iscover
The now geriatric B-52 may well see action again once complete air superiority has been guaranteed. If a major Iraqi armoured force broke into Saudi Arabia it would find itself naked to carpet bombing from high altitude by B-52s based in southern Saudi Arabia and Marsirah Island. The psychological effects of such an operation on Iraqi ground forces would be devastating to say the least. (Paul Merritt)
Iraqi Order of Battle Analysis
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The Gulf Crisis – Order of Battle
Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait represents the boldest political and military move yet by Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s totalitarian leader.
It is the culmination of a military build up without precedent in the Middle East, which has seen an impoverished Third World nation squander oil revenues for well over a decade, all to theend of building the greatest military machine in the Arab world.
While the political aspect of this situation is well beyond the scope of this discussion, it deserves some attention as it clearly illustrates the inevitability of this situation. Saddam Hussein has built up a strong reputation as a heroic defender of Arab interests, particularly in the eyes of working class Arabs, many of whom have traditionally felt that their leadership has yielded to US and Israeli interests. This view has been repeatedly reinforced by the Iraqi propaganda machine, which grew in size and ability during the protracted conflict with Iran. Hussein apparently sees himself as the eventual leader of the Arab nations with the divine task of uniting the Arab world against Israel and the Western world, and thus protecting Islam from the ‘infidels’.
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