Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War

Page 79

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Damascus Agreement–Dupleix Meetings

Damascus Agreement.

See Bahrain.

De Cuéllar, Javier Pérez

See Pérez de Cuéllar, Javier.

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)

A supersecret agency within the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency played a small part in shaping American prewar policy.

John R. Brinkerhoff, in a monograph on the U.S. Army Reserve’s role during the Persian Gulf War, writes, “The Defense Intelligence Agency is the primary producer of strategic intelligence within the Department of Defense. DIA is a defense agency manned by civilian employees and military personnel from all of the armed forces. DIA recognizes that it needs to be able to expand rapidly in time of crisis, and it relies extensively on reservists to provide that rapid expansion capability. About 1,300 reservists are assigned to or designated for DIA. DIA regards these reservists as an important part of its staff.”

DIA was a small but important component in the Bush administration’s shaping of policy before the war. On 23 July, less than two weeks before Iraq invaded Kuwait, the DIA reported to the White House that, after assessing Iraq’s military strengths and weaknesses, the possibility of an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait had abated. Only eight days later, on 31 July, the DIA analysts reversed their assessment, agreeing with a USCENTCOM (U.S. Central Command) appraisal that an Iraqi invasion was imminent.

On the role of DIA during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Brinkerhoff further reports, “When Iraq threatened Kuwait in late July 1990, DIA responded by establishing on 1 August 1990 a Task Force to focus on the Persian Gulf area. The Middle East–Africa Division of DIA’s Research Directorate, headed by Mr. John Moore, provided the core of the task force, which grew from 115 to over 800 intelligence analysts. The mission of the task force was to provide strategic intelligence to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Central Command, and other members of the coalition. In addition, the task force provided intelligence to Congress and the White House.”

References:

Brinkerhoff, John R., “United States Army Reserve in Operation Desert Storm—Strategic Intelligence Support: Military Intelligence Detachments for the Defense Intelligence Agency,” Monograph of the Department of the Army, Army Reserve—Program Analysis and Evaluation Division (DAAR-PAE), 1991, 1–2.

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)

This little-known and highly classified satellite system was used during the Persian Gulf War. The military magazine Air Force wrote in 1994 of the program, “[It provides] global and infrared coverage. DMSP satellites work in pairs, each scanning an area 1,800 miles (2,896 km) wide and surveying the entire Earth four times a day. Because of DMSP, during the Gulf War aircrews knew which targets were clear and which were obscured by clouds or other weather phenomena.” Vice Admiral William Dougherty wrote in the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings in 1992, “Weather satellites also played a key role during the war. U.S. and coalition forces used data from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft and civil weather satellites to predict rapidly changing weather patterns and monitor burning oil wells.”

References:

Dougherty, William A., “Storm from Space,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 118:8 (August 1992), 51;

“Space Almanac,” Air Force 77:8 (August 1994), 51.

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