At the Iraq war's start,

optimism from The Times

An editorial published the day the war started in 2003 expressed confidence that the superior U.S. and British forces would bring fighting to an end quickly.

August 20, 2010
After more than seven years and 4,000 lives, the final U.S. combat soldiers are on their way out of Iraq. Below is an editorial from March 20, 2003, the day the war started. In the piece, The Times' editorial board expressed some confidence that the war would end quickly and with few casualties.

The Beginnings of War
U.S. troops are better equipped and trained than their foes, and this should help them in combat.

"On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance," President Bush told the nation and the world Wednesday evening from the White House Oval Office. The United States is at war to oust Saddam Hussein and his regime.

U.S. officials said cruise missiles and bombs were aimed at a "target of opportunity," a site near Baghdad where Iraqi leaders were thought to have gathered -- including, early reports suggested, Hussein himself. {read rest here}