Gulf vet says he never doubted troops would succeed again

A Gulf War vet who’s been following the current conflict says he didn’t have any doubts about the U.S. returning to topple Saddam. Dan Darland of DeWitt was activated in the fall of 1990 and returned in May 1991 for a military conflict that, at that time, was the largest and quickest the U.S. had completed.The air combat went on about five weeks before 100 hours of ground combat, so he says the whole thing took about six weeks. It’s just under three two weeks into the current engagement in Iraq, and signs point to a U.S. victory and the possible overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Darland believes the Iraqi people wanted to be liberated, though they had to be cautious about showing that until they were assured they’d be safe from reprisals. He says the U.S. has done what it can to throw out the regime, while minimizing the impact on civillians. He thinks it’s been dealt with professionally, with concern for both the civilian population and the safety of the U.S. soldiers. Darland says he’s never regretted going to fight in the first Gulf War, and he’s still a member of the Iowa National Guard.