I still think the basic premise of the article I linked is sound - Saddam fell into the trap of "fighting the last war." Even compared to the 1991 Gulf War, this war was radically different. For example, the CENTCOM briefers frequently discuss how our plan stressed "flexibility." This can't be overstated - our forces were able to quickly exploit new opportunities in a way that simply wasn't possible before.

The two attempts to get Saddam illustrate this. The opening attack wasn't part of the plan. It was put together in just a few hours as F-117As were routed to the target after getting airborne and the cruise missiles were quickly retargeted. This week's attack on Saddam is an even better example: a B-1B was on its way to another target when it was rerouted. It only took about 12 minutes from the time they were notified until the bombs were released. Bombers don't normally operate this way.

Back in 1991, the cruise missiles couldn't be easily retargeted. I've read that they couldn't even be retargeted on the ship - they supposedly could only be reprogrammed back at port. Today, they can be quickly retargeted, perhaps even after they've been launched. Now, that's flexibility.