American Military Strategy: From WWI to Desert Storm

Post-WWI Peace Efforts and the Road to World War II

After World War I, Americans recognized their mistake in participating in the war and were determined not to repeat it. During the 1920s and 1930s, America pursued numerous approaches intended to prevent future conflicts. American peace societies emerged as significant players in this effort, aligning themselves with broader global peace movements. These efforts culminated in the signing of a major agreement in 1922 between the great powers to minimize their quantities of battleships (Karsten, 2006, p. 36).

Despite these isolationist sentiments, the trajectory toward war proved unavoidable. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941 prompted America's decisive entry into World War II. Prior to this attack, America had maintained official neutrality, even after German torpedoes attacked USS Reuben James (Beard, 1948, p. 148). Although officially neutral, America still engaged in some offensive actions, such as an attack on an unmanned German weather station during the Kearny incident.

Pearl Harbor transformed America's stance from defensive caution to direct offensive engagement. The government implemented internment camps for Japanese residents, began fingerprinting Hawaiian residents, and when camps became overcrowded, offered freedom to Japanese Americans willing to serve in the military. President Roosevelt eventually withdrew the executive order, and by the end of 1945, the internment camps were closed. During the war, America supported Britain and its allies with munitions shipments. In 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese cities. The bombings killed approximately 129,000 people and were accompanied by several firebombing campaigns (Poolos, 2008, p. 14).

The Korean War and Containment Policy

By 1950, the Korean Peninsula had become divided between a Soviet-supported government in the north and an American-supported government in the south. This division resulted from the end of World War II and Japan's loss of control over Korea, which had existed since 1910. The Soviet Union invaded Korea in August 1945, and the United States, fearing Soviet domination of the entire peninsula, promptly moved troops into southern Korea. In the north, Japanese troops surrendered to the Russians, while in the south they surrendered to the Americans (McFarland, 1986, p. 60).

American involvement in the Korean War was justified by the logic of containment: if America did not intervene, all of Korea would become communist. The United States had approved a new foreign policy in 1947 designed to contain communism (Nagai & Iriye, 1977, p. 34). Although this policy initially focused on Western Europe, it extended to Asia as well. When North Korean forces invaded South Korea, the U.S. interpreted the action as a threat of communist expansion. Defending South Korea thus became equated with defending democracy itself. In June 1950, North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel into South Korea, prompting the U.S. to bring the matter before the United Nations Security Council (Tatum, 2002, p. 111). The council responded with a 9-0 vote supporting a U.S.-sponsored resolution declaring the North Korean attack a breach of peace.

Both Presidents Johnson and Nixon faced significant challenges during the Cold War (Frankel, 2004, p. 24). They worked to project a strong image of America and reassure allies that the nation would protect them from the Communist threat. A major theme of Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign centered on the Eisenhower administration's alleged failure to protect Third World nations aligned with the American side. Kennedy also authorized the CIA to conduct secret operations against unfavorable regimes, including Operation Mongoose in Cuba and the assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Cold War Presidents and Vietnam Escalation

Following the uncertain Gulf of Tonkin incident, Johnson succeeded in persuading Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Karnow, 1983, p. 43). This resolution gave the president a blank check to take all necessary measures to deter any armed attacks. During Nixon's early presidency, he directed the U.S. military to increase pressure on the battlefield while ordering secret B-52 bombing campaigns against base camps in Cambodia and North Vietnam. This signaled Nixon's willingness to intensify the conflict.

Kennedy's strategy proved less expensive than Johnson's approach and more covert than Nixon's. His methods produced more decisive tactical outcomes that advanced American interests during the early stages of the conflict (Yancey, 2001, p. 83). Although all three presidents adopted an offensive stance, neither Nixon's sustained escalation nor Johnson's broad congressional authorization proved sufficient to end the war successfully.

Many military analysts consider Operation Desert Storm to be the first significant international conflict that successfully implemented Revolutionary Military Affairs (RMA) doctrine. It is regarded as a model for future military operations because of its low casualty rate, combined with the U.S. military's precision and speed. Although RMA proved ineffective against guerrilla tactics and led to disappointing results with advanced weapons systems like Patriot missiles, RMA substantially improved the mission through tactical strikes and technological application.