Hi LindyBill; Re the John Keegan commentary, and on the concept of attacking Iraq from the North.
It's no longer possible. Since the older article, Turkey elected an Islamic party which now has control of the country. An okay for a US invasion from Turkey has a probability of zero now.
But don't you think it's odd that John Keegan, a military author of some renown, would agree with me? Let me quote:
No sign of war plan as clock ticks on
John Keegan, Defense Editor, Telegraph, November 18, 2002
An American war against Iraq has been on the cards for most of this year. So far, as the northern hemisphere's winter draws in, its launching seems no nearer than it was in the spring.
...
It is not as if the president were working to some deep laid plan. There is little sign of one. His father, in the months between Saddam's annexation of Kuwait in August 1990 and the opening of the air war on Iraq in January 1991, telephoned relentlessly around the world to create an eclectic coalition, comprising not only most of the Nato states, but also such Arab confederates as Egypt and Syria.
...
He now has legal authority to proceed and Saddam is at his mercy. With this difference: by the time his father had cleared the diplomatic decks, a large proportion of the force necessary to mount Operation Desert Storm was in place in the theatre of coming operations. So far, his son has positioned almost none of the necessary force at all, at least none of the force that requires time to move.
There are several hundred military aircraft ... All that, however, amounts to considerably less than is necessary to defeat Saddam.
...
There is no evidence of the existence of a dissident opposition with military capability inside Iraq and to deploy special forces in such circumstances would be to invite their defeat.
...
Yet, and this is currently the crucial qualification, almost none of the necessary force is in place. No American division has left Germany or the United States. Both home-based marine divisions are still in America. So are the airborne and air assault divisions, together with the home-based armoured division and two mechanised divisions.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. It takes two months to move a division, perhaps one at a squeeze. Unless the troops start out soon, it may be impossible to mount the operation in the first part of next year. The next few weeks are the critical period.
...
telegraph.co.uk
For those who don't know who John Keegan is (he's one of the world's foremost military historians), here are some references:
Daniel Snowman talks to Britain's most distinguished military historian and the Defence Editor of the Daily Telegraph.
findarticles.com
We found 100 titles from author John Keegan
search.barnesandnoble.com
also see:
lib.odu.edu
John Keegan, one of the most distinguished contemporary military historians, was for many years Senior Lecturer at Sandhurst, the British Royal Military Academy, and Defense Editor of the London Daily Telegraph. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Keegan is the author of numerous books including The Face of Battle, The Mask of Command, The Price of Admiralty, Six Armies in Normandy, and The Second World War (all available from Penguin).
discovermilitaryhistory.com
-- Carl
P.S. Come on guys, call me an idiot for saying that the US is not preparing for war, LOL. Just include John Keegan in my company. |
