... plus they imposed their timetable/agenda .... however ... big mistake, IMO, not to take the Regime down .... if they were smart about it it could have been done with Civilian compliance, at that time, IMO. But replace Saddam with whom ...? The country was held together by the Rule of the Baath Party ... and the country's brightest and most talented, ambitious men and women were in the Party ... take down the Party and what you are left with is religious factionalism and fanaticism ... a lot of history and a lot of OIL.
But the Allied combined air ground ops were truly masterful ..
General Fred Franks, the one-legged General, wrote a vivid account with Tom Clancy, that I read with great interest, back in the day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_M._Franks_Jr.
The guided-missile frigate Zhoushan (Hull 529), together with the guided-missile destroyers Taizhou (Hull 138) and Hangzhou (Hull 136), steam to designated sea area in East China Sea during a maritime realistic training exercise in early January, 2021. They are attached to a destroyer flotilla with the navy under the PLA Eastern Theater Command.Photo:China Military 'Taiwan independence' means war not empty threat: Global Times editorial - Global Times
Air Force B-52s conduct third Bomber Task Force mission in Middle East this year
A B-52 Stratofortress from the 2nd Bomb Wing out of Barksdale Air Force Base, La., flies with Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force F-15SAs during a bomber task force mission over U.S. Central Command Jan. 27. (Senior Airman Roslyn Ward/Air Force)
AFT: Senior Airman Alexis Williams, 911th Security Forces Squadron patrolman, stands guard in front of a C-17 Globemaster III during a routine training exercise at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pa., Jan. 19, 2021. (Joshua J. Seybert/Air Force)
AFT: Soldiers with the North Carolina National Guard ride a Metro train that will get them to the station they will guard for the 59th Presidential Inauguration in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Sgt. Abraham Morlu/Army National Guard)
AFT: U.S. Army paratroopers conduct sling load operations with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter on Jan. 20, 2021, during exercise Eagle Talon, Monte Romano, Italy. (Elena Baladelli/Army)
AFT: Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Cindy Maldonado, right, provides training to Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Lacy Duke on Jan. 19, 2021, during well-deck operations aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) in the Pacific Ocean. (MC2 Jenna Dobson/Navy)
AFT: A U.S. Air Force crew chief enjoys the snow at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Jan. 26, 2021. The last time it snowed at Davis-Monthan was approximately two years ago, so the snow was a surprise for maintainers working the flightline. (Staff Sgt. Sergio A. Gamboa/Air Force)