A flawed strategy

Author contrasts way U.S. fought World War II with Iraq

By James Fuller
Daily Herald Staff Writer

The conduct of the war in Iraq is distinctly different from World War II, and distinctly flawed in several ways, said Col. Michael D. Doubler Wednesday night.

Doubler, an author and military historian, critiqued the Iraq campaign for an audience that included a handful of WWII vets at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park near Wheaton.

Doubler suggested there’s too much concern and empathy for Iraqi civilians and collateral damage at times.

“It was easier to kill the enemy when we dehumanized them,” Doubler said, reflecting on previous wars.

American troops can’t fire on an enemy without permission from officers, causing costly delays, he said.

“We missed Osama Bin Laden one time doing that,” Doubler said.

Another flaw is a general lack of a defined goal for the war and how to measure it, Doubler said. He called on national leaders to define the objective and inform the public about it.

Doubler then suggested destruction on a larger scale may be on the way. He pointed to the recent addition of chemical agents in enemy explosives.

“I would not be surprised if somehow a weapon of mass destruction is not somehow a part of the end of the war,” Doubler said.

At the same time, Doubler said there’s been too much description of war tactics in the media that has been useful to the enemy.

“We told them there was going to be shock and awe,” Doubler said. “You know the way we got shock and awe in World War II? We blew the hell out of them, and then the enemy told us that was shocking and awesome.”

Doubler criticized the overall lack of artillery the U.S. has used in Iraq as well as overly simple, reactionary tactics.

“I am befuddled by what we’re doing today,” Doubler said. “We’re trying to connect the dots. If we bomb certain things, (we think) the enemy will do this. Well, they’re not cooperating.”

American forces are extremely limited by the general lack of manpower and fatigue of the force because of lengthy tours, Doubler said. He estimated only 1 percent of America stepped up and volunteered to go to war following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“How much longer can we expect that 1 percent to carry the load?” Doubler asked. “We do not fully understand how thin that band of people is that are holding the line.”

Still, America cannot simply withdraw because terrorists are committed to kill Americans, Doubler said.

“We cannot pull out of there and have it turn into a nightmare,” Doubler said. “If it’s their nightmare, before long it’s ours.”