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Army Studies Lessons Of Iraq

Feb-19-2004 » Filed Under: Iraq News

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USA TODAY
February 19, 2004

The U.S. invasion of Iraq may have rolled over Saddam Hussein's forces in a matter of weeks -- but it could be a poor model for future fights, a draft of an Army study of the war warns.

The study cautions that Iraq was an unusual case. The United States had rare advantages in being able to study its adversary for 12 years after the Gulf War in 1991 and to build up facilities on its borders.

Still, the operation exposed areas where the U.S. military showed weaknesses or was not tested. Among them:

* Urban warfare. The poorly led Iraqis made little use of urban terrain, where they would have had a distinct advantage.

* Vulnerability to simple weapons. For example, a future enemy might develop a better version of the rocket-propelled grenade, which even in current form often proves deadly to U.S. forces.

* Pre-emption in reverse. American military planners "might also wonder what the outcome would have been if Iraq had attacked U.S. forces in Kuwait, before they were ready for the running start," the study says. "The point is that the conditions . . . in 2003 are unlikely to be replicated."


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