PREFACE

          In August 1990, Iraqi forces directed by Saddam Hussein poured over the border into Kuwait. The ensuing crisis led to war - the first major military clash of the post - Cold War era.

          For 43 days in early 1991, the armed forces of the United States and a multi-national coalition fought a successful military campaign to expel Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

          It is vital that we fully understand the lessons of the war in Southwest Asia and what they mean for our future. In the months after hostilities ceased, the House Armed Services Committee conducted hundreds of interviews with nearly 1,000 individuals who experienced the war firsthand.

          The committee is grateful to Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, for making the military personnel who planned and implemented Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm available for interview. Without his assistance and that of the staff within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, our effort would not have been possible.

          One of the most important lessons to be learned is that this war was unique in many ways. Many of its most salient features - not least the foolhardiness of our adversary -- are not likely to be repeated in future conflicts. Nevertheless, we strongly believe that Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm has given us, as we say in our report, " an unprecedented and invaluable opportunity to measure, challenge and adjust the policies and assumptions that will drive U.S. defense budgeting and strategy in the years ahead ".

          The publication of these Findings - Defense For A New Era / Lessons of the Gulf War - is part of a continuing effort by the House Armed Services Committee to understand the momentous changes taking place in the world and to contribute to the debate on how we should respond to these changes.

Les Aspin William L. Dickinson

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