Persian Gulf War

Allied forces attacked from the air, sea, and land during the Persian Gulf War. In January 1991, allied aircraft, including the French warplane above, began bombing military targets in Iraq and Kuwait wait, while U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf launched cruise missiles. In February, allied ground forces, including Saudi tanks quickly defeated Iraq.

Persian Gulf is a kidney-shaped body of water in southwestern Asia between Iran and the Arabian Penin­sula. Arabs call it the Arabian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz links the gulf to the Gulf of Oman, an arm of the Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf is about 800 kilometres long and averages about 200 kilometres in width. It covers about 260,000 square kilometres and is about 90 metres deep at the deepest point. Such sea animals as oysters and prawns thrive in the gulf.

The gulf is bordered by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Ara­bia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The gulf region has more than half the world's proven reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Oil and gas from the region power much of the world's industry and earn the gulf states a great deal of money each year.

In ancient times, most towns along the Persian Gulf were self-governing city-states that thrived as ports. Dur­ing the 1800's, Great Britain gained influence over much of the region. Some of the gulf states gained independ­ence during the early 1900's. By 1971, all of the gulf states were independent, and Britain left the area com­pletely. The Persian Gulf was the centre of a damaging war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988) and of the Persian Gulf War of 1991 (see Persian Gulf War).

Persian Gulf War was fought in early 1991 between Iraq and a coalition of 39 countries organized mainly the United States and the United Nations (UN). They took place chiefly in Iraq and the tiny oil-rich nation Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded and occupied. These two countries lie together at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Leading nations in the coalition that defeated Iraq included Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, Syria the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, follower failure to settle disputes between the two states. Iraq action appeared to threaten neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the coalition of countries against Iraq was formed to combat this threat. War became inevitable after Iraq ignored demands for it to leave Kuwait. The final United Nations deadline for withdrawal was Jan. 15, 1991. Two days later, the war began.

The Persian Gulf War was won by the coalition in air. Coalition combat aircraft completely destroyed Iraq’s air power and many of its military and industrial facilities. After five weeks of continuous air bombardment the coalition launched a ground attack into Kuwait and southern Iraq. It met little resistance, and after 100 days Iraq surrendered.

Causes of the war. Saddam Hussein had been president of Iraq since 1979. He was ambitious for power leadership in both the Middle East and the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC). Along with such countries as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Iraq was major oil-exporting member of OPEC. But from 1980 to 1988, Iraq had fought a bitter war with its neighbour Iran.

Iraq had suffered serious economic damage as a result of the Iran-lraq War. It had run up debts with Kuwait and other countries as a result of fighting the war. However, Iraq emerged from the conflict as the second strongest military power in the Middle East. Only the Jewish state of Israel, whose existence was opposed the Arab nations, was stronger.

Hussein argued that Iraq had become the chief Arab power opposed to Israel and should thus be recognized as leader of the Arab world. As leader of the Arab world, Iraq should receive help from other Arab countries in rebuilding its economy. OPEC should help Iraq by raising world oil prices and cancelling Iraqi debt Kuwait and other Arab countries.

Dispute between Iraq and Kuwait. After the Iran-lraq War, Hussein had disagreed with Kuwait's leaders over how much debt cancellation and other financial aid Kuwait should provide for Iraq's economic recovery. Iraq also accused Kuwait of lowering world oil prices by reducing more oil than was allowed by OPEC, and of taxing Iraqi oil from the Rumalla oil field, a petroleum deposit lying beneath both Kuwait and Iraq.

In addition, Iraq had often claimed that Kuwait should be part of Iraq. In the 1800's and early 1900's, Kuwait has been part of a province of the Ottoman Empire called Basra. But by the time Iraq was formed in the early 1920's. Kuwait was no longer part of the province. Both Kuwait and Iraq came under British control. Iraq became independent in 1932 and Kuwait did so in 1961. Iraq did not recognize Kuwait's independence until 1963. After 1963, disputes continued between Iraq and Kuwait over the location of their common border.

Iraqi aims. By seizing Kuwait, Hussein hoped to capture that country's oil wealth for Iraq, raise Iraq's status in OPEC and OPEC, and wipe out a large part of Iraq's debts. Hussain also sought better access to the Persian Gulf. Iraq's coastline was short, but that of Kuwait was long, and included an excellent harbour.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. At 2 a.m. local time on August 2, 1990, hundreds of Iraqi tanks and other forces crossed the Kuwait border. Within 24 hours, Iraq had complete control of Kuwait. Thousands of Iraqi troops than moved to Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia. Some people thought Iraq might invade Saudi Arabia also. On August 8, Iraq announced it had annexed Kuwait

Many countries within the UN attacked Iraq's invasion. However, Hussein claimed that if these countries condemned Iraq's action, they should also condemn Israel’s  continued occupation of lands it had won from Arab  nations during the Arab-lsraeli wars. Some Arabs especially poor Arabs of Palestinian origin, supported Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. They acclaimed Hussein a hero for standing up to Israel and the United States, Israel's ally. Hussein won further support from them by demanding that the vast wealth of the major oil-exporting Arab nations be shared equally among all Arabs.

In New York, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the invasion as soon as it had happened. On August 6, the Security Council imposed sanction on Iraq. These were measures authorizing a prohibition on all trade with Iraq, except for medical supplies and food in certain circumstances. In the same month, the United States set about sending troops to the Persian Gulf to protect Saudi Arabia. The United

States became head of a coalition of nations against Iraq that eventually consisted of 9 Arab states, including Ku­wait, and 30 non-Arab countries.

