Persian Gulf War (America at War)

The Gulf War marked the pinnacle of American military supremacy

Map of the Persian Gulf region. Map adapted from Wikimedia Commons. US officials worried that the invasion of Kuwait might be Iraq's first step in a larger effort to consolidate its power over other nations in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia. The United States and Iran had been on bad terms since , when Islamic fundamentalists had ousted the pro-American government in Iran and taken American embassy workers hostage.

As President George H. Bush explained, ''Our jobs, our way of life, our own freedom and the freedom of friendly countries around the world would all suffer if control of the world's great oil reserves fell into the hands of Saddam Hussein. The Security Council passed resolutions placing economic sanctions on Iraq and set a deadline of January 15, for Iraq to withdraw forces from Kuwait.

The response to the invasion of Kuwait took place in two stages:. Operation Desert Shield August - January 17, Operation Desert Storm January 17 - February 28, Operation Desert Storm was the combat phase of the conflict. It began with a five-week bombing campaign of some 2, sorties a day that employed "smart bombs"—bombs able to find their target with pinpoint accuracy—against a broad range of strategic Iraqi targets.

Photograph of US Air Force fighter jets flying in formation, with burning oil wells smoking in the background. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Iraq, in turn, launched largely-ineffective short-range "Scud" missiles at civilian and military targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel. The full declassified presentation can be seen here. The plan was implemented and became the basis for US preparedness to respond to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in Within hours of the invasion, Kuwait and US delegations requested a meeting of the UN Security Council , which passed Resolution , condemning the invasion and demanding a withdrawal of Iraqi troops.

The PLO opposed it as well. On 6 August, Resolution placed economic sanctions on Iraq. It said the "use of measures commensurate to the specific circumstances as may be necessary The US administration had at first been indecisive with an "undertone Once persuaded, US officials insisted on a total Iraqi pullout from Kuwait, without any linkage to other Middle Eastern problems, accepting the British view that any concessions would strengthen Iraqi influence in the region for years to come. On 12 August , Saddam "propose[d] that all cases of occupation, and those cases that have been portrayed as occupation, in the region, be resolved simultaneously".

Specifically, he called for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, and "mutual withdrawals by Iraq and Iran and arrangement for the situation in Kuwait. Additionally, he requested an "immediate freeze of all boycott and siege decisions" and a general normalization of relations with Iraq.

On 23 August, Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages to whom he had refused exit visas. In the video, he asks a young British boy, Stuart Lockwood, whether he is getting his milk, and goes on to say, through his interpreter, "We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long. Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war. The official communicated to the White House that Iraq would "withdraw from Kuwait and allow foreigners to leave" provided that the UN lifted sanctions, allowed "guaranteed access to the Persian Gulf through the Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah", and allowed Iraq to "gain full control of the Rumaila oil field that extends slightly into Kuwaiti territory".

The proposal also "include[d] offers to negotiate an oil agreement with the United States 'satisfactory to both nations' national security interests,' develop a joint plan 'to alleviate Iraq's economical and financial problems' and 'jointly work on the stability of the gulf. In December , Iraq made a proposal to withdraw from Kuwait provided that foreign troops left the region and that an agreement was reached regarding the Palestinian problem and the dismantlement of both Israel's and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The White House rejected the proposal. Ultimately, the US and UK stuck to their position that there would be no negotiations until Iraq withdrew from Kuwait and that they should not grant Iraq concessions, lest they give the impression that Iraq benefited from its military campaign. On 29 November , the Security Council passed Resolution which gave Iraq until 15 January to withdraw from Kuwait and empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait after the deadline.

On 14 January , France proposed that the UN Security Council call for "a rapid and massive withdrawal" from Kuwait along with a statement to Iraq that Council members would bring their "active contribution" to a settlement of the region's other problems, "in particular, of the Arab—Israeli conflict and in particular to the Palestinian problem by convening, at an appropriate moment, an international conference" to assure "the security, stability and development of this region of the world.

