Operation Desert Storm - Research Paper Example

Operation Desert Storm Introduction Operation Desert Storm is part of the Gulf War, and its occurrence is between January 17, 1991 – February 28, 1991. The whole war was by combat forces, and Operation Desert Storm happened in the combat phase of the Gulf War. The war had a total of thirty-four nations led by the United States of America against Iraq. The purpose of the war was due to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. The war was the first major foreign crisis for America since the cold war. The essay will focus on why US Army was unprepared for the war, the root factors that affect US Military, and the role of Non-Commissioned Officer in preparing Soldiers to conduct combat operations. Body Reasons for USA Unpreparedness during war Saddam Hussein gave orders to his army to invade the small country of Kuwait. During the invasion, Iraq was well equipped with the latest technology weapons they got from the United States. Initially, the United States had provided massive military aid to Iraq for their protection. It was a wrong move from the country as this saw Iraq uses the weapons to attack people of Kuwait. The US Military together with other countries’ military had to go stop the invasion, and it resulted in a big war (USHistory.Org., 2015). The US Military had a good preparation before going to the war of evicting Iraq soldiers from Kuwait. The problem is that the military was not well prepared for the aftermath of the invasion. The army did not know what to do in case their efforts failed. The Army also wanted to end Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in Iraq and his support for terrorism (Dale, 2009). The approach of the United States is giving Saddam Hussein an ultimatum about leaving Kuwait was not right. Saddam Hussein and his troops were to leave Kuwait on January 15, 1991. They did not follow the orders. Thus, US Military released its attack on the people. There was massive bombing of the Iraq’s military camps for a few weeks. There are arguments that suggest the US government was feeling threatened by Iraq as they had intelligence suggesting Iraq could have been making weapons of mass destruction. The objectives of the government attacking Iraq were wrong placed that is why the mission did not get good execution (Waldman, 2005). The other countries involved had opposition to Iraq, but did not attack with the same force as the US Army. There were other countries in the United Nations that did not find enough evidence to attack Iraq’s army thus did not participate. The military that invaded Kuwait to attack Iraq were well prepared for the invasion, but the problem is that they did not expect the attack to last for a long time. Iraq fought back the US Army by launching Scud missiles targeting their Israel and Saudi Arabia camps (Rostker, 2000). The attack on Iraq on Israel was a mission for them to convince other Arab countries to join the war and offer them support. The US did not expect this kind of twist and turned in the war. The military leaders do not prepare their soldiers enough for the unexpected. The attack saw the liberation of Kuwait and the soldiers shifted to Iraq. The victory in the war was decisive. The ground war was finished in less than one hundred hours yet America had no enough preparation to handle all the war prisoners. The government had to come up with many detainee centers as prisoners of the war continued to flow beyond measure. Eventually, the prisoners were released back to Baghdad. In defense of the US government and its military, no one can ever be fully prepared for any war as there are numerous surprises that come with the war (Dale, 2009). The mission of liberating Kuwait was successful and getting the Iraq Army out of Kuwait was also successful. After the initial objectives of invading any country, the US government should come up with contingencies that they should act upon after finishing a mission. The military force of our country is too powerful not have enough preparation of any war aftermath. Root factors affecting US Military readiness to perform Downgrading of the military and new recruitment may be one of the factors that influence the readiness of US Military during the war. Fresh graduates in the military often go to war without much experience. The Operation Desert Storm ended with the US victory, but not without many casualties. There could be a reduction in losses if the armed forces had the proper preparation. From several experiences, one might think that the US Army should always be ready for war, ready for the duration of the war and ready for the war aftermath. Operation Desert Storm, however, proves otherwise. The government, though victorious in the war, had many casualties from the war. Saddam Hussein’s forces had already destroyed Kuwait to the ground before US soldiers could save the country (Rostker, 2000). One might argue that the government had no interest in protecting Kuwait as a country rather the only interest was to protect their assets. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia at the time were the major suppliers of oil to America. Oil is an essential commodity that America did not want to lose. Iraq was posing a big threat to USA oil supplier as they were also ready to invade Saudi Arabia (Waldman, 2005). It is because of this that the US government found it necessary to stop Iraq’s invasion. The invasion was not because the government had a great concern for the Kuwait people. Communication between the commanders and the force on the ground is also part of the military not being prepared for the mission. A commandant might give instructions that get to the forces on the ground with many distortions. The military forces should each have their instructions, according to the objectives and purpose of the attack. The camps all had a common commandant sending out messages, and it led to a lot of the fields getting attacked. The best part is that the military emerged winners. The Iraq soldiers did not leave Kuwait until the whole place was taken to the ground (Rostker, 2000). Properties worth million of dollars got damaged during the war. One can ask where the US Military was when Iraq soldiers were destroying Kuwait. The purpose of winning the war was to help secure Kuwait. It does not make sense that Kuwait was taken to the ground while trying to be saved. The US Soldiers after taking over Kuwait moved through the country before they could get to Southern Iraq (USHistory.Org., 2015). The time to save Kuwait was during their movement, but they did not as the country remained destroyed with thousands of casualties. The military forces of America had a dilemma as they got to Iraq. The purpose and the mission of the war were accomplished, but Saddam Hussein was still the ruler of Iraq. Military bosses made a decision to go try bring Hussein down for perpetrating crimes in Iraq. President Bush decided they need to go occupy Baghdad where Saddam Hussein was still ruling Iraq (USHistory.Org., 2015). America was making a wrong decision as occupying Baghdad would lead to a terrible civil war in the nation. The allies of America were not for the mission of Baghdad’s occupation. The argument was that the war was over, and thus they should withdraw the troops. The Iraq surrendered, and it marked the end of the war (Dale, 2009). All the events were on television on CNN, and people got to see the destruction of the war. Credits of the war go deeply to the non-commissioned officer whose role is to prepare the soldiers for war. The preparation for the invasion and the victory were due to the well-organized team of the US Army. The NCO stands by the team throughout the battle. There is intense training before any battle that includes tricks of winning the fight (USHistory.Org., 2015). The NCOs use different strategies depending on the type of war. Opposing View The world saw the USA and its allies successfully bring Iraq troops out of Kuwait. Saddam Hussein and his forces surrendered just a few days after US Army attacked their territory. There are, however, disturbing facts that saw the US Army continuing to attack Iraq despite the country leaving Kuwait. President Bush’s administration wanted Saddam Hussein to step down and stop ruling Iraq for selfish reasons. The continuing attack on Iraq ended up with many casualties and many prisoners. The military did not have enough preparation on how to handle the prisoners. International organizations, such as the United Nations had to intervene so as to find the order for the prisoners. The US Army would have also withdrawn from Iraq as soon as the war was over to avoid the possibility of a civil war in Iraq. Conclusion The victory of the Operation Desert Storm shows how the US Military were able to overcome obstacles they face during the preparation of a war. There were a few hitches during the execution of the war but overall there was a victory. The war was important to the USA as it passed the first test they had after the Cold War. The United Nations also made the world know that the diplomacy could be useful when necessary. There was confidence and satisfaction for the military in most of the US citizens after the victory. Technological edge from the army was also an important tool they had to enable success. References Dale, C. (2009). “Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues for Congress”. CRS Report for Congress: Congressional Research Service. Rostker, B. (2000). "Information Paper: Iraqs Scud Ballistic Missiles". Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control from 2000 to 2006. USHistory.Org. (2015). Operation Desert Storm. U.S. History Online Textbook. Retrieved on July 02, 2015 from Waldman, S. (2005). Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. Read More