I just read your fine article (posted at CommonDreams) on "Bush's Military Defeat."

Coincidentally, this morning I heard NPR's Daniel Schorr comment that this was a "brilliant" military victory. (Isn't it a shame about how he's become such a voice of the government -- understandable considering NPR's leadership, which is made up of former Radio Free Europe bosses.)

I'm writing to say that there was no brilliant military victory.

It appears there was a deal made, likely long ago, when Rumsfeld was so confident that 10,000 troops could take the country. Saddam and his generals made virtually no defense of their country at all. No bridges blown up, roads torn up, streets barricaded, surface-to-air missiles fired, few tactical short-range missiles used, none of the at least 100 available fighter jets used. . . . And the Iraqis are courageous people, whose pilots would have risked their lives if they thought it would defend their country and, especially, their honor.

There were few roads available for heavy armorand trucks, all of them easily torn up if the defenders chose to. And the attack was expected, so there's no question of being rushed by some "brilliant" lighting invasion, which it wasn't. When the Americans crossed a major river at one point, two tanks went off the road and promptly sank to their turrets in swamp. Imagine if somebody had torn up that road. We'd still be fighting and would be for a long time. As for Baghdad, left lying wide open, with its main highways intact as a perfect route for heavy armor -- well, obviously the fix was in.

When small groups of Iraqis did fight back, attacked supply lines, they brought the invasion to a sudden halt -- because the columns moved too fast and because they need too much gasoline and Skittles.

As one Iraqi colonel captured early on said, Saddam seems to be an American agent. I'll add, "still."

There's much more to say, but I wanted to give you food for thought. Military history is a specialty of mine, so I followed the invasion closely.

Do you know of any experts who are discussing this "war" in similar terms?

Best wishes, and keep up the good work.