Possible Postwar Force Requirements for the Persian Gulf

How Little Is Enough?

by David A. Shlapak, Paul K. Davis

Download

Download eBook for Free

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 1.6 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Purchase

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback45 pages $23.00 $18.40 20% Web Discount

This Note describes a methodology for estimating the force levels that would be needed to defend Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf crisis, and it describes the results of a preliminary analysis performed using the methodology. The analysis suggests that about 3.5 effective equivalent divisions (EEDs; a U.S. armored division equals one EED) of heavy mechanized forces are needed to provide a good chance of successfully defending against an Iraqi attack on the Arabian peninsula; therefore, a militarily useful U.S. presence in the region need not be as large as some have predicted. The authors also suggest that some 150-200 dedicated Air Force and Army aircraft for attack of ground forces must be available on D-day.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Note series. The note was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1979 to 1993 that reported other outputs of sponsored research for general distribution.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.