This time, coalition commanders have been surprised by the tenacity of irregular Iraqi units.
Negotiations stretched out for months over the transfer of those detainees deemed especially dangerous by coalition commanders.
Coalition commanders have calculated that such skirmishes are a price worth paying for arriving on Mr Hussein's Baghdad doorstep swiftly.
The coalition commanders are saying that they're concentrating on the Taliban hideouts.
Senior coalition commanders in Kabul said their troops could push through the villages and farms along the Helmand River in a matter of days.
On any given day someone from the airport authority might stride up to the U.S. or coalition commanders and demand more airport fees, says U.S. Air Force Lt.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Rebasing �� and Reequipping �� for Transformation
Over the next few months, Afghan forces are expected to take over security across the country, though coalition commanders insist their troops remain on hand as a combat force should they be needed.
After midnight, and after coalition commanders repeatedly touted the Afghans' ability to tackle the crisis on their own, the ground team decided that it needed the firepower of the kind the Afghan military doesn't possess.
"The gravitational effect of the decapitation of the regime in Baghdad 24 hours ago has rippled right up here to the north, as was the hope and the expectation of allied coalition commanders, " Sadler said.
Coalition commanders have long thought Tikrit could be the scene of a last stand by Saddam loyalists, but they will be hoping that, as in Baghdad, resistance there will crumble under the weight of coalition bombs and bullets.
Coalition commanders have tightened procedures for tracking the weapons, including using biometric data from Iraqi soldiers and police -- and since June, Iraqi units have been issued U.S.-made M-16 and M-4 rifles, which are electronically tracked, the official said.
Coalition commanders hoped the presence of so many troops in Marjah would convince tribal elders to side with the government, and local insurgents to give up the fight, leaving the allies to battle hard-core Taliban and their foreign supporters.
Nevertheless, it highlights the possible security threats that could be posed by the coalition of ex-rebel commanders that are not directly under President Ouattara's authority, but which brought him to power.
The acting head of the main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, meanwhile called on rebel commanders across Syria to send reinforcements to Qusair, citing concerns over "foreign invaders".
The envoy will have to compete for influence with the commanders of the American and coalition armed forces in Afghanistan.
Publicly expressed doubts about the authenticity of Mr Hussein's various media appearances, and talk of negotiations with Iraqi commanders, are all part of the coalition's psychological war.
The assumption is that, if it comes to war, Mr Hussein will be toppled, possibly by some of his own commanders, before an American-led coalition of forces moves in on Baghdad.
That he has so far waited in vain indicates the coalition's doubts about the motives and capabilities of such commanders.
While the majority of Iraq's security forces are loyal to their commanders and to the central government, and support the coalition forces they fight alongside, many Iraqi units have been infiltrated by enemy forces - most prominently, by members of Iranian-sponsored Shi'ite militias.
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