war is not being run against a clock. The counsel that we must all be patient and let our troops do their jobs remains the best a former soldier can offer.

As long as the American people keep their perspective - which they will - it really doesn't matter how many journalists lose theirs.

[tm22721]

You can shut up the naysayers by pointing out that the max range of a T-72 tank is 1200 yards. The max range of an M1A1 is 2400 yards, it uses depleted uranium shells that cut thru a T-72 like a knife thru butter, and it can fight in the dark.

BUMP

[Iowa Granny]

Thanks for posting this. A GREAT FIND!!

[metesky]

Reality bump.

[PogySailor]

Very good points. I wanted to reach through the tube several times over the past few days and throttle the news reader that was going on about "setbacks", etc.

Good grief, we jest started this campaign on WEDNESDAY!

[livius]

This should be required reading.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

If some of the weak-kneed had viewed the series "Band of Brothers," they might have seen the realistic portrayal of the ups and downs of the World War II WINNING campaign of the 101st Airborne. There are tough days in any war. That does not meet we are losing. We'd rather not lose a single soldier but it simply is not a realistic outcome in a war.

I can only imagine a modern media report from the nearly month-long fight for Iwo Jima, in 1945, wherein we lost 8,000 men while killing about 26,000 of the enemy who fought suicidally, practically to their last man.

[nicmarlo]

Others have worn civilian clothes to ambush resupply convoys. These are not regular Iraqi army forces or even members of the Republican Guards. They appear to be from the fidayeen, gangs of murderous thugs, and from the security services and the Special Republican Guards - the regime's Gestapo and SS.

I had a thought about this just now: Remember when Saddam Hussein, after his "election," released prisoners (i.e., criminals)? Would it not be surprising that they are part of the gang of thugs who have/will ambush our troops?

[beachn4fun]

PING Thanks for the post, AHerald. It helps to keep people, especially us non-military types, reminded of what is going on. Of course the media is going to dwell on only what they think will make the headlines. They can thus move away from what is really going on and move toward what they want to. It is good to have people out here who help us to refocus on what is NOT seen.

[NYS_Eric]

What a great article in terms of keeping proper perspective. BUMP!

[nicmarlo]

FYI Ping.....I really think you should read this article....informative (and provides some encouragement, as well), IMHO.

[mystery-ak]

Good article...I've never doubted....for the nervous-nellies, this is what happens when you have a media-event war.

[Robert DeLong]

Regime change BUMP

[shezza]

Excellent analysis. It's easy to get caught up in the hysteria of the breathless media reports, by reporters and anchors who don't really know how to evaluate what they (and we) are seeing. THANKS for posting it.