The American Military - A Narrative History

by Brad D. Lookingbill

  Conclusion

  No period of American history produced a more striking transformation of the armed forces than the Reagan era. With defense spending rising to unprecedented peacetime heights, the Pentagon attempted to find a balance between conventional and nuclear forces. Innovations in weapons programs paralleled refinements in the force structure, which depended upon volunteers in all branches of uniformed service. SDI resulted in investments in multiple-use technologies that did not yield dividends in the short run, but defense-related research and development gave a tremendous lift to the U.S. as a whole. As Soviet power waned, the United Nations authorized coalition warfare against Hussein's regime in Iraq. The unambiguous victory for U.S. forces in Operation Desert Storm resonated with the Powell Doctrine, even if Washington D.C. insisted that America was not the “world's policeman.” The peaceful yet sudden end to the Cold War made the U.S. the only remaining superpower on the planet.

  Americans in the military achieved an extraordinary degree of professionalism in the last days of the Cold War. Whatever the operational imperatives, the transition from conscription to recruitment for filling the ranks reaffirmed the bonds between service members and civil society. While civilizations throughout history claimed to field “peoples' armies,” the Reagan administration actually built one to confront communist foes. Developing nations around the world turned to the U.S. to furnish well-trained personnel for humanitarian interventions. All too often, Americans – and only Americans – were prepared to act in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Peacekeeping involved handling low-intensity combat in threat environments, especially in what amounted to small wars against disorganized enemies. Despite a general reluctance to engage in nation-building, the DOD embraced the concept of full-spectrum dominance as a joint vision for the American military during the late 1990s.

  With the dawning of the information age, new assets gave the American military unrivaled power and knowledge. For years, U.S. commanders used detailed maps, grease pencils, and GPS surveillance to track military actions in the theater of operations. Before the coming of the Internet, staff officers obtained a photo of a target, confirmed its coordinates, outlined the mission, and delivered fresh orders to a unit in a matter of hours. Network-centric warfare promised to achieve even better results in less time, because of intelligence sensors, synchronous communications, and precise weaponry. Making U.S. forces faster and more lethal than ever, state-of-the-art technology enhanced situational awareness, provided target assessment, and distributed appropriate firepower. Headsets and lasers helped to guide movements, while grainy images bounced off satellites in space. As a result of the feedback, a real-time picture appeared on computer screens for the benefit of new-age warriors.

  Perhaps nothing helped Americans to remember new-age warriors more than the simulacra of military action on the big screen. Released in 2001, the motion picture Black Hawk Down depicted what happened when a U.S. mission in Somalia went awry. In pursuit of accuracy and authenticity, the filmmakers paid the Army $3 million for the use of helicopters, equipment, and troops. The resulting film unveils a postmodern battlefield with scenes of unrelenting violence. While portraying the valor of celluloid soldiers, the boggling clashes in the Bakaara Market highlight the challenges of operating in ambiguous situations around the globe. Command-and-control issues contribute to a series of unfortunate events, even as technology makes firefights quite remote from the experience of the audience. Without questioning the validity of peacekeeping in a combat zone, the blockbuster reminds Americans of the warrior creed: “Leave no man behind.”

  Essential Questions

  1 What factors contributed to the revival of the American military?

  2 Which technologies affected the outcome of Operation Desert Storm?

  3 To what extent did America become the “world's policeman” during the 1990s?

  Suggested Readings

  Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

  Bailey, Beth. America's Army: The Making of the All-Volunteer Force. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.

  Baucom, Donald R. The Origins of SDI, 1944–1983. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992.

  Bowden, Mark. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 1999.

  FitzGerald, Frances. Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars, and the End of the Cold War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

  Gordon, Michael R., and Bernard E. Trainor. The General's War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf. Boston: Little, Brown, 1995.

  Halberstam, David. War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton, and the Generals. New York: Scribner, 2001.

  Hallion, Richard P. Storm Over Iraq: Air Power and the Gulf War. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992.

  Hutchthausen, Peter. America's Splendid Little Wars: A Short History of U.S. Military Engagements, 1975–2000. New York: Viking Press, 2003.

  Iskra, Darlene M. Women in the United States Armed Forces: A Guide to the Issues. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010.

  Kagan, Frederick W., and Chris Kubik, eds. Leaders in War: West Point Remembers the 1991 Gulf War. New York: Frank Cass, 2005.

  Lambeth, Benjamin S. The Transformation of American Air Power. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2000.

  Locher, James R. Victory on the Potomac: The Goldwater–Nichols Act Unifies the Pentagon. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2002.

  Powell, Colin A., with Joseph E. Persico. My American Journey. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995.

  Scales, Robert H. Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War. Washington D.C.: Brassey's, 1994.

  Wilentz, Sean. The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974–2008. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

  Wirls, Daniel. Buildup: The Politics of Defense in the Reagan Era. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992.

