Deja Vu?

The Fallujah Battle is like a much smaller version of the invasion of Iraq in general in 2003. 1. A large and well-prepared US force swiftly and violently removed a government (in the case of Fallujah, removed a quasi-Islamic government). 2. US forces must next support the establishment of a new government in the same place. This is where our detailed operational planning failed during the invasion. It failed because there wasn't any. The military can do virtually anything. And virtually anything on a dime too, with no planning. But in the invasion aftermath, not only was there no planning, but the disconnect was between military and civilian planners -- very difficult to rectify. The same mistake will not be made in Fallujah. The tempo of operations will be maintained, but the actions will be political and humanitarian in nature -- and no doubt very well-planned already. There will be no political vacuum that allows lawlessness, criminality, and insurgency to prosper.