Gulf War 1990-1991

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Gulf War 1990-1991

• by
• Jack Hope

2
The Players

• Kuwait (invaded and occupied August 2, 1990 -
  February 27, 1991)
• Iraq
• Saddam Hussein (Iraqi President)
• Palestine Liberation Organization (passive
  support of Iraq)
• Jordan (remains neutral, but ignores blockade of
  Iraq)
• United States (lead nation in UN coalition)
• George H. W. Bush (U.S. President)
• Colin Powell (U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of
  Staff)
• Norman Schwarzkopf (Commander and Chief of the
  U.S. Central Command)
• 25 other nations contribute troops to UN
  coalition
• Israel - persuaded by U.S. to stay out, despite
  missile attacks

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Reasons for Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

• Slant drilling into Iraq by Kuwait
• Debts owed to Kuwait by Iraq
• Artificial borders established by British
• Vague U.S. stance on Iraq-Kuwait disagreement

-- we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts
-- -- attributed to April Glaspie, U.S.
ambassador to Iraq before the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait
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Iraq invasion of Kuwait

• August 2, 1990, Iraq invades Kuwait despite
  on-going negotiations with Arab states to prevent
  war
• Kuwait, a small country with no sizeable
  military, fell quickly

5
Desert Shield

• UN resolution 660condemns Iraqi invasion
• UN resolution 661economic sanctionsagainst Iraq
  
• UN resolution 678withdraw deadlineJanuary 15,
  1991
• Meanwhile, coalition forcesmove into position,
  includingover 500,000 U.S. troops,mostly in
  Saudi Arabia

This will not stand
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Desert Storm (the air war)

• Air war begins January 17, 1991
• Bombs begin falling in Baghdad during U.S.
  national news broadcasts
• U.S. uses stealth airplanes for the first time
• Cruise missiles, smart bombs used, but majority
  of ordinance dumb
• Iraqi pilots escape to Iran

Anti-aircraft fire over Baghdad
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Desert Storm (the ground war)

• Coalition forces enter Iraq and Kuwait on
  February 22, 1991
• Thousands of demoralized Iraqi troops surrender
  rather than fight
• American armor decimates elite, Iraqi Republican
  guard troops

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End of hostilities

• Saddam Hussein orders Iraqi troops to set Kuwaiti
  oil fields alight
• Retreating Iraqi forces destroyed along the
  Highway of Death
• Cease fire accepted on February 27, 1991
• Ground war ended within 100 hours

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An uneasy peace

• Saddam Hussein puts down rebellions in the Shia
  south and Kurdish north
• U.S. sets up no-fly zones to prevent further
  Iraq aggression against Shia and Kurds, though
  the rebellions have already been effectively
  squashed
• UN sends weapons inspectors to Iraq numerous
  times to locate Saddam Husseins weapons of mass
  destruction
• Gulf War syndrome afflicts veterans, causes
  birth defects. Still under investigation.

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Hindsight

• "I would guess if we had gone in there, I would
  still have forces in Baghdad today. We'd be
  running the country. We would not have been able
  to get everybody out and bring everybody home.
• And the final point that I think needs to be made
  is this question of casualties. I don't think you
  could have done all of that without significant
  additional U.S. casualties, and while everybody
  was tremendously impressed with the low cost of
  the (1991) conflict, for the 146 Americans who
  were killed in action and for their families, it
  wasn't a cheap war.
• And the question in my mind is, how many
  additional American casualties is Saddam
  (Hussein) worth? And the answer is, not that
  damned many. So, I think we got it right, both
  when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but
  also when the President made the decision that
  we'd achieved our objectives and we were not
  going to go get bogged down in the problems of
  trying to take over and govern Iraq.
• -- Dick Cheney U.S. Secretary of Defense1992

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Bibliography

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_war
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Schwarzkopf
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_drilling
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Glaspie
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vDOPvdIQwfUU
• http//www.menzelphoto.com/gallery/big/kuwait8.htm
  
• http//www.afa.org/magazine/jan2006/0106d_storm.as
  p
• http//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ImageRusting_ta
  nk_at_the_Highway_of_Death_in_Iraq.jpg
• http//www.kuwait-info.com
• http//www.acig.org/artman/publish/printer_213.sht
  ml