"The people are angry," he said, "but I told them they should not get angry since the coalition commander promised to investigate and not let the issue drop."

But coalition commanders said that if anything, Iraqi forces seemed more and more disorganized, making possible the dash into Baghdad today.

Casey served as the senior coalition commander in Iraq from June 2004 to February 2007.

U.S. General David Barno, the new coalition commander in Afghanistan, outlined changes in the strategy to improve security.

The legions of Iraqi soldiers surrendering to allied forces are straining the coalition's ability to deal with prisoners, American officials and coalition commanders in the field say.

I believe Slotter Key is sending someone out to take command of their ships, and the overall coalition commander will be decided very soon.

At times, the book lacks critical analysis of some of the strategic decisions made by coalition commanders.

Command was expected to be transferred to a coalition commander in time though confusion within the coalition was evidenced in early days.

But coalition commanders expect Iraq to use observers on the ground who could help mount a defense in the Baghdad area.

Although the coalition commanders did have an overview of French pre-war movements, Napoleon's strategy was initially very successful.