Doug took some grief for raising "blitzkrieg" and, while I think the parallels aren't supportable...

I'll probably take some more grief for this, but go ahead, I'll just pout for awhile, then go to bed and turn my electric blanket up to "9".

Perhaps I have a basic misunderstanding about the nature of Blitzkrieg. Isn't the literal translation of Blitzkrieg "Lightning War"? To me, it means extremely rapid military advance, crushing all opposition with overwhelming technical superiority. (Think of Panzers blowing through horseback-mounted Polish cavalry.) Isn't this what we are attempting to do in Iraq?

I do not associate Blitzkrieg with indiscriminate slaughter. The Nazis didn't waste time destroying things that were not militarily significant. Their intent was to attain their objectives as quickly as possible with the least expenditure of materials.

I imagine that a lot of people in Poland, Belgium, France, etc. were pretty much in "Shock and Awe" when Germany's Blitzkrieg rolled across their borders.

tanstaafl.