WASHINGTON -- In a conclusion that bodes ill for U.S. troops, an Army study asserts that the Iraqi military, though inept in the battlefield during the conventional phase of the war, excelled in intelligence, shadowing virtually every movement of coalition troops -- a skill, military analysts say, that is being carried over into the current guerrilla conflict.
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It said that the Iraqi scouts shadowed virtually all allied movements and communicated positions up the command chain using phones and couriers, often resulting in accurate anticipation of planned coalition offensives. In some instances the Iraqis were able to conduct massive division redeployments through paths they knew to be undefended. In Nasiriyah, Marines captured a detailed, accurate sand table of U.S. positions, the study discloses, indicating precise, real-time knowledge of allied movements. A sand table is a miniature model of the battlefield that helps commanders plot the next moves.
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But when some of the Iraqi units stood ground, especially from the Special Republican Guard and paramilitaries, they fought stubbornly. On April 5, when a 3rd infantry brigade entered Baghdad with hundreds of tanks and fighting vehicles, every vehicle (was) hit by (rocket propelled grenade) fire.
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Defense analysts generally praised the report and said it was the first official document to surface publicly that covered the entire theater and evaluated the performance of both sides of the conflict. It's a very significant report, said Lang. One of the surprising findings in the study, he said, was the conclusion that Iraq never intended to destroy its oil fields but may have tried to bluff the allies with such a threat to deter us from invading.
(more at link)
http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~1753620,00.htmlThere's a lot more in the article, including a healthy criticism of Rumsfeld's 'Feith-based' military ideas