Persian Gulf War
Operation Desert Storm “The Persian Gulf War”
The Persian Gulf War or Gulf War (also known as the mother of all battles August 1990 28 February 1991)[7][8] was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force from 34 nations[9] authorized by the United Nations (UN) but led primarily by the United States and the United Kingdom in order to return Kuwait to the control of the Emir of Kuwait. The conflict developed in the context of the IranIraq War and in 1990 Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraq’s oil through slant drilling.[10] The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops was met with immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by some members of the UN Security Council, and with immediate preparation for war by the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait began in January 1991 and was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which took over Kuwait and entered Iraqi territory. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. Iraq also launched missiles against targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel in retaliation for their support of the invading forces in Kuwait.
Since the Iran/Iraq War of 198088 had been called the “Persian Gulf War” by many news sources, the 1991 war has sometimes been called the “Second Persian Gulf War”, but more commonly, the 1991 war is styled simply the “Gulf War” or the “First Gulf War”, in distinction from the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[11] “Operation Desert Storm” was the coalition name of the air and land operations and is often used to refer to the conflict.
The Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), codenamedOperation Desert Storm (17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991) commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a UN-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait.
The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf War, Gulf War I, or the Iraq War, before the term “Iraq War” became identified instead with the 2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the U.S. as “Operation Iraqi Freedom”).
The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed American forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition. The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$36 billion of the US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.
The war was marked by the beginning of live news on the front lines of the fight, with the primacy of the U.S. network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast images on board the American bombers during Operation Desert Storm.
The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 17 January 1991. This was followed by a ground assault on 23 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on the border of Saudi Arabia. However, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.
