ABSTRACT
The first question that multilateral governments must address is: ‘What is our political and military aim?’ Failure to take such elementary action is merely building up to the certainty of serious problems for the future. The initial American defensive deployment into Saudi Arabia, both big and fast, fostered at home and abroad the impression of a confused mission. This impression was encouraged by the comments of some senior military officials who, seemingly of the opinion that Christmas had come early in 1990, made graphic public statements as to what fate was going to befall Saddam Hussein. However, the American deployment into Saudi Arabia, justified to the administration on the grounds of apparently incontrovertible aerial intelligence, was an example of the lessons of history having been properly learned. Dribbling forces into interventionist-type operations failed in Russia in 1918-19 and failed again in Vietnam in the 1960s.
