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Yes, I know, the “intelligence” for the Iraq War came from them, and Blair got them into the war, but I always liked their strategy.
I have been against the Iraq war from the beginning. (Just thought I’d better say that, not that I could ever run for President, having been born in Britain rather than here.) I am anti-war in general anyway.
However, I have a natural fascination with military history, and always loved stories of strategy. I like to see the big plays on the big board. When Iraq was invaded, the British military advised a strategy that had worked for them many times since World War I. Hit the soft spots first, get the diverse areas occupied and quiet, then go for the areas of population concentration. Take the capital last, after all the rebels have run there to regroup.
During World War II, Churchill advised just such a strategy against the fascists. First, secure North Africa. Then Italy. Then the Balkans. This last didn’t happen. From the beginning, two forces opposed it. The first was Stalin, who demanded a second front in France. Roosevelt didn’t want the Soviet Union shunning the rest of the world after the war, which was a possibility if pressure wasn’t lifted on the Russian front. The second force was the U.S. military, which wanted to head for Berlin, the big city, the capital, ASAP. Go for the area of strength and knock it out! That’s American strategy.
The British, based on many experiences within their own empire (some of which took almost a century to learn), recommended taking the weaker villages of Iraq first, gradually closing in on Baghdad. But the US instead choose a multi-pronged approach with an emphasis on crushing Baghdad and nailing Hussein. The result, as could have been predicted, was an embattled occupying force surrounding by enemies. The Brits have been here before, and they have no intention of staying, though they say they’re just drawing down troops. Can’t blame them a bit.
I do find it interesting, however, that they will be deploying more troops to Afghanistan. There is some question whether part of the Iraq decision is to stop the battle on two fronts, since the war for Afghanistan is far from over, although it has failed to capture the attention of Americans lately.]]>