One of the West's main concerns was the significant threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia.

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The Worst Censorship was at Home. Argentina announces it will send troops to Gulf. Charge of the Heavy Brigade". An array of nations joined the coalition, forming the largest military alliance since World War II. Archived from the original on 24 July Australian contribution to the Gulf War. Following the UN-authorized use of force against Iraq, the Canadian Forces deployed a CF Hornet and CH Sea King squadron with support personnel, as well as a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war.

Following Kuwait's conquest, the Iraqi Army was within easy striking distance of Saudi oil fields. Control of these fields, along with Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves, would have given Saddam control over the majority of the world's oil reserves. Iraq also had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis had lent Iraq some 26 billion dollars during its war with Iran. The Saudis had backed Iraq in that war, as they feared the influence of Shia Iran's Islamic revolution on its own Shia minority. After the war, Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by fighting Iran. Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, Saddam began verbally attacking the Saudis. He argued that the US-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

He combined the language of the Islamist groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching , troops, twice the number used in the invasion of Iraq. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via fast sealift ships , allowing a quick buildup. One of the most important was Resolution , passed on 29 November , which gave Iraq a withdrawal deadline until 15 January , and authorized "all necessary means to uphold and implement Resolution ", and a diplomatic formulation authorizing the use of force if Iraq failed to comply.

To ensure that economic backing, Baker went on an day journey to nine countries that the press dubbed "The Tin Cup Trip". The first stop was Saudi Arabia, which a month before had already granted permission to the United States to use its facilities. However, Baker believed that Saudi Arabia, an immensely wealthy nation, should assume some of the cost of the military efforts, since one of the most important military objectives was to defend Saudi Arabia. When Baker asked King Fahd for 15 billion dollars, the King readily agreed, with the promise that Baker ask Kuwait for the same amount.

The next day, 7 September, he did just that, and the Emir of Kuwait , displaced in a Sheraton hotel outside his invaded country, easily agreed. Baker then moved to enter talks with Egypt, whose leadership he considered to be "the moderate voice of the Middle East".

President Mubarak of Egypt was furious with Saddam for his invasion of Kuwait, and for the fact that Saddam had assured Mubarak that an invasion was not his intention. Assad had a deep personal enmity towards Saddam, which was defined by the fact that "Saddam had been trying to kill him [Assad] for years. This was a vital step in ensuring Arab states were represented in the coalition. In exchange, Washington gave Syrian dictator President Hafez al-Assad the green light to wipe out forces in opposition to Syria's rule in Lebanon and arranged for weapons valued at a billion dollars to be provided to Syria, mostly through Gulf states.

Baker flew to Rome for a brief visit with the Italians in which he was promised the use of some military equipment, before journeying to Germany to meet with American ally Chancellor Kohl. Although Germany's constitution which was brokered essentially by the United States prohibited military involvement in outside nations, Kohl committed a two billion dollar contribution to the coalition's war effort, as well as further economic and military support of coalition ally Turkey, and the transportation of Egyptian soldiers and ships to the Persian Gulf.

A coalition of forces opposing Iraq's aggression was formed, consisting of forces from 34 countries: It was the largest coalition since World War II. The Soviet Union also supported United States intervention. Many of the coalition countries were reluctant to commit military forces. Some felt that the war was an internal Arab affair or did not want to increase US influence in the Middle East. In the end, however, many nations were persuaded by Iraq's belligerence towards other Arab states, offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness, and threats to withhold aid.

The US and the UN gave several public justifications for involvement in the conflict, the most prominent being the Iraqi violation of Kuwaiti territorial integrity. In addition, the US moved to support its ally Saudi Arabia, whose importance in the region, and as a key supplier of oil, made it of considerable geopolitical importance. It was then that I decided to act to check that aggression. The Pentagon stated that satellite photos showing a buildup of Iraqi forces along the border were this information's source, but this was later alleged to be false.

