[OT] Military (non-political) discussion of Iraq war

[Alpha Kodiak]

There is a lot of discussion of the politics of the war, but little of the strategy/tactics/hardware that are in play from both sides. The only discussions I have seen so far tend to be either opponents of the war claiming the US is in terrible trouble, or supporters painting an extremely rosey picture of things.

I am hoping that there can be a dispassionate discussion of the execution of the war that is separate from the political arguments one way or another.

My own thoughts:

Things seem to have gone pretty well for the coalition. I did not understand their approach entirely at first, but it appears that the plan to this point was to grab as much ground as possible until they encountered substantial resistance, isolating pockets of resistance along the way.

Once major contact was made, they stopped to allow the supply train to catch up and allow air power to beat up the enemy positions. When they were satisfied that the enemy was softened up significantly, they basically ran over what was left and moved in close to Baghdad. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

I don't think they were expecting the level of resistance they received from paramilitary units along the supply line, but they have adapted well. I have seen nothing to indicate that the purported shortage of troops is causing them significant problems so far.