If you recall Ed has written for Tucker's World many times before. Here is what he thinks of the war a few months after the fact.

"The War After"


The After Action Report

The war went well for coalition forces. Just about all of the mission objectives were met. The conflict was short. Casualties were relativly low on both sides. Oil wells were captured undamaged. The Iraqi infrastructure was saved from devastation and the cities kept intact. The Shites haven't risen up against the Sunnis in a bloody war of retribution. WMDs weren't used. But most importantly Saddam Hussein and in criminal gang of thugs were removed from power. And though he and his spawn are still on the loose, and I believe alive, I have high hopes of his eventual capture.

There's something everybody needs to know about this war. It's not over. Although it was very dramatic and riveting, the conventional phase or 'major combat' has concluded, that was the easy part. The new phase is far more difficult. Identifying and destroying enemy tanks and uniformed troops is something our armed forces specializes. But now missions are shifting from conventional warfare to SASO (Stability and Security Operations) missions.

The premise behind these operations is based on two philosophies. The first is that our forces have to keep the peace and enforce the rules. It's basically what the conquerors do. Show that you've won and are in charge of things now. The second philosophy is that we have to win the hearts and minds of the people who live in the occupied zone. That basically means that you have to convince the people that you haven't conquered them, but are protecting 'their' best interests, not just your own. The difficulty is that these two goals aren't parallel. The inherently clash with one another. During the Vietnam War the American military told the people that we were on their side. Then we executed suspected communists based on thin evidence, burnt down their ancestoral villages and forced them to relocate to camps where we could 'protect' them. Today civil affairs units concentrate on getting the common man to side with us. These units are made up of linguists, construction engin

I do believe that Hussein is alive and I think that his plan is to hide until Coalition forces have left and then attempt to overthrow the government. He still has supporters and until he is neutralized Iraqi freedom will be in jeporady.