Funny. These look like verifiable facts to me:
An objective view of the war in Iraq thus far would reveal a coalition force, American and British mainly, that has moved hundreds of miles into enemy territory in a few days, the fastest advance in military history. It has total control of the air with open and bustling lines of communication. They have effectively nullified the ability of the Iraqi regime to attack its neighbors, thus diminishing considerably the risk of regional escalation. The much-valued oilfields have been, by-and-large, secured intact. It is closing in on Baghdad from three sides and the forces of Saddam Hussein are ineffectual, cut off, and taking approximately 100 casualties for every one they inflict. At the time of this composition, coalition troops killed in combat numbered 24. That's right, 24 combat deaths in an invasion of a country of 23 million people! When factoring in accidents, friendly fire and disgruntled soldiers killing their comrades, the number is still under 50.
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Five days into the war the LA Times ran an article under the headline "A Battle Plan Ambushed?" and spoke of "deadly ambushes, helicopters falling to earth and American POWs being paraded on Iraqi television". It then asked, "Has the U.S. battle plan come unraveled? Was it misconceived from the start?" To that point, exactly one coalition helicopter had fallen to earth as the result of enemy fire and there had been one ambush resulting in sizable losses. The word "sizable" is valid in relation to this conflict, and virtually no other. And while unfortunate, it altered the overall situation on the ground not a bit.
A Washington Post piece from the same day, "Shock, Awe and Overconfidence", said a coalition victory was inevitable, but declared, "this will happen despite serious strategic miscalculations". USA Today stated the Bush Administration had become a victim of "its own wishful thinking". The New York Times described the offensive as "bogged down". And a CBS News website column asked "Are We Winning?" and answered, "Not That Cut-And-Dry".
During an interview on 48 Hour's, Secretary of State, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell was lectured on military tactics by CBS's Lesley Stahl, who claimed U.S. and British forces had been left "exposed" and that supply lines had been cut. NBC's Andrea Mitchell faulted the Bush administration with "broad miscalculations" and with building "unreasonable expectations". Newsweek's chief political correspondent Howard Fineman, in a radio interview, said the engagement in Iraq, barely a week old, had the look of "Vietnam". Mr. Fineman, sounded giddy as he admitted he was already "looking for cracks" in the president's support in Washington and for the emergence of antiwar voices saying "enough". And most poignant of late have been the flurry of questions and condemnations over Iraqi civilian deaths. |
