Quote Originally Posted by Render View Post
It's been my understanding that we didn't have much of a choice in keeping the Saddamite government or it's military operational, intact, or even visible.

It had all largely melted away before we got there.

As another commenter has already pointed out Saddam was The Government, and with Saddam and his sons hiding in a spiderholes, followed by having his neck stretched and his sons turned into ground hamburger, who else had the authority to surrender?

Keegan, Cordesman, et al...

OLD
NEWS,
R
A CA co-worker and I were having that same discussion, today. By the time we arrived at Balad, the Iraqi Army had completely melted away.

"The Plan", for what it was worth, was for the Iraqi Division Commanders to do certain things to signal that their divisions were not going to fight, and then once the big bullets quit flying about, for those Division Commanders to take over responsibility for their respective areas, I believe.

If memory serves, I believe those same Division Commanders bugged out first, once the shooting started.