How the US plans to take control of Baghdad

The United States military is attempting to write a new chapter in the history of urban warfare.

For thousands of years, from the leveling of Troy by the Greeks around 1200 BC to the 17-hour firefight in Mogadishu that killed 18 US troops and hundreds of Somalis a decade ago, city fighting has been some of combat's bloodiest.

Now as US troops secure the outskirts of Baghdad and make targeted forays into the capital, the Pentagon will try to do in Iraq what has never been successfully accomplished before: topple an entrenched regime from a dense urban environment with minimal loss of civilian life.

History and military strategists cite two basic methods for conquering a city: siege - cordoning off the city until its occupants capitulate - or direct assault. Over the weekend, the US began implementing classic elements of a siege. Each approach has its particular perils, and historically, both have caught local populations in the crossfire.

In the coming days, the battle for Baghdad will likely see US and Iraqi forces alike employ lessons of past street-level battles - from Hue, Vietnam, to Grozny, Chechnya. The US brings technological superiority to the fight. But unfamiliarity with Baghdad's nooks and crannies, and the possibility of chemical weapons being unleashed by a dying regime, may put the US low-casualty mission to the test.

Two and a half weeks of coalition airstrikes have weakened an already outmanned Iraqi Army. By positioning itself at key entry points, the US is attempting to asphyxiate the city, keeping supplies and fresh fighters from reinforcing the 60,000 Special Republican Guard troops, paramilitaries, intelligence agents, and foreign volunteer fighters that have reportedly melted into the city's neighborhoods.

The 1st Marine Division currently controls eastern entry points into Baghdad, the Army's 3rd Infantry division controls the southwest, and the 101st Airborne the west. Tens of thousands of US troops are currently in position, with more on the way. The US will use the airport as a staging ground for helicopters and warplanes that can provide close air support to ground troops.

An important objective will be gaining control of the city's information flow - broadcasting on radio and TV and even sending faxes and making calls to individual cellphones - in order to regulate what those both inside and outside Baghdad hear about events.

The ultimate goal of this choke hold, says retired Army Gen. Robert Scales, is to so weaken Saddam Hussein's regime that it will collapse on itself. "You take your time to slowly close the noose," says General Scales. "The last thing you want to do is corner someone. If you corner someone, they fight more ferociously."

This collapse would keep the US troops from having to do what few soldiers relish: toe-to-toe fighting within a maze of streets, alleys, tunnels, and high-rises. Marines operating near the city have already fixed bayonets at the end of their rifles in preparation for such combat.

In tight quarters, civilians and combatants can become indistinguishable. Gunfire can be launched at US tanks from rooftops and darting pickup trucks. And dense smoke billowing from flaming oil-filled trenches may only add to the confusion.

Familiarity with the urban terrain can often give locals an advantage, even when they are outgunned. To repel stronger Russian forces in 1995, rebels in Grozy, Chechnya, broke into small units of eight to 12 men armed with rocket launchers, automatic weapons, and Motorola hand radios. They repositioned street signs and booby-trapped doorways, sewer entrances, and even dead soldiers.

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