Old foes, new strategy
Objectives of war on Iraq differ from Gulf War
By Sarah Krebs
Staff Reporter

Even though the war on Iraq has less political and financial support than the Gulf War, qualified TCU faculty say Wednesday evening’s initial “decapitation attack” was militarily appropriate and successful.

Jim Weller, associate director for major projects at the Physical Plant, said the sudden strike on Iraq was appropriate because the government had ample opportunity to hit their targets.

Weller, a former battalion executive officer for the 52nd Engineer Battalion in the Gulf War and a retired colonel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the air strike may or may not have been part of the United States’ original plan, but it was well-qualified.

“I think it is a good course of action to cut off the eyes and ears of the enemy to soften it up for the ground forces to come in,” Weller said. “They are chopping off the head of the means of communication for the leaders of the Iraqi army.”

However, political science professor Manochehr Dorraj said the ramifications of rushing to war with a quick strike could hurt the United States in the long run.

In the current war, President George W. Bush has given the United States a “political black eye,” Dorraj said.

Though the objectives of the two wars are different, Bush has not handled diplomacy well, he said.

The Gulf War was to rid Kuwait of Saddam Hussein’s presence, and this war is to instigate a regime change to eradicate the tyranny of Hussein, Dorraj said.

“This war is primarily the (United States) and Britain, and the financial cost is on the (United States) alone,” he said. “We will bear the cost of the war and the cost of rebuilding Iraq.”

Dorraj said former president George Bush built up legitimacy before deploying any troops, which is why he was supported by the United Nations, both militarily and financially. However, President Bush deployed troops and then tried to get others to join the war, Dorraj said.

“This is a diplomatic failure,” Dorraj said. “I hope it will be a military success so that the silver lining is getting Saddam out of power.”

Weller said this silver lining can be best achieved by taking out the Iraqi leadership as quickly as possible, forcing the whole regime to crumble and surrender.

Weller said the Iraqi military is totalitarian and, unlike U.S. troops, does not rely on the initiative of individuals and missions.

The U.S. troops are more mission-oriented, soldiers have more latitude to accomplish missions and they can adjust and take advantage of the situations in the war, he said.

“What they are trying to do is a regime change and, even if Saddam stepped down, they have a whole lot of work left to be done,” Weller said. “I guess it is going to last longer than 100 hours, which was a phrase used in the last war a lot.”

s.d.krebs@tcu.edu