The Persian Gulf War: A view through the themes of individual and society
The Persian Gulf War began in 1990 when Iraqi forces invaded the border of Kuwait. The United States led a coalition of forces between other countries eventually ending the war in 1991.1 The Persian Gulf War made many people of different backgrounds suffer by starvation, malnutrition and disease. The Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, was the main cause for this suffering.
Problems between Iraq and Kuwait started when Kuwait gained their independence and gained protection from British. Iraq did not want to recognize Kuwait as a separate country because Iraq believed that Kuwait was in their territory. Iraq and Kuwait were both part of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century, and Iraq thought Kuwait was still a province from the South of Iraq.2 Oil became the main problem that led to war. Iraqi leaders blamed Kuwait for pumping oil from Iraqi territory, and for not paying revenues for the oil taken out. Since Iraq had debts with Kuwait, Iraq then started harassing Kuwait. Another accusation Iraq placed on Kuwait was that Kuwait was pumping too much oil. According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), there is a limit of oil extraction on every country.3
All of these complaints led then to war. Kuwait did not want any confrontation and Iraq was not there to take any land away but to intimidate Kuwait. Talks between them did not help and invasion took place in August 2, 1990, when Iraq started mobilizing towards adjoining borders.4
On February 26, 1991 the war was, if not in its end, but to close to the defeat of the Iraqis by the coalition led powerfully by the United States. Public communication mainly by radio in Iraq told the contrary but not even its own people could belief victory but they all accepted defeat. Statistics showed that 148 Americans were dead, and 467 wounded. Many of these deaths or injuries were result of friendly fire. According to New York Times of September 1990, 200,000 Iraqis died.5
The main task for the world and the coalition was to stop Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s Mandatary.
Iraq and Saddam Hussein were trying to take over Kuwait, which was a major oil supplier to the world. If Iraq got Kuwait than Saudi Arabia would be right next to them. So then Iraq would pose an Immediate threat to take over Saudi Arabia, which was also a major oil supplier.
The Persian Gulf War started on 17 January 1991 in response to Iraq’s invasion and annexation
The Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm, the Persian Gulf War, The First Gulf War or The Kuwait War. Was a war that started 2 August 1990 when Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The war lasted to 28. February 1991, when President Bush declared a ceasefire. The war ended unofficially the 26th, when the Iraqi troops started to withdraw from Kuwait, after finishing their mission. The Coalition air forces continued to follow and bomb the Iraqi troops, even after the retreat started. They kept killing Iraqi troops, and a Highway 8 became known as the “Highway of Death”.
The involvement of the US through Operation Desert Storm ensured that Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in Iraq would be limited to Iraq. It was also aimed at ensuring that the welfare of the Arab nations was being taken care of. This operation saw the release of over 400 000 military troops in Saudi Arabia. Through the United Nations Security Council, the US was able to seek support from other countries in order to enhance effective policy formulation to keep Saddam Hussein’s aggression at bay. ...
In September 1980, a very destructive war with Iran was started by Saddam Hussein. This was a result of an invasion in Iran. This invasion spurred an eight year war. Saddam used c...
Then on the 22nd of August, Iraqi soldiers pervaded Kuwait taking and occupying everything of Kuwait government and property. Kuwait then sent out a cry for help to the big almighty country of the United States of America. Sheikh Jaber Al Sabah the current emir of Kuwait immediately met with the United State’s Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney at the time to ask for some sort of assistance to help get back Kuwait and drive the Iraqi forces back to Iraq. The United States then agreed with the Sabah and then started making plans of how they would take back Kuwait. The U.S gave specific orders to Saddam Hussein the leader of Iraq to withdraw his troop by the 15th of January of the year of 1991. If Hussein failed to do so the U.S would basically help Saddam and his military get out of Kuwait.
The Gulf war was a conflict that took place from 2 August 1990 to 28 February 1991. The reason for the United States involvement in this conflict was to liberate Kuwait from the invasion of Iraq. (Henry) SHORAD had a large role to play in this event through the protection against Iraq’s air breathing and munitions threats.
I searched a lot to find an article that talks about the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. The article by Peter Fitzgerald “The Invasion of War” explores the reasons of the war between Kuwait and Iraq, considering that they were great allies in the past. He suggests that the differences between these two countries were economic and diplomatic. In the past the two were great allies and they greatly assisted each other during wars providing a protective edge in their territories. Their friendship was brokeup when the Iraq government realized that they owed them billions. Although at that particular time after the Iraq-Iran war Iraq used much of their resources and could not pay their debt to Kuwait. In a desperate move to resolve this problem, they requested for a reduction in oil prices (Fitzgerald 45).
