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Persian
Gulf War II
Jan.-Feb.,
1991, armed conflict between Iraq and a coalition of 32 nations including the United
States, Britain, Egypt, France, and Saudi Arabia. It originated with Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990; Iraq then annexed Kuwait, which it had long claimed. Iraqi
president Saddam Hussien declared that the invasion was a response to overproduction of
oil in Kuwait, which had cost Iraq over $14 million when oil prices fell. Saddam Hussein
also accused Kuwait of illegally pumping oil from Iraq's Rumaila oil field.
The
UN Security Council called for Iraq to withdraw and subsequently embargoed most trade with
Iraq. On Aug. 7, U.S. troops moved into Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi oil reserves. On
Nov. 29, the UN set Jan. 15, 1991, as the deadline for a peaceful withdrawal of Iraqi
troops from Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein refused to comply, Operation Desert Storm was
launched on Jan. 18, 1991, under the leadership of U.S. Gen. Norman Schwarzkhopf.
The
U.S.-led coalition began a massive air war to destroy Iraq's forces and military and civil
infrastructure. Iraq called for terrorist attacks against the coalition and launched Scud
missiles at Israel (in an unsuccessful attempt to widen the war and break up the
coalition) and at Saudi Arabia. The main coalition forces invaded Kuwait and S Iraq on
Feb. 24 and, over the next four days, encircled and defeated the Iraqis and liberated
Kuwait. When U.S. President George Bush declared a cease-fire on Feb. 28, most of the
Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled.
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 fact, he was
free to turn his attention to internal Shiite and Kurd revolts and moved to brutally
suppress them.
The
Coalition included:
Afghanistan , Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada,
Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Honduras, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco,
The Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, South Korea, Spain,
Syria Turkey, The
United Arab Emirates, The
United Kingdom, and the United States.
CAUSES
OF CONFLICT:
There
are three basic causes to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. First, Iraq had long
considered Kuwait to be a part of Iraq. This claim led to several confrontations over the
years (see below), and continued hostility. Also, it can be argued that with Saddam
Hussein's attempted invasion of Iran defeated, he sought easier conquests against his weak
southern neighbors.
Second,
rich deposits of oil straddled the ill-defined border and Iraq constantly claimed that
Kuwaiti oil rigs were illegally tapping into Iraqi oil fields. Middle Eastern deserts make
border delineation difficult and this has caused many conflicts in the region.
Finally,
the fallout from the First Persian Gulf War between Iraq and Iran strained relations
between Baghdad and Kuwait. This war began with an Iraqi invasion of Iran and degenerated
into a bloody form of trench warfare as the Iranians slowly drove Saddam Hussein's armies
back into Iraq. Kuwait and many other Arab nations supported Iraq against the Islamic
Revolutionary government of Iran, fearful that Saddam's defeat could herald a wave of
Iranian-inspired revolution throughout the Arab world. Following the end of the war,
relations between Iraq and Kuwait deteriorated; with a lack of gratitude from the Baghdad
government for help in the war and the reawakening of old issues regarding the border and
Kuwaiti sovereignty.
Source:
(www.encyclopedia.com)
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