Stardate 20011204.1149 (On Screen via long range sensors): A few months ago the Taliban claimed that they had an army of 300,000 "battle hardened experienced soldiers". It was blatanly obvious that they didn't have, because if they'd had such a force they would have taken out the Northern Alliance long since. It was sheer bluster. This seems to be an occupational hazard for Arab nations; they seem to talk really big.
Iraq did that before the Gulf War. Remember "the mother of all battles"? Well, Iraq is doing it again. This time they claim to have an army of seven million men who are ready to invade Israel if the US attacks Iraq. Such a number is equally preposterous. First, if that many adults were taken out of the Iraqi economy and put into an armed force, the economy would be even more of a basket case than it is now. Second, even if they did have that many armed troops, they do not have the ability to move them to Israel or to supply them once there. The limiting factor is trucks, not men. Then there's the little problem that Iraq doesn't actually share a border with Israel; so they'd have to operate across some 350 kilometers of Jordan in open desert with no cover, within easy airstrike range of American bombers based in Turkey. (Does "highway of death" mean anything to you?) Even if this number was credible (and it isn't) simple numbers don't tell much anymore about the effectiveness of an army. (discuss)