Iraq's occupation of Kuwait was harsh. It brought con­siderable hardship to Kuwaiti citizens. Iraqi troops killed or imprisoned Kuwaiti civilians, carried out widespread looting, and, according to some accounts, seized essen­tial supplies such as drugs and hospital equipment for shipment back to Iraq. From mid-August, Iraqi authori­ties began detaining foreign nationals in both Iraq and Kuwait. Many of these foreign hostages were moved to military or industrial sites. Hussein hoped that, if war came, the hostages would be a "human shield" against coalition attacks. By mid-December, however, Iraq had released all its hostages under pressure from other countries, including certain Arab states.

On November 29, the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing coalition members to "use all necessary means" to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait if Iraq failed to withdraw them itself by Jan. 15,1991. Iraq chose to stay in Kuwait.

Opposing forces. By mid-January 1991, coalition forces in the Persian Gulf totalled about 670,000 troops, 3,500 tanks, and 1,800 combat aircraft. Some 425,000 of the troops came from the United States, with the rest drawn from another 27 of the coalition members. Most came from France and the United Kingdom, and certain Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Coalition countries that did not send troops provided supplies or money instead. Coalition naval support con­sisted of about 200 ships, including 6 U.S. aircraft carri­ers and 2 U.S. battleships. Iraq had about 500,000 troops in Kuwait and southern Iraq, and had about 4,500 tanks, 550 combat aircraft, and a small navy.

The war. At 3 a.m. on January 17, coalition forces began bombing industrial and military targets in Iraq and later also in Kuwait. This was the start of an air war that lasted more than five weeks. During this first phase of the Persian Gulf War, the coalition sought to destroy Iraq's ability to launch attacks. Other objectives were eliminating Iraq's biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons facilities; establishing superiority over Iraq's air force; destroying Iraq's information-gathering capa­bilities; and reducing the battle-readiness of Iraqi sol­diers in Kuwait and southern Iraq. Night-sight devices, precision-guided weapons (some launched from ships in the Gulf), and other high-technology equipment helped the coalition achieve many of its aims. In time the coalition concentrated its heavy bombing on food stores, fuel and ammunition dumps, and supply routes.

In retaliation, Iraq launched missile attacks on popu­lated areas in Saudi Arabia and in Israel. Its "scud" mis­siles caused some deaths and injuries and much prop­erty damage in the places where they fell. By attacking Israel, Hussein hoped to draw it into the conflict and dis­rupt Arab support within the coalition. But Israel stayed out of the war, so his plan failed.

Hussein also ordered the destruction of Kuwait's oil-wells. More than half of the state's 1,300 wells were set on fire, pouring thick smoke and gases into the atmos­phere. Iraqi troops also allowed 1.75 billion litres of oil to pour into the waters of the Persian Gulf. The resulting oil slick threatened to contaminate Saudi Arabia's de­salination facilities, which remove the salt from sea water to provide drinking water and water for irrigation. It polluted coastal areas and did immense long-term harm to the wildlife of the Gulf.

The only ground battle during the first phase of the war was at the Saudi town of Khafji, near the Kuwaiti border. On January 29, Iraqi troops occupied Khafji, which the Saudis had earlier deserted. On January 31, Saudi and Qatari forces recaptured it with U.S. help.

Phase two of the war began on February 24, when co­alition forces launched a major ground attack into Iraq and Kuwait. Coalition troops pushed into western Iraq and southern Kuwait. They encountered little resistance from the Iraqi army. With their supply lines cut, Iraqi troops in Kuwait had little choice but to surrender. On February 26, Saddam Hussein ordered the withdrawal of his forces from Kuwait. The coalition forces ended all military operations against Iraq on February 28.

The end of the war. Iraq accepted a formal cease­fire on April 6. On April 11, the UN Security Council offi­cially declared the war over. Under the cease-fire agree­ment, Iraq promised to pay Kuwait war damages and agreed to the destruction of its biological and chemical weapons, its facilities for making such weapons, and any facilities it might have for making nuclear weapons. UN inspectors were later assigned to supervise the destruc­tion. The UN continued sanctions against Iraq to ensure it kept to the agreement. However, Iraq resisted comply­ing with the terms of the cease-fire agreement.

Aftermath. As many as 100,000 Iraqi troops may have died in the war, but some experts believe the total is much lower. Deaths among coalition troops totalled about 370. Coalition bombing damaged Iraq's transportation and communications systems and major in industries. Iraq's already shaky economy was shattered. Water and electricity supplies were disrupted or destroyed which led to civilian deaths in the postwar period. The end of the war triggered rebellions against Saddam Hussein by Kurds in northern Iraq and by Shiite Arabs in the south. Hussein used his army to suppress these revolts ruthlessly. Many Shiites fled into Iran, and Kurds took refuge in the mountains bordering northern Iraq and Turkey. Many of them died of disease, exposure, or  hunger. Between April and July 1991, U.S. and other coalition troops established safety zones and refugee camps in northern Iraq to protect the Kurds. In August 1992, the U.S. and its allies established an air exclusion zone in the south to protect Shiite Arabs.

In January 1993, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France launched air strikes against targets in southern Iraq to force Iraq to comply strictly to the UN resolutions and the cease-fire agreement. More fighting took place in November 1993 on the Kuwaiti border. The Iraqis were protesting against a Kuwaiti security trench.