Operation Desert Thunder was a response to threats by Iraq's president

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

to shoot down U-2 spy planes, and violate the

no-fly zone A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's te ...

set up over his country. The operation was designed to bring stability to the region by bringing in a military presence during the negotiations between Iraq and the UN over

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

. The name Operation Desert Thunder has been applied to the build-up of forces in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

region during 1998. If an actual attack had been ordered and executed, the name would have changed to Operation Desert Viper. In the autumn of 1997 CENTCOM established a force of 35,000 air, land, and sea forces in response to Iraq's non-compliance of UN resolutions. CENTCOM Commander-in-Chief General

Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...

established a permanent Coalition/Joint Task Force (C/JTF) at

Camp Doha Camp Doha was the main U.S. Army base in Kuwait, and played a pivotal role in the U.S. military presence in the Middle East since the 1991 Gulf War and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The complex is located on a small peninsula on Kuwait Bay, west ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

under command of Lieutenant General

Tommy Franks Tommy Ray Franks (born 17 June 1945) is a retired general in the United States Army. His last army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States military operations in a 25-country region, including t ...

to lead this force. The coalition would consist of forces from Argentina,globalsecurity.or
Desert Thunder
/ref> Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, United States, and Kuwait. On 18 January 1998 additional forces were brought in to support the U.S.-led coalition forces in the region. The U.S. 3d Infantry Division of

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, deployed 4,000 personnel and 2,900 short tons of equipment on 120 aircraft. Elements of 32nd Air and Missile Defense Command and 2nd Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC) deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. The 366th Air Expeditionary Wing from Mountain Home Air Force Base, ID replaced the 347th Air Expeditionary Wing of

Moody AFB Moody Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation near Valdosta, Georgia. Geography The base is in northeastern Lowndes County, Georgia, with the eastern border of the base following the Lanier County line. Georgia State Ro ...

on 1 April 1998 after 120 days of deployment. USS ''George Washington'' (CVN-73) joined USS ''Nimitz'' (CVN-68) (relieved on-station by USS ''Independence'' (CV-62) a few months later) in the Gulf. Combined with the British HMS'' Invincible'' (R05) and HMS'' Illustrious'' (R06), there were now 50 ships and submarines with 200 naval aircraft, a floating brigade (Army) and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the

. This combined muscle forced Saddam to back down, and the ''Independence'' returned to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

, Japan in early June 1998. In July 1998 the 3-101st Attk Avn Bn deployed two AH-64A Companies to Ali Al Salem AB to maintain a strong presence in the region. Then in November 1998, the U.S. 3d Infantry Division returned to Kuwait. Using the C/JTF already in place advanced elements of the U.S. 3d Infantry Division and 32nd Air & Missile Defense Command, Theatre Support Command, and Air Support Operations Center deployed. In addition the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force joined the

1st Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...

already in place. During this build-up, UN Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

flew to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

to meet with

and negotiated to allow uninterrupted inspections. On 11 November 1998, further non-compliance by Iraq resulted in the initiation of Operation Desert Thunder. CENTCOM moved its forces into position to initiate strikes into Iraq; 2,300 additional personnel were deployed during this operation. On the evening of 15 November, USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower'' (CVN-69) was just minutes away from launching air strikes on targets in Iraq when Saddam Hussein again backed down. In December 1998, Iraq again refused to allow inspections and

Operation Desert Fox The 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox) was a major four-day bombing campaign on Iraqi targets from 16 to 19 December 1998, by the United States and the United Kingdom. On 16 December 1998, President of the United States Bill ...

began. Several key Iraqi facilities and specialized equipment were destroyed during several days of air strikes including from the flight deck of USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65). This set back the Iraqi ballistic missile program by several years.

Notes

References

* globalsecurity.or
Desert Thunder
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desert Thunder, Operation Iraq–United States relations Conflicts in 1998 Non-combat military operations involving the United States 20th-century military history of the United States Cancelled military operations involving the United States Cancelled military operations involving France Cancelled military operations involving the United Kingdom United States Marine Corps in the 20th century

See also

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