aelfheah Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Does anyone remember the buzz, or the genuine fear, that was building up in the World News and British society before Gulf War 1? Our Air Forces had been blasting Saddam's Iraq apart since early 1991, and in the slow build up of ground forces under US General 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, such was the tension after Saddam's vow of 'Mother of all battles' that we genuinely believed that we would be conscripted? Saddam had one of the World's biggest armies, had stocks of bio weapons (used on the Kurds) and had sworn to use them The US and UK Military minds didn't even know what effect their depleted Uranium would have on their own field weapon's systems, possibly leaving our lads helpless I remember there being talk in the media of a very possible bloodbath in the desert, with thousands, maybe tens of thousands of allied deaths. Sounds crazy now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ostridge Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Does anyone remember the buzz, or the genuine fear, that was building up in the World News and British society before Gulf War 1? Our Air Forces had been blasting Saddam's Iraq apart since early 1991, and in the slow build up of ground forces under US General 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, such was the tension after Saddam's vow of 'Mother of all battles' that we genuinely believed that we would be conscripted? Saddam had one of the World's biggest armies, had stocks of bio weapons (used on the Kurds) and had sworn to use them The US and UK Military minds didn't even know what effect their depleted Uranium would have on their own field weapon's systems, possibly leaving our lads helpless I remember there being talk in the media of a very possible bloodbath in the desert, with thousands, maybe tens of thousands of allied deaths. Sounds crazy now? the much vaunted republican guard:hihi: they could not surrender fast enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aelfheah Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Retrospect is wonderful! But back then, before it all kicked off on the ground.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Does anyone remember the buzz, or the genuine fear, that was building up in the World News and British society before Gulf War 1? Our Air Forces had been blasting Saddam's Iraq apart since early 1991, and in the slow build up of ground forces under US General 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, such was the tension after Saddam's vow of 'Mother of all battles' that we genuinely believed that we would be conscripted ... Did you really think you were going to be conscripted? How long did you think the war was going to last? How long do you think it takes to train a Soldier/Sailor/Airman? The US and UK Military minds didn't even know what effect their depleted Uranium would have on their own field weapon's systems, possibly leaving our lads helpless ... What makes you think they didn't know anything about DU ammunition? - It had been in use (though not used in combat) for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0114owl1867 Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Typical Arabs - 7 million Israelis keep 1 billion Arabs at bay with ease, they had no 'Jack Palance' against us, that is in hindsight though and yes i can remember the worry before gulf war 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthenekred Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Typical Arabs - 7 million Israelis keep 1 billion Arabs at bay with ease, they had no 'Jack Palance' against us, that is in hindsight though and yes i can remember the worry before gulf war 1 And like many on here, still bricking it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Does anyone remember the buzz, or the genuine fear, that was building up in the World News and British society before Gulf War 1? Our Air Forces had been blasting Saddam's Iraq apart since early 1991, and in the slow build up of ground forces under US General 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, such was the tension after Saddam's vow of 'Mother of all battles' that we genuinely believed that we would be conscripted? Who believed we would be conscripted? I can't remember it - we had a new born baby at the time so I would have been kinda worried if it was ever a threat. It wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callippo Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 the 'fear' was minimal. The Israelis said the Iraqi Baathist army were the weakest army they'd ever faced. It turned out to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I remember Peter Snow called it "sabre rattling" even as he stood in his "sandpit". What jolly japes. It's weird how the Iraq/US relationship flipped in about 1989. I wonder what happened? Bizarrely, it doesn't seem to have been the USS Stark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I remember Peter Snow called it "sabre rattling" even as he stood in his "sandpit". What jolly japes. It's weird how the Iraq/US relationship flipped in about 1989. I wonder what happened? Bizarrely, it doesn't seem to have been the USS Stark. I think it was the combination of the Halabjah gas attack, and the realisation that Saddam was indeed madder than a box of frogs and would have to be dealt with somehow. Since he was unstable, prone to unpredictable changes in direction and essentially self sufficient in energy, people, food and sand (the sand was what the ordinary Iraqi got after the food was eaten), there was little they could do except winkle him out by force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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