Battle for Baghdad

More than 20,000 members of the Republican Guard are expected to wage a guerrilla war against coalition forces as they converge on the outskirts of Baghdad. What awaits the coalition forces in the urban streets of Baghdad, and how fierce will the fight for the takeover of Baghdad be?

Ret. Col. John Caldwell, Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities, says that one viable and low-casualty option for the U.S.-led coalition troops would be to take over Baghdad one section at a time.

Eugene Gholz, Assistant Professor at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, predicts that Iraqi forces will engage coalition troops in street-to-street guerrilla fighting for as long as they can, and that they will not surrender as easily and quickly as expected.

Click the "Listen" link above to hear more about the battle scenarios coalition troops should anticipate in Baghdad's streets and the strategies and tactics Iraqi forces will attempt to use against them.

Guests:

Eugene Gholz, Assistant Professor at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky

Ret Col. John Caldwell, Research Fellow at the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities

Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations at Boston University.