Iraq War Note: The True Nature of Urban Warfare

The last 11 days have made it clear that the Battle of Baghdad is actually Iraqi defense in-depth. This is a defense that began at Basra and Umm Qasr and now is attacking US and British rear areas and supply lines throughout the theater with every asymmetric means available. The resulting mix of missiles, rockets, Fedayeen, regular forces, Republican Guards, Baath Party agents, Popular army forces, and intelligence and security stiffeners is Saddam’s best way to use small cadres of loyalists to inflict disruptive attacks, cause casualties, try to force the US and UK to fight in the cities in the rear (potentially alienating them), and devote resources and air strikes to missions other than the attacks on Baghdad.
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Anthony H. Cordesman

Anthony H. Cordesman

Former Emeritus Chair in Strategy