Tanker War in the Gulf: Operation Earnest Will, Diplomacy and Seapower in Practice
248 pages
Dr James WE Smith, King’s College London
Tanker War in the Gulf: Operation Earnest Will, Diplomacy and Seapower in Practice by Tom Duffy is a masterful demonstration of analysing history, gaining profound insight from an event and making it useful to understanding of the past, present and future. The work brilliantly marries historical analysis with contemporary strategic thought, rigorously testing and refining our understanding of seapower in practice.
The title offers a detailed, firsthand account of Operation EARNEST WILL that took place 1987–1988: a US led naval escort of Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq ‘Tanker War’ phase of the broader conflict. Drawing on his experiences as both a US naval officer who participated in the operation and later as a diplomat in the region, Duffy argues that the limited, sea-based nature of this intervention was a key factor in its relative success. He places the campaign in its wider strategic, political, and diplomatic context. This is highly welcome to see when naval history post-1945 so often has a tendency of repeating battle analysis akin to Second World War events at sea in isolation then setting them in context. As ever, seapower cannot become disconnected from the broader objectives of the nation state.
The narrative covers the planning and execution of the convoys, the roles of other participating navies, the interplay with United Nations politics, and the operation’s short, through long-term impacts. The relevance and timeliness of this book is apt considering events that have taken place in the Red Sea and may yet take place in the Indo-Pacific. Throughout, the book connects historical lessons on seapower with contemporary security concerns, suggesting that this example of maritime diplomacy and limited warfare holds enduring relevance for future conflicts. While the book presents an detailed account of the 1987 ‘Tanker War’—America’s first major military conflict with Iran—it also focuses on the pivotal USS Stark incident. Through extensive access to investigations, official reports, and primary sources, the author also documents how the US Navy protected Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf while being forced to navigate complex strategic, tactical, international and political challenges. The narrative also emphasises naval accountability, following a six-month official inquiry into the attack on USS Stark, an attack that remains a useful study for naval personnel to this day. Alongside the Stark tragedy, the book explores broader contextual elements: Soviet naval presence monitoring US operations, US defence politics, historical military theory’s application to modern sea warfare, and the intricate protocols governing international maritime conflict.
The strategic theory framework and discussion in the book significantly enhances an already beautifully balanced and nuanced analysis. The book is critical for addressing the significant gap in naval historiography where it sets a valuable standard for emerging works on post-1980s events. As naval historians have tended to preoccupy themselves with the ‘Age of Sail’ and ‘World Wars’, missing the crucial period of post-1945, perhaps bar the 1982 Falklands War, demonstrates works such as this are genuinely needed. Of course, the situation will likely improve over time, especially as declassification proceeds and records become available to the public and scholars and those with real-world experience of events, such as Duffy, are able to tell their stories, particularly after 2001.
This book cannot be recommended highly enough for War Studies students and a global audience of defence professionals, civilian and military. BZ to the author.