A reporter for the St. Petersburg Times acquired two commercial Soviet satellite images made at the time in question, which showed nothing but empty desert. Other justifications for foreign involvement included Iraq's history of human rights abuses under Saddam. Iraq was also known to possess biological weapons and chemical weapons , which Saddam had used against Iranian troops during the Iran—Iraq War and against his own country's Kurdish population in the Al-Anfal campaign. Iraq was also known to have a nuclear weapons program, but the report about it from January was partially declassified by the CIA on 26 May Although there were human rights abuses committed in Kuwait by the invading Iraqi military, the alleged incidents which received most publicity in the US were fabrications of the public relations firm hired by the government of Kuwait to influence US opinion in favor of military intervention.

Among many other means of influencing US opinion, such as distributing books on Iraqi atrocities to US soldiers deployed in the region, "Free Kuwait" T-shirts and speakers to college campuses, and dozens of video news releases to television stations, the firm arranged for an appearance before a group of members of the US Congress in which a young woman identifying herself as a nurse working in the Kuwait City hospital described Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators and letting them die on the floor.

The story helped tip both the public and Congress towards a war with Iraq: The Senate supported the military actions in a 52—47 vote. However, a year after the war, this allegation was revealed to be a fabrication. The young woman who had testified was found to be a member of Kuwait's Royal Family , in fact the daughter of Kuwait's ambassador to the US. MacArthur 's Second Front: This prompted a reexamination by Amnesty International , which had originally promoted an account alleging even greater numbers of babies torn from incubators than the original fake testimony.

After finding no evidence to support it, the organization issued a retraction. President Bush then repeated the incubator allegations on television. At the same time, the Iraqi Army committed several well-documented crimes during its occupation of Kuwait, such as the summary execution without trial of three brothers after which their bodies were stacked in a pile and left to decay in a public street.

The Gulf War began with an extensive aerial bombing campaign on 16 January For 42 consecutive days and nights, the coalition forces subjected Iraq to one of the most intensive air bombardments in military history. The coalition flew over , sorties , dropping 88, tons [ clarification needed ] of bombs, [] and widely destroying military and civilian infrastructure.

A day after the deadline set in Resolution , the coalition launched a massive air campaign, which began the general offensive codenamed Operation Desert Storm. The first priority was the destruction of Iraq's Air Force and anti-aircraft facilities. The next targets were command and communication facilities. Saddam Hussein had closely micromanaged Iraqi forces in the Iran—Iraq War, and initiative at lower levels was discouraged.

Coalition planners hoped that Iraqi resistance would quickly collapse if deprived of command and control.

A Short History of the Department of State

The Gulf War (2 August – 28 February ), codenamed Operation Desert Shield (2 The war is also known under other names, such as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, First Iraq War or Iraq War, before the . The Iraqi leader attacked American policy with regards to Kuwait and the UAE: . www.farmersmarketmusic.com: Persian Gulf War (America at War) (): Professor Rodney P Carlisle, John S Bowman: Books.

The air campaign's third and largest phase targeted military targets throughout Iraq and Kuwait: Scud missile launchers, weapons research facilities, and naval forces. About a third of the coalition's air power was devoted to attacking Scuds, some of which were on trucks and therefore difficult to locate.

US and British special operations forces had been covertly inserted into western Iraq to aid in the search for and destruction of Scuds. Iraqi anti-aircraft defenses, including man-portable air-defense systems , were surprisingly ineffective against enemy aircraft and the coalition suffered only 75 aircraft losses in over , sorties, 44 due to Iraqi action. Two of these losses are the result of aircraft colliding with the ground while evading Iraqi ground-fired weapons. Iraq's government made no secret that it would attack if invaded.

Foreign Minister, if war starts Five hours after the first attacks, Iraq's state radio broadcast declaring that "The dawn of victory nears as this great showdown begins. These missile attacks were to continue throughout the war. A total of 88 Scud missiles were fired by Iraq during the war's seven weeks. Iraq hoped to provoke a military response from Israel.

