| |
Tenth anniversary of the Gulf War: A look back
January 16, 2001
Web posted at: 4:08 p.m. EST (2108 GMT)
From Jamie McIntyre, CNN Military Affairs Correspondent
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It was 10 years ago Tuesday that the United States led a military coalition against
Iraq
, starting with an air campaign that changed the nature of modern warfare.
The air assault that launched the Gulf War began one day after the expiration of a United Nations' deadline for Iraq's withdrawal from
Kuwait
.
| CHAT TRANSCRIPTS
|
|
|
|
VIDEO
|
CNN's Wolf Blitzer interviews CNN anchor Bernard Shaw and former CNN correspondent Peter Arnett
Play video
:
|
PART 1
|
PART 2
|
|
Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre looks back at the air war and the lessons it holds for military leaders a decade later
Play video
(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)
|
|
|
| RESOURCES
|
|
|
| ALSO
|
|
|
| ON CNN
|
The hour-long documentary "The Unfinished War: A Decade Since Desert Storm" debuts on CNN at 10 p.m. ET and CNN International at 1500 GMT (
times and additional airings
).
|
|
|
| MESSAGE BOARD
|
|
|
|
The first planes to bomb
Baghdad
in the early morning darkness were U.S. Air Force
F-117s
. The radar-evading stealth aircraft were both the embodiment of superior U.S. weapons technology, and the harbinger of a new high-tech war.
"The Gulf War set a mark on the wall for the conduct of warfare. People now expect conflict to be short duration, decisive, with a minimum of casualties," said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dave Deptula.
Correspondents witnessed raids
Ten years ago, Deptula was a young Air Force lieutenant colonel and part of the team of military planners who holed up for months plotting the air attack against Iraq. One of the original targeting maps adorns his Pentagon office.
CNN correspondents were eyewitnesses to the first strike against the Iraqi capital.
"Wow! Holy Cow, that was a large airburst, filling the sky," CNN's John Holliman reported in a live broadcast on January 16, 1991.
"I think, John, that airburst took out a telecommunications center," said CNN's Peter Arnett, who was watching from the same hotel window in downtown Baghdad.
"Actually our first bit of battle damage assessment, the most important feedback we got that night was provided by CNN, when they went off the air ...," said Deptula.
When David French, a CNN anchor in Washington, reported that he thought the network was having a technical problem that night, he was inadvertantly giving the Pentagon information.
"What it showed us was what had been hit was a critical telecommunication center," said Deptula.
Air attack lasted six weeks
Six weeks of bombing were followed by a four-day ground campaign before Iraq surrendered. The Gulf War proved what stealth technology, combined with precision weapons, could accomplish, according to Deptula.
"In the past, when we didn't have stealth and precision, it required many aircraft to attack one target," he said. "Today, we have moved into an era in which we can attack many targets with just one aircraft."
Smart bombs made up only 7 percent of what was dropped on Iraq. By 1999, when the United States led a NATO bombardment of
Serbia
, the percentage had increased to 30 percent, and U.S. casualties, which were low in the Gulf War, dropped to zero in
Yugoslavia
, something unprecedented in air combat.
That technological edge is what has allowed the United States to enforce no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq with virtual impunity. Over 200,000 sorties have been flown over Iraq since the war, without the loss of a single aircraft, although at a cost of roughly $2 billion per year.
F-22 combines stealth with supersonic speed
Deptula was fired upon while flying an
F-15
over Iraq in the late 1990s, when he was in charge of operations in the Northern no-fly zone. He cautions even the best technology can't beat the odds:
"The longer and longer we engage in overseas activities like that the higher and higher the probability becomes that something is going to go wrong," he said.
As for what's next, Deptula now heads the Air Force office that's pushing the $200-million
F-22
, as just what the U.S. needs to keep its advantage over the rest of the world. The F-22 combines stealth with the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds.
Still on the drawing board -- remote-controlled fighters, where pilots sit safely at a computer on the ground.
The
Associated Press
contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES:
Missing U.S. pilot dead, Iraq insists
January 14, 2001
Iraq denies U.S. claims missing Gulf War pilot might still be alive
January 13, 2001
Clinton defends changing status of downed Gulf War pilot from 'killed' to 'missing'
January 12, 2001
Gulf War pilot no longer presumed dead
January 10, 2001
Panel finds Pentagon 'diligent' on Gulf War illness issue
December 21, 1999
The politics of bombing
March 24, 1999
Conference examines Gulf War Syndrome
March 1, 1999
U.S. remembers veterans for 'ultimate sacrifice'
November 11, 1998
Pentagon: 2 reports show no link to Gulf War Illness
November 5, 1998
TIME
.com: Are The Smart Bombs Really Smarter Now?
February 23, 1998
First U.S. casualty in Gulf War still unaccounted for
January 10, 1998
Study: More birth defects found in Gulf War babies
December 8, 1997
Clinton announces new money for Gulf War syndrome research
November 8, 1997
RELATED SITES:
Air Force Link
Precision Air Attack in the Modern Era
U.S. State Department
U.S. Department of Defense
Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (POW/MIA)
Gulf War Veteran Resource Pages
Frontline: Last Battle of the Gulf War
- PBS
Browse GulfLINK Declassified Documents
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|