Desert Storm: The Gulf War and What We Learned

From Saddam Hussein's first bold threats in 1990 to the stunning ground phase of Desert Storm in early 1991, the crisis in the Gulf captured the world's attention. This high-tech, low-cost war was televised nightly from beginning to end, accompanied by on-the-spot interpretations of strategy and its implications. But what did we learn from this crisis? Did the United States bungle its attempts at discouraging Saddam's aggressive actions, or is deterrence simply not a reliable foreign policy tool? Are chemical weapons truly the "poor man's atom bomb"? Does the war represent a good model for future crises, or did circumstances make this war more of an anomaly than a precedent? How did the ail-volunteer U.S. force perform? By combining exciting, detailed vignettes of the crisis with insightful discussions of its consequences, this book opens up an informed debate concerning the true military and geopolitical lessons of the conflict. Representing a distillation of the best thinking on defense and foreign policy in Washington, Desert Storm also incorporates the testimony of the inside players during the crisis—the people who actually planned and fought the war. Combining academic rigor and in-depth military expertise, the authors challenge the complacency of the emerging conventional wisdom regarding the conflict, taking us beyond mere chronicling and instant analysis to a riveting reenactment of the war and the serious consideration of its long-term implications.

About the Author

Michael J. Mazarr is a senior fellow in international studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is the author of several books on U.S. defense and foreign policy, including Light Forces and the Future of U.S. Military Strategy (1990), and is adjunct professor at the Georgetown University National Security Studies program. Don M. Snider is associate director of political-military affairs at CSIS. A career military officer, Snider has served as army theater planner for Europe, as director of defense policy studies on the National Security Council, and as a top staff officer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. James A. Blackwell, Jr., is director of political[1]military affairs at CSIS. He was CNN's chief military analyst during the Gulf War and is the author of Thunder in the Desert (1991).