Col you made some very valid points in your post above

Everything Bush and Rummy did in fighting this was against the military principals that we have learned and used successfully in the past.

Where? The only war we've had that was anything like this at any time in the past is, in fact, Vietnam, and I wouldn't have called that a success, would you?
Gen. Westmoreland was shocked at the reaction of the Vietnamese people; he once said that the "Sicillians threw fruit and flowers at the invading American liberators. The Vietnamese threw hand grenades".
The problem is, as has been noted in the past, everyone is always ready to fight the previous war. It was the same here. Enough troops to take the country, but not enough to keep things in check afterward. It happens. Point to any war in history that ever went off without miscalculations and mistakes.
It's a new book every time....this means the old book has to thrown out and rewritten. Exactly how the Nazis overran Europe in less than two years. Everyone else was still fighting WWI and earlier.

This started out as a classic war. Invasion, defeat of the civilian government and its military and police followed by occupation of a hostile population.

The first gulf war, to a degree Korea and WWII are examples. No matter what you say, it was not possible to accomplish the third phase in Iraq, occupation, with the troop levels Bush sent. That country is a large as California with 25 million people. There were between 300,000- 400,000 former Saddam military that were in the general population. In addition there was the conflict between the three major elements in Iraq that have existed since the country was founded.

What we see EVERY DAY in Iraq and MOST of our dead and injured are because of George W. Bush and his refusal to send the number of troops required to retain control over the population when Saddam's government fell.

No matter how many time I bring up the fact that GWB disobeyed his orders when it was his turn to serve in the military it is STILL TRUE. He should NEVER have been granted an HONORABLE DISCHARGE and without that he would NEVER have been able to run for President. What do you think would happen with our military TODAY if they disobeyed their orders the way their Commander-in-Chief did in 1972-73?