The Iraqi government hoped that many Arab states would withdraw from the Coalition, as they would be reluctant to fight alongside Israel. Israel prepared to militarily retaliate, as its policy for the previous 40 years had always been retaliation. However, President Bush pressured Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir not to retaliate and withdraw Israeli jets, fearing that if Israel attacked Iraq, the other Arab nations would either desert the coalition or join Iraq.

It was also feared that if Israel used Syrian or Jordanian airspace to attack Iraq, they would intervene in the war on Iraq's side or attack Israel. The coalition promised to deploy Patriot missiles to defend Israel if it refrained from responding to the Scud attacks. The Scud missiles targeting Israel were relatively ineffective, as firing at extreme range resulted in a dramatic reduction in accuracy and payload.

According to the Jewish Virtual Library , a total of 74 Israelis died as a result of the Iraqi attacks: As a result, Israel's government issued gas masks to its citizens. When the first Iraqi missiles hit Israel, some people injected themselves with an antidote for nerve gas. It has been suggested that the sturdy construction techniques used in Israeli cities, coupled with the fact that Scuds were only launched at night, played an important role in limiting the number of casualties from Scud attacks.

In response to the threat of Scuds on Israel, the US rapidly sent a Patriot missile air defense artillery battalion to Israel along with two batteries of MIM Patriot missiles for the protection of civilians. The Dutch Defense Ministry later stated that the military use of the Patriot missile system was largely ineffective, but its psychological value for the affected populations was high. Coalition air forces were also extensively exercised in "Scud hunts" in the Iraqi desert, trying to locate the camouflaged trucks before they fired their missiles at Israel or Saudi Arabia.

On the ground, special operations forces also infiltrated Iraq, tasked with locating and destroying Scuds. Once special operations were combined with air patrols, the number of attacks fell sharply, then increased slightly as Iraqi forces adjusted to coalition tactics. As the Scud attacks continued, the Israelis grew increasingly impatient, and considered taking unilateral military action against Iraq.

On 22 January , a Scud missile hit the Israeli city of Ramat Gan , after two coalition Patriots failed to intercept it. Three elderly people suffered fatal heart attacks, another 96 people were injured, and 20 apartment buildings were damaged. At one point, Israeli commandos boarded helicopters prepared to fly into Iraq, but the mission was called off after a phone call from US Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, reporting on the extent of coalition efforts to destroy Scuds and emphasizing that Israeli intervention could endanger US forces.

In addition to the attacks on Israel, 47 Scud missiles were fired into Saudi Arabia, and one missile was fired at Bahrain and another at Qatar. The missiles were fired at both military and civilian targets. One Saudi civilian was killed, and 78 others were injured.

No casualties were reported in Bahrain or Qatar. The Saudi government issued all its citizens and expatriates with gas masks in the event of Iraq using missiles with chemical or biological warheads. The government broadcast alerts and 'all clear' messages over television to warn citizens during Scud attacks. On 29 January, Iraqi forces attacked and occupied the lightly defended Saudi city of Khafji with tanks and infantry. Both sides suffered casualties, although Iraqi forces sustained substantially more dead and captured than the allied forces.

Eleven Americans were killed in two separate friendly fire incidents, an additional 14 US airmen were killed when their AC gunship was shot down by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile, and two US soldiers were captured during the battle. Saudi and Qatari forces had a total of 18 dead. Iraqi forces in Khafji had 60— dead and captured. The Battle of Khafji was an example of how air power could single-handedly hinder the advance of enemy ground forces. Upon learning of Iraqi troop movements, coalition aircraft were diverted to attack an advancing column consisting of two armored divisions in battalion-sized units.

Precision stand-off attacks were conducted during the night and through to the next day. Iraqi vehicle losses included tanks, armored personnel carriers, and 89 mobile artillery pieces. Some crews simply abandoned their vehicles upon realizing that they could be destroyed by guided bombs without warning, stopping the divisions from massing for an organized attack on the town.

