Product Description

"Steel Rain" - They were the best-kept secret in the air campaign in the Gulf War--the controversial strategic plan to wipe out Iraqi targets, the classified missions of airborne spy planes and the clever deception that used harmless decoys to overwhelm Baghdad's air defense network. "Secrets in the Sand" - The real stories of secret operations behind enemy lines in the Gulf War. The German undercover agent who worked for Iraq, the secret role of the U-2 spy plane and the hunt for mobile scud missile launchers. Narrated by Charlton Heston

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133038 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-05-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
The Gulf War seems to have ended nearly as soon as it began. After weeks of relentlessly pummeling Iraqi positions from the air, ground troops moved in, the Iraqi military folded, and Allied soldiers were soon on their way home to heroes' welcomes. Secrets of War looks at the technology and tactics that went into the overwhelming victory. The "Steel Rain" segment looks at the top- secret surveillance aircraft and electronic measures that went into neutralizing Iraq's air defenses and made the skies safe for the hundreds of air strikes carried out by the Allies. "Secrets in the Sand" documents the efforts of Special Forces behind enemy lines, the German spy who worked for the Iraqis, and the role of the U-2 spy plane in helping to locate and destroy Iraq's mobile missile launchers. The armored campaign of the ground war was spectacularly successful, with Allied tanks demolishing Iraq's Soviet-era armor at will. Disturbingly, much of that success was due to "depleted uranium" rounds, shells that were constructed using nuclear waste, with health consequences that remain to be seen. Another negative consequence of the war is discussed in the decision to leave Saddam Hussein in power, to cause trouble for many years to come. Narrated by Charlton Heston's stentorian tones, this is of interest to military buffs, but is rather dry viewing for anyone else. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Arms with no politics...
This DVD is fine but not all that... you can not take it as a documentary about political, strategical or historical events. Instead you take it as power show-off.

If you are after arms, planes, fighters and strategic weapons used in the war... this DVD covers most of it.

But if you want fully covered details about behind the scenes policies and in depth covered histroy, this DVD is not all that.

Politics AND bomb footage
This DVD covers the war from several different perspectives. You will see the video footage shot by the pilots as they dropped their bombs. This footage is brief, but it is relatively clear in most instances.

There is also coverage of the political side of the war. For instance there is fairly extensive coverage of the political confusion that led directly to the conflict. Also included are interviews with the men who were there, from the man in the field, to the top brass.

well done
The "secrets of war series" offers a behind the battles perspective of war in the twentieth century. This video is one of eleven DVDs' in the Secrets of war series and I have found all informative and entertaining, "Including this one." The "secrets of war" presents the battles and events from the covert and intelligence point of view. The series in addition portrays the America positively.