Leadership: May 26, 2002

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The Pentagon generals appear to have won the argument over how to run a military operations against Iraq. The civilians in the Department of Defense and White House were eager to just jump in and go after Saddam's increasingly shaky government. The generals pointed out that logistics were a major problem, not to mention the possible use of chemical or biological weapons by the Iraqis. No one disagreed about the widespread discontent among the Iraqi people, but Saddam's secret police and Republican Guard are known to be a lot more effective than anything the Taliban ever had. It was the logistics argument that carried the most weight, as it is only now that information on the severe logistical problems during the Afghanistan war are being made public. Its another example of the old military saying; "Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics."