This page is about the military attack; for the Sega CD FMV game, see Surgical Strike (video game).
A surgical strike is a military attack which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed to have resulted in only damage to the intended legitimate military target, and no collateral damage to surrounding structures, vehicles, buildings, etc.
Surgical strikes are generally carried out by precision guided munitions, and in particular by aircraft. However the term "surgical strike" may also be employed to describe an assassination by precise means, such as with a sniper rifle.
Surgical strikes are often employed in urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations. Use of precision guided weapons minimizes collateral damage and civilian casualties, both of which are important in urban environments and during "limited conflicts" which the United States has been prominently involved in since the Vietnam War. The significance of minimizing civilian casualties has grown tremendously with the advent of the modern media, and the rapid and unrestricted flow of information present in the modern era. American and international public opinion was outraged by United States bombing campaigns of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, which resulted in the loss of millions of innocent lives.
The importance of surgical strikes was emphasized by the United States Department of Defense during the Gulf War, and was used to emphasize the contrast of these "one bomb, one target" attacks with the slash and burn techniques utilized by aerial bombardment since World War II (and to a small extent during World War I). This contrast was especially significant because of the civilian casualties that were generally associated with bombings up to the Gulf War, and the emphasis The Pentagon placed upon limited war in the Gulf. |