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In the summer of 1942 the German 6th Army moved triumphantly east towards Stalingrad and their fate. In the Spring of 2003 the US Army marched triumphantly into Bagdad. For both nations the expected mission result was not achieved and a slow grinding war of will and attrition took place. The end for the German 6th army came 8 months later with its complete anhiliation on the Volga River. For America it has not been so dramatic but the loss in Political, Moral, and Material Capital has been immense. While the last act has not been played out in Bagdad the spector of a Regional catastroph on the scale of the German defeat looms ever present.

The German defeat at Stalingrag didn't seal Germanys defeat in WW2 but did signal a shift in balance of power on the Eastern Front. Like Germany, Bagdad will signal a loss of American power and prestige in the world. One begins to wonder how such seemingly innocous errors of judgement in decison making could have such a long reaching effect on a nations fate.