It was the failure of the United States and other coalition leaders to recognize the deep and ineradicable opposition to the Baath government's totalitarian, central control that led to their surprise by the widespread uprising throughout Iraq after Desert Storm had destroyed much, though not all, of the heavily equipped Republican Guard, the principal instrument of this control. It leaves our leaders even now reluctant to face a persistent, explosive rebelliousness among Iraq's dissident factions that will continue to challenge any tight central tyranny.
