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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Cobra II

Cobra II was the name of the rush to Baghdad by General Franks et al. This enlightening book describes the intense negotiations and maneuvering that went on between Rumsfeld, Powell, and the Army (mostly General Franks) in the design of the invasion.

Lots of interesting tidbits:

1. Both Saddam and the United States failed on intelligence. Saddam was not worried about the U.S., but he was terrified of a Shiite rebellion in the south, similar to the one he put down so brutally after the first Gulf War.

2. Saddam wanted to show the world that he did not have any WMD. He sent orders to his commanders to make sure that the sites had been cleaned up and no WMD were present in preparation for weapons inspectors. He did not want to give the U.S. a casus belli. Unfortunately, the CIA misinterpreted data from spy satellites and assumed that Saddam was trucking the stuff away or hiding it.

3. No preparations were made for installing a government after a successful invasion. The Iraqis were looking for some kind of force to maintain order after the troop took Baghdad. U.S troops were under orders not to interfere, so looting quickly became uncontrollable sending the message to everyone that the U.S. had lost control.

4. Franks tried to fire one of top corps commanders who recommended a pause during the invasion because it was becoming apparent that the Fedayeen were a force to be reckoned with behind the lines. Franks wanted the fastest trip to Baghdad possible with no stops along the way. This decision came back to haunt them.

5. Rumsfeld continually tried to trim the size of the invading force despite concerns of the top U.S. commanders.

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