During Operation Desert Storm the intense air campaign exposed Iraqi soldiers to a broad spectrum of conditions that were designed to foster the development of combat stress reactions. The authors studied twelve Iraqi prisoners of war who were

treated in the United States Army evacuation hospitals, and conclude that the strategy was effective. The enemy soldiers presented with more combat stress-related symptoms than did American soldiers who required treatment in a military stress recovery unit or reservists who had experienced significant trauma; but they recovered more fully and with less sophisticated treatment than the American controls. The authors confirm the notion that the severity of the combat experience is a more important cause of stress-related disorders than are cultural conditions or the individual's pre-existing personality.