The field telephone alongside my cot rang at 0230 on January 17, 1991. I was a U.S. Army battalion commander in the desert of northern Saudi Arabia. My battalion had arrived from Germany in mid-December and deployed swiftly to within a few miles of the Iraqi border. The call was from my brigade commander summoning me to a meeting where I would learn that the long anticipated air campaign had commenced. Operation Desert Shield was over. Operation Desert Storm was on. The war had begun.
Today is the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War — the beginning of direct, major U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. This was also the moment when the region’s existing political order began to unravel, increasingly replaced by ethnic and religious sectarianism. On February 24, we invaded Iraq and over the course of 100 hours routed the Iraqi army and liberated Kuwait. My soldiers finished the war astride the so-called Highway of Death that connects Kuwait City to Basra. The road was littered with destroyed military and civilian vehicles illuminated by the gigantic oil fires ignited by the retreating Iraqi army. As we congratulated ourselves on our success, no American could have imagined that Iraq and the broader Middle East would be a focal point of U.S. national security policy for the next three decades.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: I was working for the United Nations in Montreal (ICAO) at the time. I first learned about the war breaking out from an American diplomat who told me as we were leaving the UN building that the war was going to start that evening. I turned around and went straight to my delegation office to pass the news .... but they already knew. An hour and a half later .... the news reports started to come in that Baghdad was being bombed. 25 years later .... wow .... who would have predicted the world that we live in today .... and where the Middle East is right now.
4 comments:
25 years ago today I was in downtown Baghdad. Part of an international peace team. We were on an Iraqi wedding island in the middle of the river, watching the destruction. Unforgettable!
Anon. That must have been quite a sight.
Yes, It turns out, we shouldn't have disturbed the hornets nest.
The next day, the Iraqis moved us to the Al Rasheed. Spent the next two weeks with locals, CNN Peter Arnett/staff and fellow peace activists at the Rasheed. 8 th floor views of the mayhem, at times in the bomb shelter below, meager food and water, no electricity, plumbing, etc. SAM sites all around, B52 carpet bombing of nearby airport. Front row seat.
Post a Comment