  16

  Global War on Terror (2001–present)

  Introduction

  A hundred goats surrounded four U.S. Navy SEALs, who operated near a village in the Hindu Kush range. “No Taliban,” repeated three goat-herders in broken English, as they nervously approached the Americans. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell pointed his rifle at one, but Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, the team leader, urged restraint. He knew that the rules of engagement for Operation Red Wings required the release of noncombatants inside Afghanistan. The SEALs allowed the Afghans and their bleating herd to pass, while they continued to watch for a group of Taliban fighters known as the “Mountain Tigers.”

  An hour later, the “Tigers” ambushed the SEALs. An avalanche of gunfire and grenades forced the Americans to fall back. Luttrell bounded down the steep slopes into a rocky ravine for cover. A round hit Murphy in the stomach on the way down, while Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz died from multiple wounds in the firefight. Another teammate, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, received shots to the chest and head. “Remember, bro,” yelled the team leader, “we're never out of it!”

  Intent upon contacting headquarters by a mobile phone, Murphy moved away from cover to get a signal. Under direct fire, he made the call. He took a bullet in the back, slumping forward while dropping his phone and rifle. He braced himself and grabbed them both before rising again. Still under fire, he confirmed that help was on the way.

  An MH-47 Chinook rushed forward eight additional SEALs and eight Night Stalkers from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Waiting for the rescuers, the “Tigers” brought them down with a rocket-propelled grenade. On June 28, 2005, 19 Americans perished in the Battle of Murphy's Ridge.

  Only one SEAL survived to tell the story. Luttrell watched each of his teammates expire until an exploding grenade knocked him unconscious. With a number of fractures, wounds, and injuries, he later reached an Afghan village. They sent an emissary to the nearest U.S. base to arrange his return.

  Figure 16.1 Navy SEALs operating in Afgh
anistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Photo 050628-N-0000X-001, U.S. Navy, http://www.navy.mil/

  To combat the enemies of the U.S., the American military entered a landlocked realm in Asia known as the “graveyard of empires.” America's foes in the past belonged to nation-states, but fighters in the developing world accentuated a different way of war. Extremists from a multitude of Muslim countries resorted to terror tactics, which involved indiscriminate violence in pursuit of fanatical goals. Hiding in secluded locales or in ethnic enclaves, stateless organizations such as al-Qaeda conspired against civil society. Their leaders envisioned a brutal, costly, and nihilistic conflict that would last years if not decades. They intended to trigger the ultimate collapse of the lone superpower in the new millennium.

  President George W. Bush, who took office after the disputed election of 2000, confronted the gathering threats. While he pushed plans for a missile defense system, American power during an age of globalization seemed uncertain. The bi-polar confrontations of the Cold War no longer informed strategic thought, yet the horrors of international terrorism shattered the promises of endless peace. Moreover, outlaw regimes relentlessly pursued both conventional and unconventional weaponry. For the sake of national security, Americans looked to the military to defend the ideals of liberty and justice overseas. The desire to roll back the tide of anti-American ideologies propelled the nation into the Global War on Terror.

  Roused by attacks on American soil, the Bush administration called upon the all-volunteer forces to fight the terrorists abroad. Out of a U.S. population that reached 308 million, however, less than 1 percent wore the uniform. The Pentagon remained uncomfortable with authorizing long deployments and failed to plan for asymmetrical combat. Expensive military hardware proved insufficient, leaving troops vulnerable in battlefields that defied conventions. Although paradigms shifted slowly, more and more units developed the capabilities to go almost anywhere with almost any adversary in mind. The American military achieved dominance in the theaters of operations, but the missions proliferated with no end in sight.

  September Morn

  “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.,” proclaimed the subject line of the president's daily briefing on August 6, 2001. For years, Osama bin Laden, a Saudi-born dissident, vowed to “bring the fighting to America” while expanding the activities of al-Qaeda. His followers embraced a radical form of Islam that glorified mass murder in defense of an embattled faith. They railed against U.S. policies that supported Israel. Unfortunately, American leaders failed to grasp the seriousness of the threat.

  Figure 16.2 The Middle East

  The worldwide network of terror frustrated American leaders, because a number of Muslim countries harbored operatives. In Afghanistan, the Taliban regime held power by appealing to radical Islam and by providing sanctuary to bin Laden. He gave Mullah Mohammed Omar, the primary Taliban leader, financial and military support. Moreover, Omar was married to one of bin Laden's daughters. While neither the Taliban nor al-Qaeda fielded standing forces in a conventional sense, both amassed a corps of experienced fighters eager to form a new kind of army in the desert. As many as 20,000 Arabs from 20 different nations trained in Afghanistan's remote areas for jihad. Recruitment generally followed clan and ethnic lines, although scores circulated in a transnational underworld of terrorism.

  Terrorists began crafting a plan to crash airplanes into U.S. cities as early as 1996. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed shared the concept with bin Laden in a meeting at Tora Bora, a mountainous fortress in Afghanistan. They contemplated the hijacking of at least nine aircraft. They wanted to use them as missiles to strike the East and West Coasts of North America. The long list of targets included the Pentagon, White House, Capitol Hill, World Trade Center, Library Tower, and nuclear power plants. After discussing the scale of the plan for years, they finally agreed to a less grandiose attack. Accordingly, al-Qaeda decided to supply the money, recruits, and training for what was dubbed the “planes operation.”

