Operation Instant Thunder was the preliminary name given to a planned air strike by the United States during the Gulf War.[1] it was planned to be an overwhelming Aerial Strike which would devastate the Iraqi military with a minimum loss of civilian as well as American life.[2][3]
The planning of the operation made use of Warden's Five Rings intellectual model,[3] which prioritized different aspects of a nation's war machine into a hierarchy of concentric circles. The leadership was placed as a top priority, saying that this would "decapitate" the enemy. The name is a nod to Operation Rolling Thunder, a joint American-South Vietnamese bombing campaign in the Vietnam War.[4]
- ^ Jaco, Charles (2002). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Gulf War. Alpha Books. p. 106. ISBN 0-02-864324-0.
- ^ Arkin, William M. (1998). "Masterminding an Air War". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
- ^ a b On target: organizing and executing the strategic air campaign against Iraq. DIANE Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 1-4289-9024-0.
- ^ Klare, Michael T. (1995). Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws: America's Search for a New Foreign Policy. Hill & Wang. pp. 57. ISBN 0-8090-1587-0.