Editing Rumsfeld Doctrine (section)

==Response==
Opponents argue that the doctrine entails a heavy reliance on airstrikes to replace a lack of ground forces. Beginning with [[Saddam Hussein]], there were at least 50 airstrikes aimed at decapitating the Iraqi government. Not a single one was successful. However, there were extensive civilian casualties.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1203/|title=Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq (Human Rights Watch Report, December 2003)|journal=Human Rights Watch|date=11 December 2003 |last1=Docherty |first1=Bonnie }}</ref> This was coined the "[[shock and awe]]" military campaign.<ref name="sorties">"[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2003/uscentaf_oif_report_30apr2003.pdf Operation Iraqi Freedom - By the Numbers]", [[USCENTAF]], April 30, 2003, 15.</ref>

Opponents also claim that without ground troops to secure the border, top [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Ba'athist]] regime members fled the country with vast Iraqi funds and foreign [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)|insurgents]] moved into the country. There were not enough troops to defend the Iraqi border from foreign-backed insurgents.<ref name="sorties">"[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2003/uscentaf_oif_report_30apr2003.pdf Operation Iraqi Freedom - By the Numbers]", [[USCENTAF]], April 30, 2003, 15.</ref>

They also claim that without sufficient troops the country could not be pacified. Without sufficient troops to guard Iraqi military infrastructure, large amounts of munitions were looted. This has led to the current problem of insurgents and their improvised explosive devices ([[Improvised explosive device|IEDs]]). [[Thomas Friedman]] of''[[The New York Times]]'' has referred to the Rumsfeld Doctrine as one of "just enough troops to lose".<ref name=Friedman>{{cite news |title=Iraq: Politics or Policy? |first=Thomas |last=Friedman|author-link=Thomas L. Friedman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/03/opinion/03friedman.html?_r=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=3 October 2004 |access-date=28 September 2009}}</ref>

That said, the war plan for the Iraq War led to a quick and decisive victory over one of the region's largest and best equipped military forces. Using tactics honed from those used during the [[Gulf War]], the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|Balkans]], and Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition's integrated forces strategy overwhelmed the Iraqi defenses using rapid deployment and engagement of military "power" rather than overwhelming them with overwhelming forces, or overwhelming numbers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=Iraq War: Strategy, Tactics and Military Lessons|year=2004|location=New York, NY|isbn=0892064323|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/iraqwarstrategyt00cord}}</ref>