One Iraqi soldier, who had fought in the Iran—Iraq War, remarked that his brigade "had sustained more punishment from allied airpower in 30 minutes at Khafji than in eight years of fighting against Iran. Task Force Infantry was a U. Army heavy battalion task force from the 2nd Armored Division Forward.

It was the spearhead of VII Corps. Task Force 1—41 was the first coalition force to breach the Saudi Arabian border on 15 February and conduct ground combat operations in Iraq engaging in direct and indirect fire fights with the enemy on 17 February This joint effort would become known as Task Force Iron. On 15 February 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment fired on a trailer and a few trucks in the Iraqi sector that were observing American forces.

They were engaged with artillery fire from 4—3 FA. For the next hour the Task Force fought several small battles with Iraqi reconnaissance units. The rest of the formation was destroyed or driven away by artillery fire from 4—3 FA. Task Force Infantry was the first coalition force to breach the Saudi Arabian border on 15 February and conduct ground combat operations in Iraq engaging in direct and indirect fire fights with the enemy on 17 February Around guns from multiple nations participated in the artillery barrage.

Over 14, rounds were fired during these missions. One Iraqi unit that was totally destroyed during the preparation was the Iraqi 48th Infantry Division Artillery Group. Task Force Infantry was given the task of breaching Iraq's initial defensive positions along the Iraq—Saudi Arabia border. These defensive positions were occupied by a brigade-sized element.

A series of battles unfolded which resulted in heavy Iraqi casualties and the Iraqis being removed from their defensive positions with many becoming prisoners of war. Some escaped to be killed or captured by other coalition forces. The 1st Infantry Division's Task Force Infantry cleared four lanes simultaneously through an enemy fortified trench system while inflicting heavy casualties on Iraqi forces.

The First Gulf War - Short History - Department History - Office of the Historian

The ground campaign consisted of three or possibly four of the largest tank battles in American military history. Marine Corps also fought the biggest tank battle in its history at Kuwait International Airport. US decoy attacks by air attacks and naval gunfire the night before Kuwait's liberation were designed to make the Iraqis believe the main coalition ground attack would focus on central Kuwait.

For months, American units in Saudi Arabia had been under almost constant Iraqi artillery fire, as well as threats from Scud missile or chemical attacks. They encountered trenches, barbed wire, and minefields. However, these positions were poorly defended, and were overrun in the first few hours. Several tank battles took place, but otherwise coalition troops encountered minimal resistance, as most Iraqi troops surrendered. The general pattern was that the Iraqis would put up a short fight before surrendering.

However, Iraqi air defenses shot down nine US aircraft. Meanwhile, forces from Arab states advanced into Kuwait from the east, encountering little resistance and suffering few casualties. Despite the successes of coalition forces, it was feared that the Iraqi Republican Guard would escape into Iraq before it could be destroyed. It was decided to send British armored forces into Kuwait 15 hours ahead of schedule, and to send US forces after the Republican Guard. The coalition advance was preceded by a heavy artillery and rocket barrage, after which , troops and 1, tanks began their advance.

Iraqi forces in Kuwait counterattacked against US troops, acting on a direct order from Saddam Hussein himself. Despite the intense combat, the Americans repulsed the Iraqis and continued to advance towards Kuwait City. Kuwaiti forces were tasked with liberating the city. Iraqi troops offered only light resistance.

The Kuwaitis quickly liberated the city despite losing one soldier and having one plane shot down. However, an Iraqi unit at Kuwait International Airport appeared not to have received the message and fiercely resisted. US Marines had to fight for hours before securing the airport, after which Kuwait was declared secure. After four days of fighting, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. As part of a scorched earth policy, they set fire to nearly oil wells and placed land mines around the wells to make extinguishing the fires more difficult.

The war's ground phase was officially designated Operation Desert Saber. These eight-man patrols landed behind Iraqi lines to gather intelligence on the movements of Scud mobile missile launchers, which could not be detected from the air, as they were hidden under bridges and camouflage netting during the day. The operations were designed to prevent any possible Israeli intervention. Due to lack of sufficient ground cover to carry out their assignment, One Zero and Three Zero abandoned their operations, while Two Zero remained, and was later compromised, with only Sergeant Chris Ryan escaping to Syria.

Elements of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army performed a direct attack into Iraq on 15 February , followed by one in force on 20 February that led directly through seven Iraqi divisions which were caught off guard.

It was a feint attack, designed to make the Iraqis think that a coalition invasion would take place from the south. The Iraqis fiercely resisted, and the Americans eventually withdrew as planned back into the Wadi Al-Batin. Three US soldiers were killed and nine wounded, with one M2 Bradley IFV turret destroyed, but they had taken 40 prisoners and destroyed five tanks, and successfully deceived the Iraqis.

On 22 February , Iraq agreed to a Soviet-proposed ceasefire agreement. The agreement called for Iraq to withdraw troops to pre-invasion positions within six weeks following a total ceasefire, and called for monitoring of the ceasefire and withdrawal to be overseen by the UN Security Council. The coalition rejected the proposal, but said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked, [ citation needed ] and gave 24 hours for Iraq to withdraw its forces. On 23 February, fighting resulted in the capture of Iraqi soldiers. On 24 February, British and American armored forces crossed the Iraq—Kuwait border and entered Iraq in large numbers, taking hundreds of prisoners.

Iraqi resistance was light, and four Americans were killed. This movement's left flank was protected by the French Division Daguet. The st Airborne Division conducted a combat air assault into enemy territory. The French force quickly overcame Iraq's 45th Infantry Division, suffering light casualties and taking a large number of prisoners, and took up blocking positions to prevent an Iraqi counterattack on the coalition's flank.

The movement's right flank was protected by the United Kingdom's 1st Armoured Division. Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the elite Republican Guard before it could escape. The Iraqis resisted fiercely from dug-in positions and stationary vehicles, and even mounted armored charges. Unlike many previous engagements, the destruction of the first Iraqi tanks did not result in a mass surrender. The Iraqis suffered massive losses and lost dozens of tanks and vehicles, while US casualties were comparatively low, with a single Bradley knocked out.

They took prisoners and inflicted heavy losses, defeating Iraq's 26th Infantry Division. A US soldier was killed by an Iraqi land mine, another five by friendly fire, and 30 wounded during the battle. In nearly two days of some of the war's most intense fighting, the British destroyed 40 enemy tanks and captured a division commander. Meanwhile, US forces attacked the village of Al Busayyah , meeting fierce resistance.

The US force destroyed a considerable amount of military hardware and took prisoners, while suffering no casualties. The missile attack killed 28 US military personnel. The coalition's advance was much swifter than US generals had expected. On 26 February, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait, after they had set of its oil wells on fire. A long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait highway. Although they were retreating, this convoy was bombed so extensively by coalition air forces that it came to be known as the Highway of Death.

Thousands of Iraqi troops were killed. One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, on 28 February, President Bush declared a ceasefire, and he also declared that Kuwait had been liberated. In coalition-occupied Iraqi territory, a peace conference was held where a ceasefire agreement was negotiated and signed by both sides. At the conference, Iraq was authorized to fly armed helicopters on their side of the temporary border, ostensibly for government transit due to the damage done to civilian infrastructure.

Soon after, these helicopters and much of Iraq's military were used to fight an uprising in the south. The Arabic service of the Voice of America supported the uprising by stating that the rebellion was well supported, and that they soon would be liberated from Saddam. However, when no US support came, Iraqi generals remained loyal to Saddam and brutally crushed the Kurdish uprising. Millions of Kurds fled across the mountains to Turkey and Kurdish areas of Iran.

These events later resulted in no-fly zones being established in northern and southern Iraq. In Kuwait, the Emir was restored, and suspected Iraqi collaborators were repressed. Eventually, over , people were expelled from the country, including a large number of Palestinians , because of PLO support of Saddam. Yasser Arafat didn't apologize for his support of Iraq, but after his death, the Fatah under Mahmoud Abbas ' authority formally apologized in There was some criticism of the Bush administration, as they chose to allow Saddam to remain in power instead of pushing on to capture Baghdad and overthrowing his government.

