Posted: 4/21/2003 6:11:02 PM EDT
|
I was reading an article in the paper where an Iraqi officer was questioning some of the moves his commanders made. The first was leaving the relative safety of Baghdad and fighting to the south where Allied air power destroyed them. The second was retreating from Baghdad before US troops to make a stand up north that failed because the troops deserted. I wonder if the Americans paid Iraqi commanders to give bad commands, or if we had taken over their communications and gave them bad orders and kept them disorganized. It really seems that only small Iraqi units were able to do anything. I know we bought out Afghan commanders, so it would only make sense that we "turned " Iraqi commanders, maybe with promises of money, ammnesty, or power posistions in the new Iraq. |
|
It's a thought. I remember early in the war a report that we had the cell and sat phone numbers of several high-ranking Iraqi commanders and were in touch with them. I have a hard time buying the fact that those commanders would knowingly send their troops out to be slaughtered by air attacks, but given the inhuman actions of many in the Iraqi government, I wouldn't discount the idea totally. |
|
There is a recent news article (at NewsMax I think) that discusses this. Apparently, many of the top two or three levels of Republican guard leadership were bought off and spirited out of Iraq soon after the Baghdad Intl airport was taken. Hey, if true, it works. |
|
As mentioned, it's hard to tell just from the external evidence. Arab armies always fold when faced by western armies, and trying to spot the difference between a standard collapse and an engineered collapse is difficult. The Iraqis would tend to attribute it to American spies, since that salves their ego a bit. |
|
I definitely think you’re on to something, though I’m not quite sure what. The Iraqis could have, and should have, put up a much better fight. Something happened. Bribes and/or amnesty promises to Republican guard commanders were probably part of it. Also, I think Saddam Hussein was so fearful of being assassinated that he abandoned his leadership role. Further, as is typical in dictatorships, the lower commanders were not used to, and were fearful of, making decisions on their own. While probably not to the same degree as Afghanistan, I suspect the CIA played a very major role in winning this war. |
| When the looting was at it's peak, an NPR reporter interviewed one of the looters. He told them he was Repub Guard, and he just shed his uniform. Their commander left without giving them orders, and when it appeared he wasn't coming back, they changed clothes and went their own way. I bet their commander did the same thing when the orders stopped rolling in. |