Global War on Terrorism

Overview  Understand the role of air power in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT)  Know key events in each Operation in GWOT  PROVIDE COMFORT  NORTHERN/SOUTHERN WATCH  ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan)  NOBLE EAGLE (US/Canada)  IRAQI FREEDOM (Iraq)

CPS Questions (1 - 2)

After Desert Storm …  U.S. supported NATO efforts in Middle East for 10 more years!  Operation PROVIDE COMFORT – Saddam slaughtering Kurdish rebels in N. Iraq – Protection & humanitarian relief for Kurdish refugees  Operation NORTHERN WATCH – Northern NATO “no fly” zone – Protected Turkey/Kurdish refugees in N. Iraq  Operation SOUTHERN WATCH – Southern NATO “no fly” zone – Protected Saudi Arabia & Kuwait

Then …9-11 Sept 11 th 2001  19 “terrorists” hijacked 4 American commercial airliners "Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward. Pres George W. Bush  Flew 2 planes into twin towers of the World Trade Center  Crashed 3rd aircraft into Pentagon  Passengers on 4 th airliner (UA Flight 93) fought terrorists & crashed into a field in Pennsylvania  Over 3,000 people died Taken from wikipedia.com

Critical Thought Activity  We discover, the “faceless cowards” turn out to be Islamic Extremists…  On a piece of paper, write down reasons why you think they did this… – Why did they attack us? – What do you believe were their reasons?  Be ready to share your ideas with the class

Who were the Terrorists?  Islamic Extremist group - “Al-Qaeda”  Headed by Osama Bin Laden  Hated Americans (YOU)! Why?? – Imperialism in Iraq – Desecrated Saudi Arabia holy land – Believed U.S. was evil / immoral infidels – Hated Jewish Israel supported by U.S. – Wanted to convert world to Islam by force

Why Afghanistan??  Let Al-Qaeda forces train & hide there  Who were the Taliban?  Ruling regime in Afghanistan 400 AD Buddhas of Bamyan, Afghanistan – In 2001, an archaeological treasure destroyed by Taliban

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF)  Less than a month after 9-11, the U.S. military unleashed Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF)  Goals: 1. Destroy terrorists’ organization & their training camps in Afghanistan 2. Target members of the Taliban regime

Chapter 6, Lesson 3 Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF)  OEF began on 7 Oct 2001  USAF bombers struck terrorist training camps & bases  W/n 18 months, coalition air forces flew more than 85,000 sorties  Dropped more than 9,650 tons of bombs Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

Combat Aircraft used in OEF Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force B-1B-52 AC-130 A-10 F-16 F-15E B2 new stealth – flew sorties from Missouri to Afghanistan & back B-2

Precision Weapons in OEF  Improvements precision weapons from Desert Storm – Precision weapons - guided missiles & bombs – So accurate can be placed w/n feet of the target  Hellfire missile  Delivered by UAV  UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle  Ex: MQ-1 Predator MQ-9 Reaper  Future of USAF?

 In addition to fighting terrorists overseas, airmen back home supported: Operation NOBLE EAGLE (ONE)  Goal: safeguard U.S. homeland & Canada  NORAD responsible for ONE – North American Aerospace Defense Command  Began shortly after 11 Sep 2001  W/N 6 months U.S. flew over 27,000 sorties over U.S. cities  May be ordered to shoot down ANY suspicious aircraft

Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)  Another front in War on Terror was Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)  U.S. & coalition partners launched OIF on 19 Mar 2003  Air & ground forces used in “Shock & Awe” campaign  Lesson learned from Vietnam  W/n 22 days, coalition forces reached Baghdad - VIDEOVIDEO  Objective: remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power & rid country of (WMD) – Weapons of Mass Destruction

U.S. Aircraft in Iraq  12 F-117 fighters flew into Baghdad to hit command & control targets on 20 Mar 2003  Weakened Hussein’s ability to communicate with his military  By Jun 2006, B-2 stealth bombers had flown 49 sorties (Became fully operational in 2003)  PLUS: A-10s, AC-130s, B-1s, B-52s, C-5s, C-17s, C-130s, E-3s, E-8s, F-15s, F-16s, KC-10s, KC-135s, RC-135s, U-2s

Precision Weapons in OIF  Played major role in Iraq …  About 70% of all weapons used in OIF were precision  2 of newer ones: GBU-38 and GBU-39 (GBU = “Guided-Bomb Unit”)  Why the Precision approach? 1. Puts civilians at less risk in crowded cities, 2. Causes less damage to surrounding buildings  F-15E – can hit target w/n 6 feet from 60 miles away TSgt Mark Worley unloads a GBU-38 from an F-16 Fighting Falcon

How did OEF, ONE and OIF End?  Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan? – Continues today ….Still hunting terrorists – 2009, Pres. Barack Obama deployed of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan – but pledged withdrawal by 2014 – Jun Afghan National Security Forces formally take over combat operations. – Osama Bin Laden? May, 2011 – located in Pakistan Killed by Navy SEALS - Operation Neptune Spear

How did OEF, ONE and OIF End?  Operation NOBLE EAGLE (ONE) - Defense of our homeland?  NOARD still doing constant vigilance today – 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year! – Will probably NEVER end …

 Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)? – Any WMD found? – 2003, captured Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole Operation RED DAWN How did OEF, ONE and OIF End? No

Critical Thought Activity  We FINALLY caught Saddam Hussein!!  What do we do with him now?  On a piece of paper, write down what you think we should do with him and why  Be ready to share your ideas with the class

 Dec 2006, after long trial, the new Iraqi government executed Saddam for war crimes  For several more years, U.S./allied forces tried to keep peace & rebuild Iraq’s military & security forces – Rebels of the new govt & Al-Qaeda fought a/g U.S.  Finally in 2010, U.S. began to transition out of Iraq – SECDEF Robert Gates officially renamed OIF to “Operation NEW DAWN”  Dec 2011 – U.S. officially declared an end of Iraq War – At loss of much blood & treasure – How long? – Aug 1990 (Desert Storm) - Dec 2011 – 21 YEARS! How did OIF end? (Cont.) Mar 2003 – Dec 2011 – Almost 8 years

In the End  US Airmen have flown in many other missions …  Some combat, others humanitarian, some both ….  Sometimes USAF helps in natural disasters …  The USAF has grown from a tiny unit of the Army to an independent, equal military service … The most powerful Air Force the world has ever known!

Video Remember where we started with the airplane? Here is where we end!

CPS Questions (3 - 16)

Summary  Role of air power in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT)  Key events in each Operation in GWOT  PROVIDE COMFORT  NORTHERN/SOUTHERN WATCH  ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan)  NOBLE EAGLE (US/Canada)  IRAQI FREEDOM (Iraq)