Brief History
Gulf War
The First Persian Gulf War, Jan.-Feb., 1991, was an armed conflict between Iraq
and a coalition of 32 nations including the
United States, Britain, Egypt, France, and Saudi Arabia.
It was a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990; Iraq then annexed
Kuwait, which it had long claimed.
Iraqi
president Saddam Hussein declared that the invasion was a response to
overproduction of oil in Kuwait.
Although
the war was a decisive military victory for the coalition, Kuwait and Iraq
suffered enormous property damage, and Saddam Hussein was not removed from
power.
In 1993 the United States, France, and Britain launched several air and
cruise-missile strikes against Iraq in response to provocations, including an
alleged Iraqi plan to assassinate former President George H. W. Bush.On November
8, 1990 President Bush announced a military buildup to provide an offensive
option, "Operation Desert Storm," to force Iraq out of Kuwait. The
preparation of the operation took two and a half months and it involved a
massive air- and sea lift.
Finally, in January 1991, the U. S. Congress voted to support Security Council
resolution 660. It authorized using "all necessary
means" if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15.
Shrugging off this final
warning, Saddam Hussein resolutely maintained the occupation of Kuwait.