Chicken! (or is it Turkey?)

Not much is being said about the screwing we got from Turkey. Truth be told, we should have cut our (political) losses and run weeks ago, so that the 60,000+ soldiers sitting in warships away from the action would have had the time to get off those ships and into the battle.

Just imagine what things would be like right now if a northern front had been established... powerful forces converging on Baghdad from the north, south, and west. Remove the northern front, and it does two things - first, it allows Iraq to concentrate it's defensive forces over a smaller front; and second, it provides an escape route for Saddam Hussein and his Republican Guard. I fear the political ramifications if the leadership of Iraq melts away in the night (or during a sandstorm).

There is no doubt that the U.S. will capture Baghdad - sooner or later. I just hope they don't pay too high a price for the victory.