TheImmortal
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Really?
By 1988 Iran was demoralized by the persistent failure of its many “final” offensives over the years, by the prospect of unending casualties, by its declining ability to import civilian goods as well as military supplies, and by the Scud missile attacks on Teheran. But what finally ended the war was Iraq’s belated reversion to main-force offensive action on the ground. Having long conserved its forces and shifted to all-mechanized configurations to circumvent the reluctance of its troops to face enemy fire, Iraq attacked on a large scale in April 1988. The end came on July 18, when Iran accepted UN Resolution 598 calling for an immediate cease-fire, though minor Iraqi attacks continued for a few more days after the truce came into effect on July 20, 1988.
Source: https://www.history.com/topics/iran-iraq-war
Who was demoralized again?
Media-based reports were pointing out the same: https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0701/omaj.html
Google following:-
1. Second battle of Al-Faw
2. Operation Forty Stars
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Saddam Hussein ordered invasion of Kuwait in 1990:
Doesn't look like a country demoralized by years of war with Iran.
Sure.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army was the fourth largest army in the world. Its active regular strength had increased from 180,000 men in early 1980, before the start of the Iran-Iraq War, to over 800,000 men in early 1990 -- before Saddam Hussein took his decision to invade Kuwait. Its forces had the potential to mobilize to as many as 2,000,000 men, or roughly 75% of all Iraqi men between 18 and 34. The Iraqi army's tank strength had risen from 2,700 to at least 5,700 weapons between 1980 and 1990, and its total tube artillery strength had risen from 2,300 weapons to 3,700.
Source: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/iraq88-93.pdf
See above.
Weak and feeble puppet?
ARMY in 1990:-
The Iraqi army was extremely well equipped by Third World standards. It had at least 5,700 tanks and many experts feel the figure was closer to 6,700.224 In addition to its main battle tanks, Iraq had more than 3,000 heavy tank transporters. It also had at least 3,500 to 4,000 other armored vehicles. The Iraqi army had large numbers of anti-tank weapons, including AT-3 Saggers, AT-4 Spigots, SS-11s, Milans, and HOTs. Iraq had one of the most formidable artillery forces in the world. Its major tube artillery included 3,000 to 5,000 towed and 500 self-propelled weapons. Iraq also had extensive surface-to-surface rocket and missile forces. These included a minimum of 24-30 FROG launchers and up to 100-150 Scud launchers, including fixed sites and modified trucks. The army had 490 helicopters, of which 190 were attack helicopters. The armed types included 56 Bo-105s with AS-11s and HOT, 40 Mi-24s, 30 SA-316s with AS-12s, 13 SA-321s, some armed with Exocets, and 20 SA-342s armed with machine guns and cannon. The other helicopters included 15 heavy transports, 225 medium transports, and 124 light helicopters. Iraq had a separate air defense command that cooperated with the air force as part of an integrated air defense system. It also, however, had many lighter air defense weapons that were deployed with army units at the corps level or lower. These included some 7,000 antiaircraft guns, with a number of ZSU-23-4 radar-guided self-propelled weapons, and numerous heavy anti-aircraft guns ranging from 85mm to 130mm. Iraq also had some 15,000 mobile and man-portable SA-7, SA-8, SA-9, SA-13, SA-14, and SA-16 weapons, and roughly 100 Roland fire units on self propelled armored vehicles.
Source: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/iraq88-93.pdf
AIR FORCE in 1990:-
According to a U.S. air force estimate made after the war, Iraq had the sixth largest air force in the world by the summer of 1990. It had about 40,000 active personnel, including 10,000 air defense personnel. Most estimates indicate that Iraq had 700 to 770 fighters, bombers, and armed trainer aircraft. These were supported by 200 other transport and special purpose aircraft, including an Iraqi-built airborne early warning aircraft derived from a Soviet IL-76 transport. These aircraft were dispersed in 44 major operating bases, a total of 122 airfields, and roughly 600 aircraft shelters. Iraq's combat aircraft included French Mirage F-1 fighters, the export version of the Soviet MiG-29 Fulcrum interceptor and air superiority fighter, the MiG-27 Flogger strike fighter, the MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor, the MiG-23 Flogger fighter-bomber, the MiG-21 Fishbed fighter, the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack airplane, the Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer long-range strike aircraft range, Tupolev Tu-16 Badger and Tu-22 Blinder bombers, and the Su-7, Su-20, and Su-22 Fitter family of attack fighters. Iraq also had PRC-made H-6 and J-7 aircraft, and Czech L-39 armed trainers. Iraq operated three of the most sophisticated combat aircraft in the world before the Gulf War began. These included the MiG-29, Su-24, and Mirage F-1. Iraq's 65 French made Mirage F-1s were the elite section of the Iraqi air force. They carried a wide range of the latest French and Soviet guided missiles and munitions, and laser-guided air-to-surface weapons. Their pilots were French trained and had more air-to-air combat training than the pilots flying Soviet-made aircraft.
Source: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/iraq88-93.pdf
In 1991, Chinese military officers watched as the United States dismantled the Iraqi Army, a force with more battle experience and somewhat greater technical sophistication than the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Source: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-scares-chinas-military-the-1991-gulf-war-11724
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Iraq was weak only in the naval front. This is understandable since Iraq is lacking in access to Arabian waters.
