The Battle of Baghdad

[Sten Sture]

I'm starting to wonder if the ground pounders will attack Baghdad first... a couple days of this cruise missle here, bunker bomb there to deflect concentration while the Heavies are already on their way. Then the lights go out and an M1A2 shows up at the intersection of Saddam Blvd and Main Street.

[Lancer]

Kramerman, with the Iranian nuke news lately, they just might go to Iran. Another possibility would be Syria, chaseing after Saddams WMD that he reportedly sent there.

Sten, I bet you they blew through the mine fields last night, leaving the 'bedded' reporters in Kuwait w/ the camp fires burning.

[Lancer]

Brits are saying that up to 20% of Republican Guards are seeking to surrender. FOX news reports...

The battle of Baghdad I was so worried about may become... easier.

[Sten Sture]

Originally posted by Lancer
leaving the 'bedded' reporters in Kuwait w/ the camp fires burning.

I can't imagine Rumsfeld deceiving people that way!!


Watching the news just tells us what isn't happening. I say we land at Calais.

[GePap]

The coolition plans for swift success seem to rely too heavily on mass Iraqi surrenders. They keep saying they know this guy will and that guy: as of yet, we have what, 17? 24 hours in and we got 17/250,000 of the Iraqi army surrendered......

I will not trust any news reports until some sort of confirmation occurs,a nd those rumors that the Iraqis are goign to surrender sound to me as valid currently as those that Saddam is dead or injured.

[jim panse]

Carpet Bombing?

We'll probably use the AirCav to take key points which we can easily defend and then we seige the city and starve out the resisters. Failing that I would rather see carpet bombing then house to house fighting.

This is disgusting. You are really willing to bury thousands of civilians? I always thought the world has learned but reading this ....

You will only hit innocent civilians, old women and men, wifes with their children but not Saddam.

Carpet Bombing a city was accepted as a kind of "Aerial Strategy" (hu, this makes me desperate though) in WW2. Now everybody is talking about the ´clean´ warfare of the Coalition. I can only repeat: This is disgusting and uncivilized.

[Master Zen]

The Battle of Baghdad has yet to begin...

Units of the Iraqi army not deployed in a major urban center are pretty much worthless and their surrender is more than rational.

I would however expect them to fight in the cities where US technology might be a little hampered by the concrete jungle

[Shi Huangdi]

"The coolition plans for swift success seem to rely too heavily on mass Iraqi surrenders. They keep saying they know this guy will and that guy: as of yet, we have what, 17? 24 hours in and we got 17/250,000 of the Iraqi army surrendered......"

Well we haven't invaded yet.

People, there all alternatives to just trying to dig them out from a city. We can simply have coalition forces sorround the city, broadcast loudly that the city will be attacked soon and that all civilians must leave immediatly as it about to become a warzone, then take the city piece by piece, leveling it with artillery and sending in ground forces to occupy those areas.

[jim panse]

There aren't any barbarians about to kick our asses, not anytime soon anyway. People always concentrate on the decline of Rome. America is still at the height of its power, we're like the Rome of the second century.

Yeah, and I believe the US is in decline since the end of the Cold War. The US hasn´t won, the US was just left over.

The US is not to be compared with Romans. First, we have not even entered the imperial stage yet, and may never do. Second, Romans were not invincible, they had several crushing defeats(Cannae 217BC, Carrhae 53BC, and Teutoburger Forest 9AD) in their history even before the decline. All these defeats literally wiped out large fractions of their manpower. The US has yet to suffer any defeat of such magnitude.

I don´t know your definition of `Imperialism` but to me I don´t think the term fits. The US is the overwhelming power since WW1. That is the fact.
I consider the US Power in decline because the US know that if China and Europe and Russia join in against the US that the US will lose. On the battlefield, on the "Free Markets", everywhere. That´s why the US hinders us Europeans whenever possible in uniting.

[Lancer]

Well, 3rd infantry is coming up on two Iraqi Republican Guard armored divisions on the approaches to Baghdad. FOX said something about a river crossing...

Right now the 3rd is speculated to be moving to establish a forward position, supply etc, for the assault.

[Dominikos]

I can understand how the regular army units of Iraq can surrender en masse, however, I don't think the Republican Guard will be doing the same thing, at least not on a large scale.

Does anyone know whether the special Republican Guard has any night vision equipment or any other kick-ass weapons for that matter. Afterall, they are the elite, right? There is the Republican Guard and then there is the Special Republican Guard.

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~Dominik - Lord of the Putumayo~

[Lancer]

I don't know Dom, but I was just having a conversation w/ a friend last night about this. After '91 Saddam should have bought every commercially available night vision available. You can get them at Costco... They wouldn't be nearly as good, but at least the Iraqi troops wouldn't be blind at night.

[Master Zen]

I do expect the Republican Guard to put up a much better fight. Units engaging the US/UK are pretty crappy to begin with, the ****'s gonna hit the fan if the US/UK reaches Baghdad and Iraq has not yet surrendered.

[SlowwHand]

There are 3 lines of Republican Guards.

The 1st is little better than conscripts.
The 2nd is to defend the Butchering Pig from his own army.
The 3rd are essentially bodyguards.

They're all wusses.
Dressing in civilain clothes, fighting from homes.
So, who's fault is it when Iraq's innocent civilians are killed?

Exactly.

[Kropotkin]

Slowwhand: I do recall a american officer saying the same about the VC back in the 60's as they always ran into the jungle as soon as the battle was about to start. If it's cowardly or not is one issue but it's not as insane as actually fighting on US's terms.

And no, I'm not saying that Iraq will be another Vietnam.