Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987-1988

Extent xiii, pages. Label Inside the danger zone: W57 Literary form non fiction Nature of contents bibliography. Library Locations Map Details. Miller Nichols Library Borrow it.

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Cite Data - Experimental. Data Citation of the Item Inside the danger zone: Naval Forces Central Command , were the operations' most visible part, but U.

Army special-operations helicopters hunted for possible attackers. Navy vessels participated in Operation Earnest Will. They were then under the command of the U.

Navy's Seventh Fleet which had primary responsibility for combat operations in the Persian Gulf region. They generally operated in and near the Gulf for parts of their normal six-month deployments. The so-called "Tanker War" phase of the Iran—Iraq War started when Iraq, which had expanded its air force with new, Exocet -equipped French and Soviet aircraft, attacked the oil terminal and oil tankers at Iran's Kharg Island in early Becoming landlocked after the Battle of al-Faw , and due to the blockade of Iraqi oil pipelines to Mediterranean Sea by Iran's ally Syria, Iraq had to rely on its ally, Kuwait and other Gulf Arab allies to a lesser extent to transport its oil.

After increasing attacks on Iran's main oil export facility at Kharg Island by Iraq, Iran started to attack Kuwaiti tankers carrying Iraqi oil from 13 May and later attacking tankers from any Gulf state supporting Iraq.

Attacks on ships of non-combatant nations in the Persian Gulf sharply increased thereafter, with both nations attacking oil tankers and merchant ships of neutral nations in an effort to deprive their opponent of trade. Besides concerns about the intensified Tanker War, the superpowers feared that the possible fall of Basra , which was now under threat, might lead to a pro-Iranian Islamic republic in largely Shia -populated southern Iraq.

During the first four months of , Kuwait turned to the superpowers, partly to protect oil exports but largely to seek an end to the war through superpower intervention. Navy to protect Kuwaiti tankers against Iranian attacks. Even before Earnest Will formally began, it became clear how dangerous Persian Gulf operations would be.

Inside The Danger Zone. The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf 1987-1988

Iraqi officials said that the targeting of the U. Members of both the U.

House and Senate opposed the reflagging policy. Navy began Operation Earnest Will at 2: EST on 23 July Navy ships assigned to escort the Kuwaiti oil tankers. On that very first escort mission, on 24 July , the Kuwaiti oil tanker al-Rekkah , re-flagged as the U.

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Bridgeton proceeded under her own power to Kuwait, with the thin-skinned U. Navy escorts following behind to avoid mines. The operation was widely publicized, and American reporters aboard another ship in the convoy immediately issued reports about the incident, claiming it had "played into Iran's plan". Military in the Persian Gulf, — David F. Military in the Persian Gulf, — Naval Institute Press, Covering a period at the end of the s, Harold Lee Wise's fine narrative of U.

That said, because Middle East oil fueled U. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December , less than a year after the fall of the Shah in Iran, exposed Western military vulnerability in the region. The West's vulnerability stemmed from the British decision in to withdraw all British forces stationed east of Suez by the end of In light of U.

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This so-called twin-pillars approach complemented the Nixon Doctrine, which sought to induce U. The arms buildup in the region did not deter the Soviet Union, which built up its own naval presence in the Indian Ocean, establishing bases at Aden and in Somalia. Wise provides little historical context for the infighting within the U.