Quote:
Originally Posted by ExNavyAmerican
I think you're taking this too seriously. This is a theoretical friendly discussion that gives the entire U.S. military as our resource to invade Iraq, while ignoring continencies outside of Iraq-within reason (meaning we don't commit our entire armed forces). Take a deep breath.  |
Theory still has to be confined to reality
Iraq doesn't happen without 9/11, thus OEF remains a real constraint. Additionally, you have only four active airborne brigades in the US Army in 2003, two of which were already used for OIF as executed. You put your 82nd ABN BDEs and 101st BDEs on the border, you now have no light infantry to clear the cities that have been seized. Mech infantry can be used for that role, but based on the threat that actually presented itself, they are suboptimal as they have fewer dismounted troops and have a logistics requirement an order of magnitude greater than a similarly sized light unit.