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Saving civilians lengthens war { March 27 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/iraq/article/0,1713,BDC_10087_1843218,00.htmlhttp://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/iraq/article/0,1713,BDC_10087_1843218,00.html
U.S. strategy could lengthen war
Effort to minimize destruction, casualties puts troops in danger, experts say
By Julie Mason, Houston Chronicle
March 27, 2003
WASHINGTON Ñ As the war in Iraq grinds closer to Baghdad, the battle has produced another type of conflict Ñ between the political objectives of the White House and the military strategy in the field.
With Operation Iraqi Freedom entering its second week, coalition forces are fighting a war that, for political and humanitarian reasons, aims to limit civilian Iraqi casualties.
Other objectives are to minimize damage to Iraqi infrastructure and communications systems, which the United States would likely have to rebuild after the war.
But that strategy, which rules out extensive bombing, also places coalition troops at greater risk and is likely to lead to a longer and bloodier battle, experts said Wednesday.
Heavy bombing in the previous Gulf War diminished the dangers of combat for troops that came in behind the airstrikes.
Now, "I think you have President Bush going into the situation where the expectations are so high that they're almost unmeetable," said Philip Gordon, senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
"The administration itself obviously contributed to that by trying to sell this war, emphasizing only the beautiful liberation of the Iraqi people, democracy, stability, and you had a selling job to do so you pitched it very high," Gordon said. "But the problem is that's what many people are now expecting, to the point where, after a week, we're worried about it dragging on."
Bush, who must run again for president next year, can't afford a war high in casualties or a rebuilding program so expensive that it hobbles the American economy.
World opinion also is a critical consideration, particularly as coalition troops advance on Baghdad, a densely populated and historic city that will be vital to winning the war.
In contrast to the more deadly and destructive 1991 Gulf War, the current conflict in Iraq is being waged in such a way as to preserve the country while toppling its leadership.
William Hartung, an expert on military affairs at the World Policy Institute in New York, said politics are shaping military strategy in part by forging a system that will make the rebuilding process easier once the war is over.
That's a strategy that wins with both the American public, who will be paying for a sizable portion of the reconstruction, and U.S. allies with whom relations are strained.
"A lot of people criticizing us now will ultimately want to help us rebuild Iraq," Hartung said. "All of that would be undermined if the military just went in with a sledgehammer, leveled the place and took out Saddam's Republican guard without regard to other concerns."
The war plan, which is taking coalition troops through smaller, southern cities where opposition has been fiercer than expected, represents a recalibration from the original plan of targeting Baghdad and taking out Saddam Hussein.
And rather than bombing and leveling everything in sight, precision-guided weapons are being used to minimize destruction and casualties.
At the Pentagon, military officials have been echoing statements from the administration aimed at lowering public expectations about the costs and duration of the war.
On Wednesday, spokeswoman Victoria Clarke added a new element to the message, saying Saddam will be held at fault if allied troops mistakenly kill civilians.
"Our objective with this campaign is to end the Iraqi regime with as few casualties as possible," Clarke said. "We go to extraordinary efforts to reduce the likelihood of those casualties. Any casualty that occurs, any death that occurs, is a direct result of Saddam Hussein's policies."
Still, there is a political balancing act that goes into shaping strategy on the battlefield, experts said.
"It seems to me that not bypassing these cities, also by being strategic about bombing, they are limiting civilian death," said James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.
"That in turn makes it more difficult for our military," Thurber said. "It's a very tough question, and I'm sure one the president thinks about every day."
The Bush administration and coalition forces had hoped that troops arriving in Iraq would be greeted as liberators.
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