In their co-written book, A World Transformed , Bush and Brent Scowcroft argued that such a course would have fractured the alliance, and would have had many unnecessary political and human costs associated with it. I would guess if we had gone in there, we 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 US casualties, and while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the conflict, for the 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. Kuwaiti democracy advocates had been calling for restoration of Parliament that the Emir had suspended in Germany and Japan provided financial assistance and donated military hardware, although they did not send direct military assistance.

This later became known as checkbook diplomacy. In addition, medical teams were deployed aboard a US hospital ship , and a naval clearance diving team took part in de-mining Kuwait's port facilities following the end of combat operations. Australian forces experienced a number of incidents in the first number of weeks of the Desert Storm Campaign including the detection of significant air threats from Iraq as a part of the outer perimeter of Battle Force Zulu; the detection of free sea floating mines and assistance to the aircraft carrier USS Midway.

The Australian Task Force was also placed at great risk with regard to the sea mine threat, with HMAS Brisbane narrowly avoiding a mine by a small distance. The Australians played a significant role in enforcing the sanctions put in place against Iraq following Kuwait's invasion.

Argentina was later classified by the U. Canada was one of the first countries to condemn Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and it quickly agreed to join the US-led coalition. Following the UN-authorized use of force against Iraq, the Canadian Forces deployed a CF Hornet and CH Sea King squadron with support personnel, as well as a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war. When the air war began, the CFs were integrated into the coalition force and were tasked with providing air cover and attacking ground targets.

This was the first time since the Korean War that Canada's military had participated in offensive combat operations. The only CF Hornet to record an official victory during the conflict was an aircraft involved in the beginning of the Battle of Bubiyan against the Iraqi Navy. The second largest European contingent was from France, which committed 18, troops. France also deployed several combat aircraft and naval units. The United Kingdom committed the largest contingent of any European state that participated in the war's combat operations.

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Operation Granby was the code name for the operations in the Persian Gulf. The United Kingdom played a major role in the Battle of Norfolk where its forces destroyed over Iraqi tanks and a large quantity of other vehicles. Special operations forces were deployed in the form of several SAS squadrons. A British Challenger 1 achieved the longest range confirmed tank kill of the war, destroying an Iraqi tank with an armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot APFSDS round fired over a distance of 4, metres 2.

Over 1, Kuwaiti civilians were killed by Iraqis. The increased importance of air attacks from both coalition warplanes and cruise missiles led to controversy over the number of civilian deaths caused during Desert Storm's initial stages. Within Desert Storm's first 24 hours, more than 1, sorties were flown, many against targets in Baghdad.

The city was the target of heavy bombing, as it was the seat of power for Saddam and the Iraqi forces' command and control. This ultimately led to civilian casualties. In one noted incident, two USAF stealth planes bombed a bunker in Amiriyah , causing the deaths of Iraqi civilians who were in the shelter. Saddam's government gave high civilian casualty figures in order to draw support from Islamic countries.

The Iraqi government claimed that 2, civilians died during the air campaign. A Harvard University study predicted tens of thousands of additional Iraqi civilians deaths by the end of due to the "public health catastrophe" caused by the destruction of the country's electrical generating capacity. An investigation by Beth Osborne Daponte estimated total civilian fatalities at about 3, from bombing, and some , from the war's other effects.

A United Nations report in March described the effect on Iraq of the US-led bombing campaign as "near apocalyptic," bringing back Iraq to the "pre-industrial age. Some estimate that Iraq sustained between 20, and 35, fatalities. According to the Project on Defense Alternatives study, between 20, and 26, Iraqi military personnel were killed in the conflict while 75, others were wounded.

