Beachhead

Phase 2

Here we see a map of Phase 2, which I call the Beachhead or Invasion Phase. During this phase, which began March 19th, 2003, and ended January 30th, 2005, the US invaded Iraq, intent on establishing a representative government. This phase of the war was a strategic attack, in that it was the equivalent of an amphibious assault on a hostile beach. We forcibly introduced ourselves into Iraq, in the hope of fortifying it up for phase 3.

Afghanistan is blue in this because it indicates that we have essentially secured, or at least, denied it to the enemy. They can at the very least no longer use it as they once did. Iraq, on the other hand, is the focal point of the conflict right now. We had over a hundred thousand troops there in order to remove the Bathist regime and help set up a new, democratic one. During this phase in Iraq we saw clearing operations, as well as building up infrastructure, on the close-in tactical level. However, in a larger tactical sense Iraq was defensive for us, as we had to defend our beachhead at all costs. This entailed fighting off forces attempting to "push us off the beaches."

That is where the red lines come in. Here we see that enemy action is now directed inwards, towards Iraq. We have shifted the momentum of the conflict, from pressing outwards towards new territory, towards defending against a new, insidious foe: democracy. This was our strategic objective for Iraq in phase 2, to distract and disrupt the enemy. The enemy attempted to foil our plans, by crushing the beachhead, by forcing US troops to withdraw. The re-election of President Bush was a crippling blow to this movement, and the election in Iraq demonstrated that their last assault on our fortified position failed. After the election, we start Phase 3.