[Tax Government]

Medina: 5% degraded? Sounds low, compared to estimates of others. Wonder if Stratfor has any axes to grind.

[try phecta tom]

I diasagree with the writer's major point, there is no comparison to the bombing Kosovo and what we are doing here.

[wildbill]

A grim appraisal if true. On the other hand, there have been overly optimistic claims on the US side, based on the last war.

On the other, other hand, one would hope the US would have learned something from the Balkan war about the possibility that high level bombing against false targets.

[SolutionsOnly]

only 5% degraded after so many precision bombing runs?

That's hard to beleive. If nothing else, the troops must be awfully shell shocked by now.

[McGavin999]

First of all, we're not bombing from 15,000 feet. Most of these tanks have been taken out by Apaches flying low enough to be able to detect a decoy. I would take our kill numbers and divide by two just to be safe though.

[longtermmemmory]

Saddam is trained by the USA in how to fake rebuilding and creating false assets. During the Iran/Iraq war he would paper over runway holes and had wood tanks to fool Iranian Air Force pilots.

You can never really know until you actually engage. It seems no matter what, the people in the city are going to make the USA earn Baghdad. ABC just had a story of how Saddam is following stalingrad, (Saddamgrad, ha ha).

[ApesForEvolution]

I guarantee the intelligence gathered in Iraq is much better and different than what was used in the Balkans.

[jlogajan]

the Iraqi command has learned much from Yugoslav tactics

The assumption being that the US has not bothered to learn as well -- unlikely.

[Fee]

Kosovo air strikes were limited to attitudes no lower than two miles. President Clinton did not want to deal with shot down pilot POW's. In GW2, pilots are coming in low if needed to get an accurate hit. They are attacking moving targets as well as targets with proper thermal signatures. If I were the Republican Guard, I would abandon the heavy equipment, salvage all the ammo and gear, become roving infantry with anti-tank weapons. Let the Americans bomb the abandon tanks creating a false impression on losses. Let the US troops roll over your position and shoot up the rear echelon as it moves up. Cause as much casualties as possible and hope it would inspire the world and demoralize the US into an Armistice. Note, I said hope for an Armistice, but with GWB and post 9/11 America, fat chance for the Iraqis.

[No One of Consequence]

Stratfor's sources in foreign intelligence services - What do ya think, France, Germany or Russia?

[jordan8]

Kornet, manufactured by Degtyarev (of machine gun fame) in Russia.