| Abstract: | Assessing the recent Persian Gulf War from a cartographic standpoint is now possible. Unlike in previous wars, which established new technologies for postwar cartographic exploitation, the gulf war is unique in having presented a proving ground for electronic cartographic technology. An analysis is given of map coverage of the war by the media, especially magazines and newspapers, and from a military perspective. From a cartographic standpoint, the winners in the war include hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, geographic information systems (GIS), workstation-based image processing and cartographic map-production systems, and radar imaging from aircraft. More fully exploiting and building on the success of these technologies in peacetime seems to be a clear mandate for academic and professional cartography. |
