Sounds like a skill issue since the stuart can front pen any M1 through the turret ring.
Yeah no thats not happening IRL
But still 3BM17 can still easily penetrate the side armor of all modern tanks including the M1 series so it can partially be chalked up to inferior tactics at play, the Iraqi military, in part due to coalition forcing such engagements, spent most of the war engaging coalition force in head on engagements which their armor just cannot really win, or defensive engagements which, once again, benefitted the long range weapons of the coalition and superior frontal protection of their armor.
It was fully before the proliferation of stand off PACT and NATO AT equipment as well, meaning that tanks and aircraft were the primary killers of tanks, not ATGMs and FPVs like today.
Hindsight is 20 20 in the end as well, the Iraqi military could have put up a far better fight for a number of reasons, but the coalition could have also fought far better as well, but equipment V equipment wise, the Iraqis had far more quantity over quality, but their quantity was not obsolete, inferior, but far from obsolete.
Wall of text comparison time
Frankly a good parallel could be made to the last battleship v battleship engagement in WW2, Kirishima VS USS Washington. Kirishima was a far older Kongo class battleship while Washington was one of the US’s new cutting edge fast battleships along with South Dakota who was present and being battered by Kirishima.
Kirishima was indeed quite inferior to Washington and South Dakota, yet, South Dakota, due to numerous issues and failures onboard, was nearly at the complete mercy of Kirishima, who, if allowed to continue engaging, could have critically damaged South Dakota, and she did deal substantial damage to her.
Meanwhile Washington, instead of arriving and engaging directly, took a moment to sneak into position nearby Kirishima, using her superior detection equipment and fire control to force an unwinnable engagement for Kirishima, and, that she did.
Had Washington been in the same position as South Dakota, Kirishima would have easily dealt the same damage to her, yet, through superior use of the ships systems and proper tactics, Washington was able to deliver an unstoppable uppercut to Kirishima which doomed her nearly instantly.
Tactics, skill, and most importantly, knowledge allowed Washington to dominate the engagement, not just tech.