The latest news from Baghdad, bombs land in a market where civilians had gathered, as many as 15 dead, 30 injured; it’s the sort of news everyone feared. Iraqi residents of the capital city have already endured a week of bombing, and the prospect of fighting inside the city is drawing closer.
American commanders have gone to great lengths to target their weapons to avoid killing innocent people and doing anything else that could further anger Iraqi citizens. If the fight for Baghdad becomes a street battle, U.S. generals don’t want the residents joining the Republican Guard to attack Americans soldiers. It’s already clear that Iraqis in other towns and cities are willing to stand and fight, making the prospect of urban combat in Baghdad ever more likely. The complexities of a modern day street war.
Guests:
Colonel (Retired) Randolph Gangle, Executive Director of the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities (CETO) in Quantico, Virginia. Prior to CETO, he was the Senior Advisor to experimental operations at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab – focusing on urban battlespaces
Daryl Press, Associate Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and Expert on Military Strategy and the future of warfare
Jon Lee Anderson, Reporter for The New Yorker and based in Baghdad.