Desert Storm, otherwise known as the Gulf War, began in 1991 on the morning of January 16 (Fast Facts). Located off of the Persian Gulf, Desert Sto...
The Iraq war, also known as the second Gulf War, is a five-year, ongoing military campaign which started on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by U.S. troops. One of the most controversial events in the history of the western world, the war has caused an unimaginable number of deaths, and spending of ridiculous amounts of money. The reason for invasion war Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, which eventually was disproved by weapons inspectors. Many people question George W. Bush’s decision to engage a war in Iraq, but there might be greater reason why the decision was made. The ideas of George W. Bush might have been sculpted by one of the greatest works of all time, "The Prince."
The fighting in the Middle East is a problem that effects a majority of the world even today in the 21 Century. The never ending fighting can be summed up as a battle of good versus evil. Whether it is fighting over oil rich countries or people fighting a dictatorship America is always the first country to answer the call for help. In the late part of the year 1990 dictator Sudan Hussain the leader of Iraq invades the oil rich country Kuwait. January 12, 1991 U.S. Congress passes a resolution authorizing the use of force to liberate Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm begins four days later with air strikes against Iraq (Americans Best History 1). Shortly after the airstrikes have taken place U.S. ground forces are on the battle field. Within 100 hours of ground fighting Iraq surrenders and a cease fire is called. The conditions of the cease fire call for Iraq to destroy all weapon stockpiles and agree to end its support of
Soldiers falling, bullets flying, tensions rising, the Persian Gulf War was a significant war in terms of modern American history. The Cold War was a time of unease throughout the nation, from the end of World War Two in 1945 to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. After the Vietnam War ended poorly in the early 1970s, the United States remained out of war for another 20 years. When Iraq was threatening to invade Saudi Arabia in late 1990, the United States knew it had to intervene. After roughly two decades without war, America did not know how it’s military ranked up on an international level, especially against an Iraqi military that was the second largest in the world (Smith 2013). Soon after the stockpiling of coalition forces in the Middle East, the invasion of Iraq began. Weakening targets first with naval strikes, the ground forces invaded the Iraqi forces and liberated Kuwait. As soon as it started, the war ended in favor of the coalition forces. Due to the excellent preparations prior to the war, the United States led a swift battle against Iraq, which led to a successful outcome and restored faith in American citizens.
...q. Hussein spent months in hiding, however he was later found. He was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. He was then sent back to Iraq to face his death sentence: he was hung just north of Baghdad, at the Kadhimiya military base (EuroNews). It is clear that Hussein was willing to sacrifice the well being of his people and break alliances with strong allies as well as refuse demands from the United Nations Security Council to maintain control. Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical rule oppressed ethnic and religious groups in the Middle East, enabled him to make alliances that ensured that his position in authority continued, and led him to believe that he could refuse to comply with international laws. All of this, prompted the foreign involvement against Iraq and ultimately contributed to the problematic situation occurring in the country today.
The Iran – Iraq War started on September 22, 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran (Steele 14). Iraq had many reasons to invade Iran. A couple reasons were border territory issues between the nations, political issues, and the fear of the Islamic Revolution in Iran spreads into Iraq. The war continued on for eight years. In 1988, the United Nations stepped in and created a peace agreement for the two nations. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 was the official document that ended the Iran – Iraq War in July 1988. At that point, both nations were drained by the war. Both nations faced a drop in their economy, high death tolls, and other issues (Steele 17), but what was the main reason Iran accepted the peace agreement proposed by the
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a US-led coalition. The US wanted to destroy Saddam Hussein’s regime and bring democracy. To addition to that, US and its allies believed that Iraq had secret stocks of chemical and nuclear weapons, hence Iraq was a threat to the world (Axford 2010). In March 2003, US air bombed Baghdad and Saddam escaped Iraq. The invasion disarmed the government of Saddam Hussein. President Bush in March 2003 gave a premature speech, that tyrant of Iraq has fallen and US has freed its people. President Bush flew into Iraq to show the world that the war is over, even though nothing was accomplished (Kirk et al. 2014). Iraq was facing 13 years of scantions, therefore regime diverted its resources to flexible networks of patronage that kept it in power (Dodge 2007, 88). Iraq faced widespread of lawlessness and after the violent regime changed US could not control the situation. Iraqi civilians were looting, attacking ministries building and this resulted into a series of event (Kirk et al. 2014) . From a military perspective the regime was taken down, but they made no commitment to rebuild or secure the country.