The Invasion of Kuwait
During the 1980s, Iran and Iraq fought a long and bloody war over the control of territory and oil. Both sides lost many thousands of lives and suffered millions of dollars of damage. Iraq wanted to use oil income to finance the rebuilding it needed. But Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein felt that two Arab neighbors, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, were keeping oil prices too low. And Iraq had a long-standing claim on Kuwait's territory. After a weeks of threats, Saddam Hussein had his troops invade Kuwait on August 1,1991. The world became involved in this local dispute. The economies of the world rely on oil from the Middle East to function. The possibility that Saddam Hussein would control the oil of Kuwait troubled world leaders. Many feared that Iraq might invade Saudi Arabia next, controlling even more oil. U.S President George Bush rallied world support to condemn Iraq. The United Nations. (UN) banned all trade with Iraq, prohibiting it for selling any oil. Many battalions of troops were sent to Saudi Arabia to prevent a possible invasion. Despite months of pressure, Saddam Hussein showed no signs of leaving Kuwait. The UN approved the use of force if Iraq did not pull out of Kuwait by January 15,1992. The buildup of troops in Saudi Arabia continued, soldiers came from many nations; the United States supplied the most, but there were also troops from Great Britain and France. Most remarkably, given that the foe was an Arab nation, there were soldiers from Egypt,Monocco, and Syria-as well as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Desert Storm
The air war when the deadline passed and Iraq troops were still in Kuwait, it was time to fight. The plans created by the overall commander,U.S. general Norman Schwarzkopf, called for the fighting to begin in the air, to weaken the Iraqi defenses, Early in the morning of January 16, the air attacks began. They continued for over five weeks. The allies used new laser-guided missiles and tons of old-fashioned bombs. The initial attacks were not in Kuwait but in Iraq. There the allied planes destroyed control centers and communication sites so that the Iraqis could not mount an effective defense. It works. Throughout the fighting, the allied planes completely controlled the skies.
The only Iraqi move was to strike back with missile attack. one of its prime targets was Israel. Saddam Hussein hoped that Israel would counterattack and that an Israeli attack on an Arab nation would drive the other Arab nations out of the coalition that opposed him. It didn't happen.under strong pressure from the United States, Israel did not retaliate.
The Ground War Late in February, Saddam Hussein was given a last chance to withdraw from Kuwait. When his troops remained, the allies launched a ground war. The Iraqis expected a direct attack on the troops north from Saudi Arabia and East from the Persian Gulf. Instead, the allies attacked from the west. In a brilliant move, Schwarzkopf secretly moved most of his army around the West flank of the Iraqis. He also dropped paratroops deep into Iraqi territory, where they could move east to cut off an Iraqi retreat. The Iraqi army was overwhelmed. Soldiers surrendered in huge numbers; almost 100,000 finally gave up. Tens of thousands more deserted. Untold thousands were killed, either by aerial bombardments or by the tank, artillery,and infantry attacks. Within four days-100 hours- President Bush declared a cease-fire. The Iraqis had fled Kuwait, and the main strength of Iraq's army was broken.
A Hope for Peace
Soon after the end of the war, Iraq was shaken by revolts against Saddam Hussein. But the Allies offered the rebels no help, and Saddam Hussein used what remained of his army to suppress the uprisings. Despite the Allies' hopes,he stayed in power. Kuwait faced a huge rebuilding job. Iraqi troops had tried to sabotage Kuwait's oil industry, sinking oil tankers and lighting fires at hundreds of oil wells. It took until the fall of 1991 to put all the fires out. The pollution damaged the desert and the gulf. Black, only rain fell as far away as the Soviet Union and damaged crops in Iran and Pakistan. The Persian Gulf War,as it came to bie called,was immediately popular in the United States. But economic troubles and the survival of Saddam Hussein lessened the sense of victory. The most lasting result of the Gulf War may be its effect on Middle East peace. After the war the United States was able to get Israel and the Arab nations to talk directly about ways to settle their conflict. After seven separate meeting, peace was still not achieved. But at least the two sides were talking.
