I listened to President Bush's recent press conference on Iraq and was stunned, once again, to hear him say that something surprised him which should not have. He said "We did not expect the Iraqi army, including the Republican Guard, to melt away in the way that it did."

For over a decade prior to invading Iraq, millions of leaflets were dropped by the United States across Iraq, urging the Iraqi military and police to shed their uniforms and go home once the invasion started. By doing so, and not fighting against coalition forces, these folks were told they would be welcomed later as part of the team building a new Iraq.