Operation Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm

Operation Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm

Introduction

After the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqis in the year 1990, the biggest military operation was launched by the United States. America deployed about 500,000 military troops in Saudi Arabia for the protection of the interest of America and its allies in the country. Operation Desert Storm was merely a testing ground for the space based technologies of the army. The title of the first space war was given to the Operation desert storm as all the operations aspects of the military depended on the spaced based system's support. There are many differences in both of these operations (Donnelly, 2004). The tactics used, the new technologies employed in the latter operation and more experience which was a massive help in the latter operation. This paper will discuss the operation Desert Strom and the Operation Iraqi Freedom and how both the operations were different from one another. Furthermore, the paper also discusses how the Operation Desert Storm was more successful as compare to the Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Discussion

Operation Desert Storm was the part of the Gulf War of 1990-1991 and was the operation of a multinational force to liberate Kuwait and the defeat of the Iraqi army. The Desert Storm was a plan of attack in two phases conducted by United States and other 34 countries, with the support of the Security Council of the United Nations, within the framework of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which began on August 2, 1990 (Fontenot et al, 2005). By the end of 1990 the Security Council of the UN, with the agreement of the Arab League launched a final warning: the Iraqis must leave Kuwait or go to war. In the same way, they tried to make use of diplomatic missions for the purpose of maintaining peace and resolve the issue in a peaceful manner, resulting in a total blockade on Iraq before Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the proposal.

Finally, on January 16, 1991 multinational military forces under the command of U.S. General, composed of approximately eight hundred thousand men began their participation in war by bombing raids that went on for one month (Gitlin, 2009). The main objective was to evacuate Kuwait and lead the Iraqi authority towards collapsing. Iraq's response was the missile attack (Scud rockets) in the region of Saudi Arabia and Israel. After the first attack, the ground offensive began. This second attack lasted only for four days, from 24 to 27 February in Kuwait and southern Iraq was heavily bombed and liberated Kuwaiti capital. Still, the costs were significant lives lost two hundred thousand Iraqis, fifty percent of which consisted of civilians (Dale, 2009).

At the first stage in the air offensive was planned to inflict massive strikes on key installations and troops in Iraq and Kuwait, to suppress air defenses, gain air superiority, disrupt the system of state and military control, and inflict the greatest possible damage to the southern group of Iraqi ...