Post War Geopolitics: Unfinished Business

In early August of 1987 the Third World War came to an end. The guns fell silent, strategic forces came off their high alert statuses and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. In the final twenty-four hours of the war the planet teetered on the edge of the abyss with the United States …

Less-Than-Effective NATO Weapon Systems Of World War III Part I

Weapon systems are similar to athletes, musicians and other types of celebrities in that sometimes the hype does not measure up to real world performance. If you’re an NFL fan, think of first round draft busts like Ryan Leaf and Tony Mandarich. After being drafted these two players were touted as the next greatest things …

Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf D+24 (2 August, 1987)

As the conflict in Europe escalated with near reckless abandon throughout most of the day and raised the prospect of a global nuclear exchange, Iran and Iraq were moving to maintain low profiles for the time being. An unofficial ceasefire took effect over the battleline by the afternoon. Neither Tehran or Baghdad wanted to attract …

November 2022 Outlook

November is here but to be fair, it still sort of feels like September in this part of the country. I’d prefer it to be a little brisker at this time of the year but I’m sure the weather will change for good by Thanksgiving. Anyway, there is a lot on the docket this month …

Gaming WWIII: Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf Theater Modeling Tools Part II

Mark Herman’s Gulf Strike is a classic. Not only did it present a contemporary (at the time) conflict in a theater outside Europe, it did so with a high degree of detail. In fact, given the geopolitical complexities in the Persian Gulf region in the 1980s, a number of conflagrations could be explored, from the …

Gaming WWIII: Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf Theater Modeling Tools Part I

The Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf (APPG) was probably the most entertaining theater conflict to outline and then subsequently to model. Ongoing conflicts, regional rivalries and the influence and designs of the Superpowers had combined to make their mark in the region by early July, 1987. The first challenge came in determining which of those factors would …

Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf D+22 (31 July, 1987) Part II

Faced with emerging threats on two fronts, Saddam Hussein’s perspective shifted on D+22 towards one embedded deeper in realism. Continuing to battle a newly aggressive Iran with one hand tied behind its back was not conducive for the Iraqi military. Holding Iraq was particularly critical, there was little debate on this point. Contending with the …

Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf D+22 (31 July, 1987) Part I

Author’s Note: I ran out of time with this post, so I’ll wrap it up on Sunday night with Part II. Apologies. –Mike At approximately 0245 hours local time, the first wave of US air missions against targets in Iraq began. The primary targets were suspected SCUD and FROG launch sites in central Iraq. USAF …

Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf D+21 (30 July, 1987) Part II

As preparations for the night’s air operations continued at CENTCOM-Forward in Riyadh, General George Crist’s thoughts were on Kuwait. The tiny emirate was now occupied by Iraqi forces of lesser quality than the Republican Guard formations that stormed the country days earlier. Those divisions were now positioning near Basra with the mission of blocking an …

Arabian Peninsula/Persian Gulf D+21 (30 July, 1987) Part I

Fighting between Iraqi and Iranian forces flared up once more as first light broke over the Shat-al-Arab. In the first engagements of the day, company-sized units clashed and began extended engagements that included artillery support and air attacks from both sides. The morning continued and by 1000, the Iraqis were receiving indications of two Iranian …