Iraqi navy specialized in mine warfare capability though. Incidents occurred during the Persian Gulf War (1991): http://articles.latimes.com/1991-02-19/news/mn-1533_1_air-campaign
IRIAF had American equipment which helped; F-14 Tomcat was/is a formidable aircraft in particular. Nevertheless, both sides suffered losses in aerial clashes:
https://warisboring.com/in-the-iran-iraq-war-f-5s-and-mig-21s-fought-to-a-standstill/
http://www.acig.info/artman/publish/article_404.shtml
Iran lost one of its finest pilots Hashem All-e-Agha in one of the aerial clashes.
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Iraqi defenses improved throughout the 1980s.
AIR DEFENSE in 1990:-
According to one U.S. estimate, Iraq had a total of 16,000 radar-guided and heat seeking surface-to-air missiles, including the large numbers of lighter army systems described earlier, and a much smaller numbers of heavier SA-2s, SA-3s, and SA-6s. These heavier surface-to-air defense missiles were operated by a air defense force, organized into air defense units which were part of the army, but tied operationally to the air force. Iraq had approximately 20-30 operational SA-2 batteries with 160 launch units, 25-50 SA-3 batteries with 140 launch units, and 36-55 SA-6 batteries with well over 100 fire units. Iraq claimed to have modified the SA-2 missile to use an infrared terminal seeker, to supplement the SA-2's normal radio command guidance system, but it is unclear that such systems were actually deployed. Iraq's medium surface-to-air defenses included 20 SA-8 batteries with 30- 40 fire units, 60-100 SA-9 fire units, some SA-13s, and 50 to 66 Rolands.
To put this air defense strength in perspective, Baghdad had more dense air defenses at the start of the Gulf War than any city in Eastern Europe, and more than seven times the total surface-to-air missile launcher strength deployed in Hanoi during the height of the Vietnam war. The U.S. Department of Defense released a highly detailed post war estimate of Iraq's land-based air defense at the time the Gulf War began that credited Iraq with 3,679 major missiles, not including 6,500 SA-7s, 400 SA-9s, 192 SA-13s, and 288 SA-14s. It indicated that Iraq had 972 anti-aircraft artillery sites, 2,404 fixed anti-aircraft guns, and 6,100 mobile anti-aircraft guns.
Source: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/iraq88-93.pdf
No army is perfect, particularly troops. However, Iraqi army was in good shape in 1991.
American warfighting capability completely changed after Vietnam War. Weapons which were effective against them in Vietnam, were no longer effective against them in the Persian Gulf War (1991). Vietnam War was an excellent teacher.
Make no mistake, Iran was not demoralized as a nation. When the rules of war were violated by US and the West who provided chemical precursors to Saddam in order to stop a Shiite Revival that would have steamrolled through Iraq and the Middle East. Iran took the high road.
When tens of thousands of innocent people were killed because of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Iran stood in front of the UN and declared war crimes. The US and the West ignored it and continued supporting Saddam. Hypocrisy by a nation that preaches about freedom yet commits War crimes to reach its end goals. That will be the legacy of the US Empire hundreds of years from now in the history books.
This is what you fail to understand: paper tigers are just that paper tigers.
Saddam boasted he would be in Tehran in less than week. Yet with the strongest military in the Middle East he couldn’t get past a bunch of farmer peasants in Kermanshah. He couldn’t defeat a military that had been purged from the ground up. He couldn’t defeat untrained militias. That my friend is not Iran being demoralized, that my friend is winning against all odds.
The latter half of the war for Iran while unsuccessful was due to a lack of experience and a war effort that was decided largely lead by clergy rather than military officials.
If it weren’t for West and Arab backed support for Saddam and the supply of chemical weapons, Saddam would have fallen and Baghdad would belong to Iran like it does today.
The fact that Iran refused Regans offer to become a US ally only doubled down US efforts to not have Saddam fall during the war.
The issue here is simple: Arab Armies CANNOT fight. They are incomptent and suffer from corruption and infighting. The heads of Iraqi military were not their because of skill, but loyalty to Saddam.
The Iran-Iraq war showed that Iraq with all its fancy toys, still used mobile mechanized armour as fixed artillery pieces throughout the war rather than their proper use. Unfortunately Iran did the same, which again in a post revolution purge showed lacked of experience among officers.
At the height of Arab power the Arab world failed to defeat a tiny young relatively weak Israel. Even though on “paper” their collective armies were formidable.
In the following Israeli-Arab war, Syria and Egypt again failed to defeat Israel. Egypt lost most of its airforce in a single day due to incompetence and corruption.
Today Saudi Arabia has one of the most technologically advanced militaries in the world, yet cannot defeat the poorest country in the region (Yemen). It’s most advanced equipment (Abrams tanks, Bradleys, etc) are routinely destroyed by a force that wears no body armour and runs around in sandals.
Syria in 2010, was a country that even by US generals had one of the most sophisticated air defenses in the region. Yet again Arab military incompetence led to it losing most of its own country despite the overwhelming military advantage it had on its opponents.
Modern day Afghanistan, the US and NATO have now begun negotiating with the Taliban for a peace agreement after being unable to defeat another group of cave dewellers.
Iraq that invaded Kuwait, did so out of desperation and frustration. That Iraq was still using outdated Soviet military tactics that the West had long prepared counterattacks for during the Cold War.
Syria circa 2010 still used those same outdated tactics and had to be reformed from the inside out by Iran.
Again it is too be expected when all your Generals and officers were brought up in Soviet Union military schools.
So as much as you want to pull out spreadsheets and quote numbers on paper, at the end of the day it is that...just numbers.
At the end of the day Iraq was a US puppet that fell out of favor after it accomplished its task (holding back a Shiite Iran).
Trying to paint Desert Storm as anything more than that, is just propaganda.
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