  On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers boarded four commercial planes in the U.S. American Airlines Flight 11 departed Boston, Massachusetts, bound for Los Angeles, California. Likewise, United Airlines Flight 175 left the airport on the same route. Also headed toward Los Angeles, American Airlines Flight 77 left Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. In Newark, New Jersey, United Airlines Flight 93 departed for San Francisco, California. Armed with knives, mace, box cutters, and fake explosives, most of the hijackers sat in first class just behind the cockpit of each plane.

  Shortly after take-off, air traffic controllers noticed a problem with the flight patterns. Flight attendants used their air-phones to relay information about the hijackings, until one caller exclaimed: “Oh my God, we are way too low!” Flying over New York City at 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Several minutes later, Flight 175 hit the South Tower at over 500 miles per hour. The two Boeing 767s transformed the magnificent buildings into towering infernos. After they collapsed in a hellish scene, the southern end of Manhattan became known as “ground zero.”

  With Manhattan in chaos, Flight 77 deviated from its initial course. The hijackers turned the Boeing 757 eastward and accelerated at full throttle. For the first time in American military history, an enemy struck the nerve center of national defense – the Pentagon.

  As the Pentagon smoldered, the fourth airliner headed toward Washington D.C. The hijackers controlled Flight 93, but 33 passengers in the coach section voted to fight back. “Let's roll,” announced one of the passengers. They stormed the cockpit, hoping to prevent the Boeing 757 from reaching the White House or Capitol Hill. At 10:02 a.m., the aircraft plummeted into an empty field in Pennsylvania.

  Thus, the terrorists deployed by al-Qaeda inflicted an enormous blow against the U.S. On board the planes, 266 passengers and crew members died instantly. At the Pentagon, 184 civilians and military personnel perished. At least 2,700 people died at the World Trade Center, including firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers. On a day simply known as 9/11, more Americans died than on any other since the Civil War.

  With the nation under attack, President Bush heard the news while in Sarasota, Florida. Though he preferred to return to Washington D.C., his entourage flew to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. In a secure video teleconference, the commander-in-chief told officials that “we're at war.” After consultation from a White House shelter, Vice President Dick Cheney authorized fighters to intercept inbound planes if necessary. Bush reached the capital that evening and spoke to the nation briefly. He met with a “war council” that included Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Hugh Shelton, also joined them, as did the vice chairman, General Richard Myers, who succeeded him a few weeks later.

  In the aftermath, the Bush administration directed the federal government to assume a wartime footing. The president created an Office of Homeland Security, which Congress later turned into a cabinet department. The Coast Guard accepted a larger responsibility for protecting ports, coasts, and waterways. With respect to air defense, NORAD and the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, refined the protocols for responding to the threat of hijacked aircraft. Furthermore, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act to reduce restrictions upon law enforcement agencies while gathering intelligence within the U.S. Alluding to covert activities against enemies abroad, Cheney told an interviewer a few days after the attack that the administration intended to work “the dark side, if you will.”

  In the name of Allah, a “second wave” of attacks on the American homeland was in the offing. The sinister plots envisioned operations ranging from firing a nuclear missile with a captured Russian launcher to mounting poison gas attacks within population centers. Sleeper cells around the globe prepared to conduct suicide bombings and to hijack more aircraft. Training camps in Afghanistan provided fertile ground for terrorists, who waged a new type of w
ar against the U.S.

  War in Afghanistan

  With an outpouring of patriotism nationwide, Americans rebounded from 9/11. The federal government offered a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of bin Laden. Bush appeared before a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001, when he announced the beginning of “our war on terror.” The U.S. demanded that the Taliban turn over the leaders of al-Qaeda as well as shut down all terrorist training camps. If the regime failed to act in accord with the demands, then Afghanistan would share the fate of the terrorists.

  The Bush administration secretly authorized the CIA to land a covert unit in the Panjshir Valley of northern Afghanistan. Code-named Jawbreaker, they mingled with the Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara tribes. The Northern Alliance of warlords fought a long-running battle against the Pashtun in the south, where the Taliban dominated. That fall, U.S. Special Forces teamed with the CIA to provide arms, equipment, and money to the Northern Alliance.

  While aiding the Northern Alliance, General Tommy Franks, the CENTCOM commander, planned an offensive campaign against the Taliban. Officially, 70 nations agreed to assist the U.S. in the war effort. Because Omar refused to comply with Bush's ultimatum, Operation Enduring Freedom attempted to apprehend bin Laden, to eliminate his camps, and to topple the regime. Beginning on October 7, cruise missiles and long-range bombers destroyed installations throughout Afghanistan. Military actions depended upon spy satellites, precision-guided munitions, and laser-targeting devices rather than a robust troop deployment. Dozens of fighters launched from two aircraft carriers to conduct deadly raids from the skies. Furthermore, C-17s dropped humanitarian rations for the benefit of the Afghan people. Although air power degraded the capabilities of the enemy, the lack of high-value targets limited the efficacy of “smart” weaponry.