By the way, the Third U.S. Infantry Divison, the “Rock of the Marne,” got their nickname in the First World War, when they stood fast as the French were running away. The more things change . . .

IN southern Iraq, the last sandstorms faded away, allowing American bombs to drop from the skies with renewed intensity. In northern Iraq, 1,000 U.S. Army airborne soldiers also dropped from the skies – and paratroopers have an intensity all their own. South of Baghdad, Iraqi irregulars and war criminals were dropping dead in front of the U.S. Marines.

Not a good 24 hours for Brother Saddam.

Even the Iraqi defense minister admitted that allied forces would soon be encircling Baghdad. (Wonder if that bad boy’s going to get a warning shot through the forehead from Uday or Qusay?)

Between Basra and Um Qasr, superb Brit troops simultaneously hammered the remnants of Saddam’s supporters and delivered the first relief supplies to liberated Iraq. The Third U.S. Infantry Divison, the “Rock of the Marne” blocked Iraqi attempts at piecemeal counterattacks.

Oh, and by the way: The 3ID got their nickname in the First World War, when they stood fast as the French were running away. The more things change . . .

The unsung heroes from our resupply and maintenance units performed more wonders in keeping huge volumes of fuel, ammo and chow flowing to the advancing combat troops. Under fire from Iraqi terrorists, this war’s “Red Ball Express” took enormous risks to deliver what the grunts and the gunners needed.

And anyone who doubts the dangers faced by our support troops in any war should recall that, in World War II, Army fuel-truck drivers took higher casualties, percentage-wise, than the Infantry.

We also suffered a painful incident. In a desperate night battle, two Marine units mistakenly fired on one another. While some Marines were wounded, none were killed – a blessing in the midst of tragedy.

Before anyone criticizes those Marines, let him imagine the confused conditions, the fanatic wave attacks those Marines had been fighting off in sandstorms and darkness, and the sheer weariness of fighting men on the front line without sleep for days on end. There is no blame. It’s war.

And despite this sad incident, it’s a war that is going astonishingly well.

We all need to pause after the war’s first week to salute the remarkable progress our forces have made.

The Troops

ON the ground, the Army and Marines, supported by our Brit allies, carried out the swiftest, deepest attack in military history. And to put all of our supposed difficulties into perspective, the war to date has been fought with friendly casualties so low they are barely a fraction of the deaths and injuries that happened on America’s highways in the same time-frame.

Certainly, we value every one of our soldiers, and mourn each loss. This is not a low-cost war to the families whose sons and daughters have been killed, wounded or captured. But, by any standards, this campaign has been remarkable.

We even sought to spare our enemies. In the air, pilots from all of our services have done a marvelous job of striking Iraqi troops while limiting civilian casualties – despite Saddam’s efforts, at every level, to use his own people as human shields.

The initial phase of our air campaign, although it did not succeed in its hope of toppling the regime, was a worthy effort. Because of political considerations, those air attacks were too cautious – frankly, too timid – but the principle of attempting to reach over the conscript army and past the innocent civilians to decapitate the regime itself, to eliminate the truly guilty, was morally sound and remains worth trying again in the future – but with more punch and less warning.

Now our airstrikes are directed increasingly at killing our enemies, instead of just working on their nerves. As a result, airpower’s value to the war will increase dramatically.

Attacks from the air still may not be able to win wars without boots on the ground, but I promise you that the troops locked in combat with the Iraqis love to hear those A-10 Thunderbolts come ripping in. Or to have the Air Force officer attached to their unit tell them, “On the way,” followed by a pair of Navy F-18s streaking overhead to help Saddam’s faithful achieve martyrdom.

From the ships at sea, to the youngest infantrymen on the land, this has been a proud week in American military history.

The Press

I WANT to give credit everywhere it’s due. In the first days of the war, I criticized the broadcast media for hysterical reporting, for declaring victory at night then declaring defeat in the morning. But the American media, too, has made rapid progress as it covered the dramatic advance of our troops.

The key to more-reliable coverage has been the reporters “embedded” with the front-line units. Look, it takes guts to go out there – without even a sidearm to defend yourself. Several of those journalists – those who had covered military operations in the past – filed terrific stuff from the moment the troops crossed the line of departure. The novices, though, issued initial reports tinged with panic, as if each exchange of gunfire was the Battle of the Bulge.

It’s said that everyone learns very quickly in combat. And I have been just plain impressed with the speed with which battlefield reporting has improved. Even the anchors back home are behaving a bit more soberly.

There’s still a long way to go, and 24/7 news channels have a nasty appetite for sensationalism. But once journalists got out on the ground with our troops and saw just how superb those men and women in uniform really are – and how tough their line of work is – we began to hear a tone of respect that has not been accorded our soldiers in nearly half a century.

The Enemy

NOW that I’ve praised the achievements of our troops and even of the journalists out there wearing flak jackets, let’s take a look at where our enemies stand – to the extent that they’re still standing.

Day by day, Saddam’s attempts to lash out have grown more desperate. In the south, his regular army collapsed, surrendering or deserting, leaving his secret policemen, collaborators and thugs sent down from Baghdad to terrorize the Iraqi population and try frantically to slow allied progress.

Let’s be blunt. Those attacks on our rear area by war criminals dressed in civilian clothes (or even U.S. uniforms), using civilians as human shields and employing other illegal techniques, such as false surrenders . . . well, the truth is those are mosquito bites on an elephant’s rear end.

Those attacks may play well on television, and they certainly give some of our soldiers a few tense moments. But they accomplish nothing strategically.

Saddam’s “elite” troops are fragmented – largely because of his own foolish strategy – and few of the Republican Guards appear willing to come out and fight unless the regime’s enforcers literally put guns to their heads.

Saddam has squandered thousands of the die-hard regime loyalists he needs to control Baghdad in desperate wave attacks.

Saddam’s air force has not gotten a single plane off the ground. Saddam’s navy managed only to lay a few sea mines and delay humanitarian aid for the liberated Iraqis in the south before it ceased to exist.

And Saddam’s great triumph of the war thus far was to execute American prisoners in cold blood.

The War Ahead

I SEE no reason why Week Two should not be as successful in its way as Week One.

* Our troops in the north will secure more of Iraq’s oil fields, while speeding the dissolution of Saddam’s forces.

* On the approaches to Baghdad, our air and ground team will complete the destruction of Saddam’s Republican Guards and Special Republican Guards.

* Liberated Iraqis will be fed, and we shall see ever more enthusiastic and public expressions of support from these long-suffering people – as they realize their torturers really are gone for good.

* And even if Saddam uses chemical weapons in a last-ditch attempt to stop our troops, we will overcome that, too.

My heartfelt advice to every reader is the same as it was on the eve of this war: Be patient with our troops. The collapse of Saddam’s regime could be very sudden, or it could drag on for weeks. In either case, the outcome remains certain.

Ralph Peters is a retired military officer and the author of “Beyond Terror: Strategy in a Changing World.”