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Changing Methods of Warfare at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 2000-2011 » High-Tech Warfare and 'Surgical' Air Strikes

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B6, Key topic 5

What 'new wars' and high-tech warfare mean
How satellite-guided and laser-guided weapons were used in Afghanistan from 2001 and Iraq from 2003
Why 'surgical' air strikes were seen as so important
Why air power could not beat insurgents on its own

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New wars and high-tech warfare

This lesson is part of the Paper 2 Section B breadth study on the changing nature of warfare, 1919-2011. After the attacks of 11 September 2001, the USA and its allies fought in Afghanistan and then Iraq. These wars were very different from the world wars. Historians often call wars like these 'new wars': one side has a modern, high-tech army, but the other side is not a state army at all.

Key terms:

New wars: wars in which a high-tech state army fights groups such as terrorists or guerrillas, often among civilians, rather than another uniformed army.
'Surgical' air strike: an air attack aimed so accurately at a chosen target, like a surgeon's knife, that little else is hit.
Satellite-guided weapon: a bomb or missile that uses signals from satellites (GPS) to find its target.
Laser-guided weapon: a bomb that follows a laser beam shining on the target.
Insurgent: a fighter who rebels against a government or foreign army, usually without a uniform and often hiding among civilians.
Improvised explosive device (IED): a home-made roadside bomb.

The technology behind 'surgical' strikes

The first Gulf War of 1991 had shown that precision-guided bombs worked. By 2001 they were better and more common.

🛰️ Satellite guidance

A kit called the JDAM fitted to an ordinary bomb let it steer itself by GPS to a set map position, usually within a few metres. GPS works through cloud and dust, so strikes could go ahead in poor weather.

💡 Laser guidance

A person or aircraft shines a laser on the target and the bomb homes in on it. This is useful for hitting a moving vehicle or one building in a street.

Pilots could now drop one bomb on one target, instead of dozens of unguided bombs to be sure of a hit. That meant fewer aircraft at risk and, in theory, fewer civilians hurt.

Afghanistan from 2001

The American and British strikes on the Taliban (the group that ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al-Qaeda, the terrorist network behind the 11 September attacks) began on 7 October 2001. Satellite-guided and laser-guided bombs hit Taliban command posts, air defences and troop positions. The Taliban had no modern air force to stop them.

The air strikes worked closely with small teams of special forces on the ground. These soldiers travelled with the Northern Alliance, the Afghan groups already fighting the Taliban. They used laser equipment to mark targets for aircraft overhead, and the bombs followed within minutes. Local fighters then advanced. This mix of air power, special forces and local allies helped the Taliban government fall in about two months.

Iraq from 2003

The invasion of Iraq began on 20 March 2003. The USA and its allies planned an opening called 'shock and awe': a huge air campaign against the government of Saddam Hussein, starting within a day of the invasion,, using many precision weapons on buildings that controlled the country, such as command centres and communications. Ground forces then moved quickly north. Baghdad was taken on 9 April 2003, and Saddam Hussein's government collapsed in about three weeks. On television, strikes looked clean and exact. The idea of a quick, 'surgical' victory seemed to have been proved.

The limits of air power against insurgents

Winning the first stage did not end either war. After 2003, insurgents in Iraq fought the coalition (the USA, Britain and their allies) and the new Iraqi government. In Afghanistan the Taliban came back as guerrillas (small groups of fighters who attack by surprise and then melt away).

Hard to find. Insurgents wore no uniforms and had no big bases. They hid in homes, markets and villages. A satellite-guided bomb is accurate, but it only hits the place it is told to hit, so poor information about who was there could mean the wrong target.
Civilian deaths. When insurgents were among civilians, an air strike could kill innocent people. These deaths made many Iraqis and Afghans angry and could help insurgents recruit. 'Surgical' strikes were not always as clean as the name suggested.
Land still had to be held. Bombs could destroy a government but could not patrol streets, protect people or run a country. The coalition needed soldiers on the ground, and the battle for the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004 was fought largely by ground troops.
Cheap weapons. Insurgents answered high technology with IEDs. These cheap roadside bombs killed many coalition soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Change and continuity: precision weapons changed how air power was used, because one bomb could now do what once took many. But, as in Vietnam, a stronger army could still struggle against fighters who used guerrilla methods. Technology had changed, but the difficulty of beating guerrillas had not.

Common mistakes

Saying 'surgical' strikes never killed civilians. They were more accurate, but civilians still died, especially when the information was wrong or insurgents hid among them.
Mixing up the dates: Afghanistan air strikes began on 7 October 2001, and the Iraq invasion on 20 March 2003.
Saying air power alone won the wars. Special forces, local allies and ground troops were needed.
Mixing up this lesson with the first Gulf War of 1991. That war was fought against Iraq's army to free Kuwait, not against insurgents.

Exam-style question

Explain TWO causes of the growing use of 'surgical' air strikes by the USA and its allies in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 21st century. [8 marks]

Model answer

One cause was new technology. Satellite-guided bombs such as the JDAM, and laser-guided bombs, could hit a chosen target within a few metres, and GPS guidance worked in bad weather. Since the first Gulf War of 1991 these weapons had become better and more common, so by the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 commanders could rely on them to destroy Taliban command posts. This made strikes from the air a realistic way to fight.

A second cause was the wish to limit casualties. Afghanistan and Iraq were far from home, and governments feared public anger if many of their soldiers were killed. Air strikes kept pilots and soldiers out of danger, and the USA also wanted to show that it was attacking the Taliban and Saddam Hussein's government, not ordinary people. Precision weapons, such as those used in the 'shock and awe' opening of March 2003, made it possible to say that civilians would be spared.

What lifts it to the top level: each cause has precise evidence and explains how it led to more precision strikes.

Exam tip

Give two different causes, and for each one add a date, name or weapon and say how it led to the outcome. One cause alone can score no more than half marks.

Recap

'New wars' pit high-tech armies against groups such as terrorists and insurgents.
Satellite-guided and laser-guided weapons let aircraft hit single targets in Afghanistan from 2001 and Iraq from 2003.
Air strikes combined with special forces and local allies brought down the Taliban, and 'shock and awe' helped topple Saddam Hussein in about three weeks.
Against insurgents, air power was limited: they were hard to find, civilians died, ground forces were needed and IEDs hit back.

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