Operation Iraqi Freedom – Coalition vs Iraq Military Power Comparison



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On the 20th March 2003, the US, UK, Australia and Poland launched a contraversial invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. This video will compare the military power of the Coalition forces and Iraq.

Source List:
Bernstein, Jonathan. AH-64 Apache Units of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Oxford, UK: Osprey Pub., 2005.
Carney, Stephen A. Allied Participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Washington, D.C.: United States Army, Center of Military History, 2013.

De Atkine, Norvell B. “Why Arabs Lose Wars: Fighting As You Train, and the Impact of Culture on Arab Military Effectiveness.” Middle East Quarterly 6, no. 2 (December 1999).

Fontenot, Gregory, E. J. Degen, and David Tohn. On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2005.

Groen, Michael S. With the 1st Marine Division in Iraq, 2003. Quantico, VA: History Division Marine Corps University , 2006.

IISS. The Military Balance, 2001-2002. London, UK: Oxford University Press for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2001.

Lambeth, Benjamin S. The Unseen War: Allied Air Power and the Takedown of Saddam Hussein. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2013.
McNab, Chris, Johnny Shumate, and Alan Gilliland. The M4 Carbine. Oxford, England: Osprey Publishing, 2021.
Murray, Williamson, and Robert H. Scales. The Iraq War: A Military History. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005.

Napier, Michael, and Janusz Światłoń. RAF Tornado Units in Combat 1992-2019. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2022.

Otterman, Sharon. “Iraq: Iraq’s Prewar Military Capabilities.” Council on Foreign Relations, February 3, 2005. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/iraq-iraqs-prewar-military-capabilities#chapter-title-0-2.

Pollack, Kenneth M. Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.

Westfall, Sammy, and William Neff. “How the ‘Jack-in-the-Box’ Flaw Dooms Some Russian Tanks.” The Washington Post, May 2, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/30/russian-tank-turret-blast-jack-in-the-box/.

Woods, Kevin M. Iraqi Perspectives Project: A View of Operation Iraqi Freedom from Saddam’s Senior Leadership. Norfolk, VA: United States Joint Forces Command, Joint Center for Operational Analysis, 2006.

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42 thoughts on “Operation Iraqi Freedom – Coalition vs Iraq Military Power Comparison”

  1. Maybe some less than .005 most Iraq Ak’s are copy’s of Yugoslavian variance, mostly hybrid stuff I’m calling everything a AKM…. Such is there Tubeuk sniper rifle lots of China stuff, NO Real AK47’s !

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  2. Thank you for your breakdown of the airframes. I served in OIF in 2005 and 2007, and got to ride on every Marine helicopter sans the Apache since I wasn't a helo pilot. My favorite was the Osprey, that was my last ride. It's like a roller coaster without a track, when it switches to winged mode, you drop. Stomach into the throat moment. It's so cool. The Huey was my second favorite, it's nimble and does it's job well. Also, their pilots are just the right amount of crazy.

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  3. 3:30 Why do people always compare the 2 forces? USMC is a corps level unit with 3 divisions and operates in a battle line on the tactical level. The RM are regiment level and are more similar to US rangers or Force Recon.

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  4. Although it's original and primary intended purpose was anti-tank it's worth pointing out that most versions of Hellfire, those which are laser guided, are really 'anti everything' since they will track whatever the laser is pointing at, and have been frequently used to engage infantry as well as buildings, perhaps even more so than tanks

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  5. The one addition I felt should have been added is not only the length of basic training but the quality of training after as well. Basic training is just what it is, the basics and its once you get to your unit you learn more advanced methods and operations. In unit training at a brigade level and with combined arms is really what seperates nato from others.

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  6. You have this force that won't retreat under most circumstances. What do you do?

    You don't train it.

    I do question this narrative, though. Other fanatically loyal forces in history were almost as liable to retreat as their regular counterparts.

    I'm not saying this isn't true. I'm saying I need to look it up.

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  7. It’s really surprising given decades of economic development, education and the internet allowing all human knowledge that other countries technology still hasn’t caught up. There’s no reason an oil rich country like Iraq shouldn’t have been able to go buy modern weapons or have their own defence industry.

    I don’t buy this rubbish about China being a grand threat to the West. I think it would be a one sided fight and the US main concern would be maintaining public support for what would become an extremely violent war that would be carried into China itself. There’s nothing to suggest Western militaries are in decline which for Rome and Britain you could have pointed to.

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