The Mistakes of the Gulf War by Jim Marshel

The Survival of a Regime

by Jim Marshel

Saddam Hussein remains a powerful, yet harsh leader of Iraq. In Iraq, Saddam had the most powerful army of the Arab world. Even with one of the strongest artillery, he had a history of strategic disasters. His goal was to become the ruler of the Middle East and his pride wouldn't allow him to settle for any less (Dickey 34). After an unsuccessful war with his neighbor Iran, his next target was Kuwait. Kuwait was a great source of oil, and Saddam thought it belonged to Iraq, as it had in the past (Dickey 35). On August 2, 1990, Saddam invaded Kuwait, and Saddam was suddenly faced with an allied coalition against him, which he hadn't expected. Saddam was premature in his invasion of Kuwait, it mounted to be a disastrous mistake (Dickey 34). The miscalculations and mistakes during the Gulf War, led to Saddam losing the war, but maintaining his regime.

Saddam underestimated the power of the coalition against him. Saddam couldn't see what was coming when he found Iraq slashed with US laser guided missiles (Dickey 34). He found himself under an allied bombardment of the Iraqi capital (Dickey 35). Even though Saddam may not have minded, the casualties reached up to one hundred thousand over the course of the war(Barry 39). Even when the allies were able to maintain a "blitzberg" blasting through Iraqi defenses, with few casualties, Saddam still didn't see, or didn't want to see, what he was up against. This great miscalculation cost Saddam Kuwait, the war, and his great power. Saddam may have underestimated the allied forces, but he also underestimated his own defenses.

Saddam put too much confidence in his weapons system. Iraq had a 5 hundred thousand man army, with 7,000 tanks, and 3,000 artillery pieces. Saddam was positive this would be enough to outnumber the opposing coalition. He had top-of-the line Soviet planes, but even those were a whole generation behind US technology. This left Iraq with little air defense. Without a view from the air, it was hard for Saddam to see the "chessboard," or how the "playing field" was set up (Barry 40). With little resistance, the US was able to take Iraq from the air. Even though Iraq had insufficient air defenses, the US didn't want to take any chances, so the weakened them even more using well developed computer viruses.

US spies were able to slip through Saddam's poor security to plant a virus in Iraqi computers. US agents placed a microchip, provided by the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, MD, in a French-made computer. The virus now planted in the printer, connected to the main-frame, uploaded onto the main-frame computer, and disabled much of the already insufficient air defenses. Saddam wasn't even aware he had been sabotaged (US News & World Report staff 2). While Saddam's forces were weak, his pride kept him going.

One of Saddam's biggest mistakes was letting his pride run the war. Had it not been for his pride, Saddam may not have made his biggest mistake of invading Kuwait. Saddam would give up his pride at the very end, and not easily. This pride made him predictable, and self-destructing. Even when Saddam realized the US could wipe out cities, his elite "Republican Guard", and maybe even kill him, his pride made him continue. His pride and insularity were his major problems (Dickey 35). Nearing the end, Saddam bluffed, making it seem as though he had given up his pride, and was ready to give in.

On February 22, 1991, under allied bombs, Saddam proposed a "withdrawal;" but it turned out to be a hoax, and a mistake. When word got out that morning, many Iraqis and Americans alike were cheering. It was too good to be true. When finally reviewed by President Bush, it was learned the surrender was much less than acceptable. It had many preconditions and even some new ones. Saddam should have withdrawn unconditionally, but his pride and poor tactics drove him to continue playing with US tolerance (Watson 16). This was the last straw and the US, with its allies, set up to end Operation Desert Storm.

The US was prepared and ended the war with a victory. US intelligence had notched up the American coalition a few weeks prior to Operation Desert Storm (US News & World Report staff 2). The US General Schwarzkopf first led F-117 stealth bombers through Iraq to clear the way for more conventional fighter planes. With these he was able to heavily damage Saddam's defenses from the air using smart-bomb technology. Preparing for a ground war, Saddam dug in his defenses (Barry 40). "By digging in his armor, Saddam 'threw away' any offensive advantage, and reduced his tanks to little more than pillboxes," said military historian Bryan Perret. Schwarzkopf was able to fool Saddam and take him from behind. This surprise sweeping maneuver outflanked the enemy, and "slammed the door" on any retreat. After a 100 hour ground battle, and 150 allied casualties, the war was over (Barry 39). Saddam had lost almost everything, but the allies made the mistake of not completing what they started.

Saddam lost the Gulf War, but kept his life and his battered regime. The US failed to carry out the CIA plan to kill Saddam Hussein. The effort to kill Saddam came on a February 27, 1991 bombing mission by two F-117F bombers on the al-Taji air base, approximately 15 miles North West of Baghdad. Here Saddam was believed to be hiding in a bunker deep in the ground. The bunker was hit three times, but little damage was done; Saddam wasn't even there. The 100 hour ground war was planned to last 144 hours. Bush's decision to end the ground war after 100 hours was influenced especially by the pressure from Egypt and Saudi Arabia (US News & World Report staff 2) Bush later said, "It is disappointing that Saddam Hussein remains in power and is still brutal and powerful, but that in no way diminishes the highly successful effort to stop the aggression against Kuwait." On February 15, 1991, in a poll taken by The Gallup Organization, 37% of Americans said "It will be a victory for the US if Saddam withdraws from Kuwait but remains in power (Watson 16)." By the end of the war the next month, most were convinced Saddam had lost the war, but it cannot be denied he kept his power and his regime.

The miscalculations and mistakes of the Gulf War, led to Saddam losing the war, but maintaining his regime. Saddam underestimated his enemy and himself. He got into a war prematurely. As seen in the world today, Saddam allows his pride to get him into more and more trouble. He would never give into the US willingly in front of his advisors, in fear of his pride, and possibly his life. Neither side went without mistakes. If the US had carried out their task, Saddam would not be creating world problems today. The US was able to hold Saddam from succeeding in his attempt to conquer the Middle East eight years ago. This problem may rise again very soon; hopefully then, we will finish what we started.
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