Operation Desert Storm History Essay Research Paper (Essay Sample)

Operation Desert Storm
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Operational art is a concept that the US, through CENTCOM, adopted and developed even better for the military to conceive and executing operations to attain strategic objectives. There were various battles that the US needed to conquer, especially in the Gulf, to bring about world order. The Gulf War was a coalition war, and as a result, it had limited objectives. The strategists were more concerned with the effects that got brought about after the war in the region. The US did not want to leave the area unstable, especially since all along, the US was trying to bring about stability. This paper aims to highlight the various sequences that the US, through CENTCOM, set up to conquer and the multiple interrelationships between different personnel who played a crucial role in the war. The paper will also highlight how America's domestic politics influenced the plan of the operation and the strategic objectives that the US did obtain.
CENTCOM translated national goals to operational objectives
Operation Desert Storm got headed by the US Central Command (CENTCOM). CENTCOM's area of responsibility was the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and the Horn of Africa. The commander of CENTCOM was Army General. H. Norman Schwarzkopf. Gen. Schwarzkopf was a theater commander and was empowered by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 to employ his force the way he saw fit. The US did put forward various national policy objectives to respond to Iraqi aggression. The state demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all the Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The state also made a demand that Kuwait's legitimate government gets restored.[Association of the United States Army. 1991. "Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm: Logical Perspective". https://www.ausa.org/sites/default/files/SR-1991-Operations-Desert-Shield-and-Desert-Storm-The-Logistics-Perspective.pdf.]
The US also demanded the security and stability of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf and, finally, the safety and protection of the lives of the American citizens that were abroad. Various logistics got to get put in place for the logistical support of the operations, which were concerning the army’s basic amenities to get provided as well as maintenance and individual services. After Iraq took charge of Kuwait, President Bush said that the challenge was both a test and an opportunity. Bush said that if the international community could act with a resolution, the best hopes of the post-cold-war era would get realized. Iraq's successful expulsion would result in a new world order creation. It was a rare occurrence that the United Nations Security Council functioned as intended. President Bush did indicate that the US was pushing for new world order.[Freedman, Lawrence, and Efraim Karsh. The Gulf conflict, 1990-1991: Diplomacy and war in the new world order. Princeton University Press, 1993.]