1. They rushed to CUT OFF Baghdad. They rushed to cut off Basra. There is nothing going in and nothing coming out that we are not in control of. This is an ages old tactic, and it blows my mind that this can't be seen.
2. Once the knights would surround the castle they would bring up the seige equipment, the catapults, and the battering rams. Now the troops await the word that a breach has been made by the fire support elements: precision munitions, artillery, clandestine ops, etc.
TO TIGHTEN THE SEIGE WHILE OUTSIDE THE BESEIGED CITY IS NOT EXACTLY HARD FOR ANYONE TO FIGURE OUT!! Why can't the media get it? You don't go rushing into their strength and get decimated.
It's not stalled, paused, stymied, stuck, quagmired...you name it.
It has accomplished it's initial objective of reaching the city. IT IS TIGHTENING THE NOOSE! CUTTING OFF RESUPPLY...CUTTING OFF HOPE!
Quite right. But for NYT-type "journalists" this would require a story based on thought and analysis rather than their usual knee-jerk "let's-hate-the-US" reaction.
Now, nothing will be flowing out for quite a while but just the idea of this will send world oil prices down. If even just a trickle can start to flow, watch prices plummet on speculation it will become a flood.
Koffi Annan is happy because he sees it as an opening for the U.N. but the one who controls the well heads is actually driving this train. You have doubts? Bagdad bob, the Ba'ath sock-puppet, is not happy about this at all and he knows what a loss of sovernty this is.
A pause also allows us to secure fields in the north. These are less important because it will take longer to get them operational and oil flowing out of them as opposed to in the south.
Of course, this is probably the plan to begin with.