Modern ‘shock and awe’ would be defined by aging jets, new tactics
By Rachel S. Cohen
Friday, Mar 17
The next “shock and awe” campaign may never drop a single bomb.
It’s been 20 years since black-and-green footage of Baghdad under attack flashed across television screens worldwide, broadcasting the explosive U.S.-led push to unseat Saddam Hussein and dismantle the Iraqi civil and military service.
The overwhelming show of strength represented the largest international military effort since World War II and the biggest U.S. operation since the Vietnam War. The air campaign relied on 1,800 aircraft — half of which belonged to the U.S. Air Force — and fired more than 500 cruise missiles in its first day. Airmen gained control of Iraqi airspace less than three weeks later, with limited American losses.
A government building burns during heavy bombardment of Baghdad, Iraq, by U.S.-led forces in this March 21, 2003 file photo. "Shock and awe," the phrase describing the Pentagon's strategy of hitting the Iraqis hard enough to stun them into quick surrender, was adopted by the Bush administration from a 1996 study, "Shock & Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance," by the Defense Group, a Pentagon contractor. (Jerome Delay/AP)
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2023/03/17/modern-shock-and-awe-would-be-defined-by-aging-jets-new-tactics/
