European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Gulf How will history judge it Bush struggles in the polls. Saddam remains in Power. Thousands of fleeing iraqi troops were trapped on the Quot Highway of death Quot Between a by Michael Hill the Baltimore Sun a year ago America was basking in the afterglow of desert storm. The much feared ground offensive into Iraq and Kuwait had turned into a nearly unopposed Romp across the Sands. The carcasses of Saddam Hussein s soviet tanks manned by his allegedly crack Republican guards littered the desert. The cease fire was 2 Days old. The pendulum of popular culture has already swung As the orgiastic excess of the postwar Pride has become an oddly Distant memory clouded by the economic storms of More recent troubles. That s a year later. What about five 10, 20, maybe 50 years from now How will the War in the persian Gulf go Down in history what is its lasting significance a i think that depends on How it turns out Quot said Stephen Ambrose a history professor at the University of new Orleans who often writes on military matters. Quot there Are a lot of different scenarios not very Many of them pleasant. Quot this War was so sharply divergent from our experiences in world War i and world War ii. It was More like Korea. We did t March in and take Over the enemy s capital and get rid of its Leader. In world wars i and ii we were the Clear Victor. That a not the Case  though the focus in the past year has been on the stunning Success of the military and the ambiguities of the diplomatic situation with Saddam Hussein still in Power in Iraq most historians interviewed Felt that the War will eventually be seen As having an important diplomatic and political Impact while its military significance will be negligible. Quot Bush will get credit for his diplomacy for uniting a coalition to oppose naked aggression Quot Ambrose said. Quot that is something that has not been done very often in  Quot i think it will go Down As a Success Quot said Michael Mandelbaum a professor who specializes in american foreign policy at Johns Hopkins school of advanced International studies Sais in Washington. Quot it is a limited Success limited More by the nature of the Region than by anything else Quot Mandelbaum said pointing to the inevitable complexities of Middle East politics. Quot the problem is that the War was oversold Quot he said of the pendulum swing in popular opinion. Quot it did improve the possibilities for democracy and stability in the Middle East but it did no to create a new world order. There was no Way it  Quot How the War is viewed in history will depend on if anything comes out of the current Mideast peace negotiations Quot William Roberts an associate professor at the naval Academy s history department said. Mandelbaum and Peter Rodman a fellow at the foreign policy Institute in Washington agreed that what the War did do was to strengthen the United states ability to control the peace processes in the Middle East. Quot the War broke the Back of the Arab rejection St front Quot Rodman said referring to those states led by Iraq and Syria that had blocked negotiations with Israel. Quot the balance of Power shifted to the moderate states like saudi Arabia and Egypt. It allowed the palestinians to Start talking to Israel about autonomy Over the objections of a weakened Plo. This let the peace talks get off the ground. Quot the Point of the War was to keep Hussein from becoming the dominant Power in the Region and from controlling open. That a Why he invaded Kuwait he was trying to get a stranglehold on open Quot said Rodman who was a National Security Council official in the Reagan and Bush administrations. Quot i think if we had t gone to War Hussein would have had a nuclear bomb by now. These objectives were Worth going to War  Squadron Leader in the Royal air Force currently teaching at the air Force Academy in Colorado Springs colo., said that the cadets Are being taught that few lessons can be Learned from desert storm. Quot we teach that you cannot make conclusions about the abilities of the soviet equipment from this War Quot he said. Quot even though the iraqis were soviet equipped and soviet trained they did not fight with the soviet tactics you would expect. Another army with this equipment could have put up a much stronger  the historical lessons for the Navy were even More limited according to Robert love of the naval Academy s history department. Despite the overwhelming military Success the naval Academy s Roberts a specialist in the history of the army said that the most lasting Impact on the military will not be in the area of tactics or strategy or weaponry. Quot the Gulf War experience changed the viewpoint of the military toward the rest of society and it changed the status of the military in society Quot he said. Quot i think that effect on the military s morale will be a lasting influence of the War. A year ago i would have said the War did the same thing for the morale of the country but that turned out not to be the Case Quot Quot it was a very if impressive and professional military Victory Mandelbaum said. Quot but it must be remembered it was against a third world army that did t want to fight and did t fight. This was t world War  despite the impressive Success of air Power a the videotapes of hits by Quot smart Quot bombs Are among the War s most lasting images a Roger Dunsford a Quot this War was about throwing a lot of Metal into a limited area for an extended period of time Quot love said. Quot that s not what the Navy does. A few things were Learned like that the Tomahawk the cruise missile is very effective for certain missions. Some Navy people had doubted  beyond the questions of diplomatic and military history is How the War will be remembered in the collective consciousness of the country. Quot i think people will have two types of memories Quot said Mark Crispin Miller of Johns Hopkins who is at work on a Book that analyses the War As an elaborately staged Media event. Quot they will have a fond recollection of the Pride and pleasure they Felt at the time they will recall the jubilation and parades on to. At the same time they will feel a certain dissatisfaction because the ultimate purpose of the War will remain  Miller claims that history will eventually be very critical of the War once it uncovers the truth behind what he describes As a massive propaganda Campaign to sell the War to the american Public. Quot television which is supposed to bring people the raw truth into their living rooms instead became a purveyor of these lies and deceptions Quot he said. Quot the entire affair became a big advertisement for War. It was t about this War it was about making it of to go to War the next  Ken Burns the producer of the acclaimed pcs series j the civil War said that the very elements that made the Gulf War so wildly popular a year ago a its Brevity the relative ease of Victory a will keep it from having a lasting Impact since it did not require the sustained dedication and sacrifice associated with wartime memories. Page 14 the stars and stripes Wedney