CIAO DATE: 11/03

The Iraq War: Strategy, Tactics, and Military Lessons

Anthony H. Cordesman

The Center for Strategic and International Studies

September 2003

 

About the Book

In April 2003, a stunned world looked on as the armed forces of the United States and Britain conducted a lightning-fast military campaign against Iraq. Confounding predictions of failure, the Anglo-American victory brought down not just the Iraqi regime, but also much of the conventional wisdom about modern war. But even as U.S. and British forces occupied Basra, Tikrit, Mosul, and Baghdad, the Iraqi nation slipped into anarchy-and new military and security challenges emerged.

Such has been the twisted trail of dramatic events that we call the Iraq War. But like so many other conflicts, the war ultimately seemed to pose more questions than it resolved. What about the prewar political fights in Washington, Paris, and the UN? Was victory really due to the brilliance of Anglo-American arms, or had Saddam's regime simply been too rotten to stand? Why didn't Baghdad become a second Stalingrad? Why weren't the occupying forces prepared to impose order? And then there is the mother of all questions: Where are Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and what went wrong with intelligence estimates?

In this book, respected military analyst Anthony Cordesman provides the first in-depth examination of the key issues swirling around the most significant U.S. war since Vietnam. Finding answers is essential if we are to understand the United States' awesome power and its place in a new age of international terror and regional conflict. Finding answers is also essential if we are to draw the proper lessons and understand the new challenges of conflict termination, peacemaking, and nation building.