The Gulf Wars & Afghanistan: “Devil Dogs” Unleashed

Iraq and Afghanistan are two focal points in a broad arch of instability that runs across the Middle East and Central Asia. In Battle History of the United States Marine Corps: The Gulf Wars and Afghanistan, we examine the role played by the USMC in the last three wars to convulse the region—the First and Second Gulf Wars and the war in Afghanistan. The latter two have been the longest-fought conflicts in American military history.

“DEVIL DOGS” UNLEASHED In March 2003, the American-led, Global War On Terror entered a new phase with the Anglo-American-led invasion of Iraq. The rapid advance of US military forces and the quick collapse of Saddam Hussein’s government resulted in only a temporary lull in the fighting. Within a few months of the end of formal combat operations against the Iraqi military, the country was wracked by a widespread civil war and insurgency that saw Shiites versus Sunnis and an al-Qaeda-inspired insurgency by “l-Qaeda in Iraq” against American and other coalition forces.

The United States Marine Corps was an integral part of the ground attack in the Second Gulf War and played a variety of roles throughout the period of combat operations. 1 MEF was a critical component of the US force that seized Baghdad and went on to take Tikrit, the heart of Sunni-dominated central Iraq. Eight years later, Marines are still on the ground playing a wide variety of combat, humanitarian, and training roles as the deployment of US military forces in Iraq nears its end.

EPISODES

1. YELLOW FOOTPRINTS Concerned about prior Iraqi use of chemical weapons and ongoing reports of extensive research into biological weapons, the US makes a case for the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
2. BUILD Up From forward bases in Kuwait, the US begins the rapid buildup of 1 MEF as men and supplies stream in.
3. CHARGE In March 2003, US and Allied military forces cross the border into Iraq. On the front line, 1 MEF leads the charge through central Iraq towards Baghdad.
4. DOGS AT THE GATE Within a matter of weeks, USMC forces are poised to enter Baghdad and seize control of the capital