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Begin With the End in Mind:
The Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm
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Begin With the End in Mind: The Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm |
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"Tonight the battle has been joined. Our goal is not the conquest of Iraq, it is the liberation of Kuwait." Preseident George H. W. Bush Address to the nation, January 17, 1991 |
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Lesson Objectives
• Understand how the military conduct of the Gulf War supported the strategic objectives of the conflict. • Continue to build an appreciation for the impact of technology and logistics on modern war. • Establish recognizable end points for the major threads of modern war (weapons, logistics, communications, strategy, and operational art). |
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Study Guides
• What was the U. S. plan for fighting the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)? • What factors drove the formulation of that plan (strategy)? • What role did technology play in the war? • Why did the Coalition not continue on to Baghdad? • How closely did the U.S. follow each of the six tests of the Weinberger Doctrine during the Gulf War? • To what would you attribute the Coalition success in the Gulf War? • What military and political lessons were learned from the Gulf War? |
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Assignment
Readings: Map: Initial Air Attacks (17 Jan 1991) Frontline: The Gulf War (PBS) Map: Targets in Baghdad (detailed) • Detailed Discussion of Targets (scan for interest) • Analysis of Baghdad Bombing Campaign Briefing on the Gulf War (video, 57:44) General Norman Schwarzkopf Riyadh, Saudia Arabia: February 27, 1991 • The story of Operation Desert Storm from the commander in his own words. • Have the following map available as you view this video: Map: Summary of the Ground War • These Additional Gulf War Maps also may prove useful. "Moving the Force in Desert Storm" (pdf) READ: All. This is a series of excerpts totaling three printed pages. Moving the Force: Desert Storm and Beyond (HTML link to pdf download) Scott W. Conrad McNair Paper 32 Washington: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University December 1994 • NOTE: This is an excellent summary of the logistics effort and key operational decisions that defined the Desert Storm victory. "Why We Didn't Remove Saddam" George H. W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft Time, March 2, 1998 • NOTE: This is essentially an excerpt from their book, A World Transformed published that same year. • NOTE: As an interesting sidebar, read the unusual history of the article. Murky Ending Clouds Desert Storm Legacy Rick Atkinson Fog of War (Washington Post) Grapghic: "The Levels of War" Figure 2-1 from Operations (FM 3-0), Chapter 2 Washington: Headquarters US Army, 2001 Published on WWW by GlobalSecurity.org • Review this graphic now to better understand the Levels of War introduced in Lesson 1. Supplemental Resources: "Moving the Force In Future Conflicts" (pdf) READ: All (pp. 51-55) Moving the Force: Desert Storm and Beyond (HTML link to pdf download) Scott W. Conrad McNair Paper 32 Washington: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University December 1994 • NOTE: This is a summary of the logistics lessons learned from Operation Desert Storm. Major Actors in the Gulf War Andrew Leyden Summary of the Gulf War Gulf War Debriefing Book Grants Pass, OR: Hellgate Press, 1997 Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: Foreign Relations and the Presidency (Ebscohost) Robert A. Divine College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2000 • Read: pp. 33-37, Ideas versus Self-Interest • Read: pp. 55-59, An Incomplete Success • Read: pp. 81-84, Ending the Gulf War Week One (opening of air war) Week Six (ground war, Day 39 on) Andrew Leyden Summary of the Gulf War Gulf War Debriefing Book Grants Pass, OR: Hellgate Press, 1997 Desert Storm Wikipedia Weapons of the Gulf War Apache Helicopter M1 Abrams Tank Curise Missiles Smart Bombs Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) Oral Histories of Key Leaders Frontline: The Gulf War Public Broadcasting System Report to the Congress on the Conduct of the Gulf War (full report, pdf) Washington: US Department of Defense, April 1992 • Scan: pp. 1-17, Intoduction & Table of Contents (pdf) • Read: pp. 18-37, Overview (pdf) "How Does the Gulf War Measure Up?" Lieutenant Colonel Christopher R. Paparone, USA Army Logistician, Sep-Oct 98 • Analysis of the logistics effort in the war using the 16 Principles of Logistics. Gulf War Syndrome T W Gideon StrategyPage.com |
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