Department of Defense reports that US forces suffered battle-related deaths 35 to friendly fire [] , with one pilot listed as MIA his remains were found and identified in August A further Americans died in non-combat accidents. In all, coalition troops were killed by Iraqi fire during the war, of whom were American, out of a total of coalition deaths. Another 44 soldiers were killed and 57 wounded by friendly fire.

The First Gulf War

The number of coalition wounded in combat was , including Americans. This number was much lower than expected. Among the American dead were three female soldiers. While the death toll among coalition forces engaging Iraqi combatants was very low, a substantial number of deaths were caused by accidental attacks from other Allied units. Many returning coalition soldiers reported illnesses following their action in the war, a phenomenon known as Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness.

Common symptoms that were reported are chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and gastrointestinal disorder. Researchers found that infants born to male veterans of the war had higher rates of two types of heart valve defects. Some children born after the war to Gulf War veterans had a certain kidney defect that was not found in Gulf War veterans' children born before the war. Researchers have said that they did not have enough information to link birth defects with exposure to toxic substances.

Significant controversy regarding the long term safety of depleted uranium exists, including claims of pyrophoric , genotoxic , and teratogenic heavy metal effects. Many have cited its use during the war as a contributing factor to a number of major health issues in veterans and in surrounding civilian populations, including in birth defects child cancer rates. Scientific opinion on the risk is mixed. External exposure to radiation from depleted uranium is generally not a major concern because the alpha particles emitted by its isotopes travel only a few centimeters in air or can be stopped by a sheet of paper.

Also, the uranium that remains in depleted uranium emits only a small amount of low-energy gamma radiation. However, if allowed to enter the body, depleted uranium, like natural uranium, has the potential for both chemical and radiological toxicity with the two important target organs being the kidneys and the lungs. On the night of 26—27 February , some Iraqi forces began leaving Kuwait on the main highway north of Al Jahra in a column of some 1, vehicles.

Gulf War Fast Facts

Bush decided that he would rather gamble on a violent and potentially unpopular ground war than risk the alternative: This event was later called by the media "The Highway of Death. They'd already learned to scamper off into the desert when our aircraft started to attack. Nevertheless, some people back home wrongly chose to believe we were cruelly and unusually punishing our already whipped foes. By February 27, talk had turned toward terminating the hostilities.

We were not interested in governing Iraq. So the question became "How do we stop the killing. Another incident during the war highlighted the question of large-scale Iraqi combat deaths. This was the " bulldozer assault", wherein two brigades from the US 1st Infantry Division Mechanized were faced with a large and complex trench network, as part of the heavily fortified "Saddam Hussein Line".

After some deliberation, they opted to use anti-mine plows mounted on tanks and combat earthmovers to simply plow over and bury alive the defending Iraqi soldiers. Not a single American was killed during the attack. Reporters were banned from witnessing the attack, near the neutral zone that touches the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Patrick Day Sloyan of Newsday reported, "Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Vulcan armored carriers straddled the trench lines and fired into the Iraqi soldiers as the tanks covered them with mounds of sand.

Army against army, air force against air force, the Americans will always win. But it turned out that the high intensity warfare which they had brought to such devastating perfection would not be needed again". As a result, the Gulf War of triggered more than its fair share of unintended consequences. The first was America's enemies revived other methods of combat designed to get around US supremacy. So they fought the occasional battle, but they conserved their strength by melting away into the Hindu Kush and the Tribal Areas of Pakistan, re-emerging to mount a guerrilla campaign.

Confronted with a high technology enemy, the Taliban preyed on niche vulnerabilities, using roadside bombs , improvised explosive devices and, of course, suicide attacks. Their aim was not to defeat America on the battlefield, but to exhaust and wear down the superpower, exploiting the greatest vulnerability of any democracy, namely its unwillingness to fight a protracted struggle. When the next war in Iraq began in , the Anglo-American invasion of the country and the seizure of Baghdad were the easy bits. The Iraqi army, remembering its fate in , largely avoided pitched battles.

The real war started after Saddam's downfall: A quarter of a century ago, the US and its allies thought they had reached the zenith of their military strength.