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Gulf War

Alternate uses: 2003 invasionIraqGulf War (disambiguation)

Image:British gulf war.jpg
Company C, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment,
1st UK Armoured Division

The Gulf War (also: Persian Gulf War, War inGulf, Iraq-Kuwait Conflict, '\UN-Iraq conflict, Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm,Desert Saber,1990 Gulf War (forIraqi invasionKuwait), 1991 Gulf War') (1990-1991) wasconflict between Iraq andcoalition force34 nations led byUnited States. The result wasdecisive victory ofcoalition forces, which were abledrive Iraqi forces outKuwait fairly quicklywith minimal coalition deaths. The main battles were aerialground combat within Iraq, Kuwait,bordering areasSaudi Arabia. Duringconflict, Iraq fired missiles into Israeli territory.

Tablecontents
1 Background
2 The Onset
3 Air Campaign
4 Ground Campaign
5 Canadian Involvement
6 Casualties
7 Cost
8 Media Campaign
9 Consequences
10 Technology
11 Important Individuals
12 Films
13 Related Legislation
14 Related articles
15 Bibliography
16 Further Reading:

Background

PriorWorld War I, underAnglo-Ottoman Convention1913, Kuwait was consideredbe an autonomous caza within Ottoman Iraq. Followingwar, Kuwait fell under British rulelater became an independent monarchy. Iraqi officials did not acceptlegitimacyKuwaiti independence.

FollowingIran-Iraq War of1980s, Iraq was extremely indebtedseveral Arab countries, including$14 billion debtKuwait (Hiro, 1992). Iraq hopedrepay its debts by raisingpriceoil through OPEC oil production cuts, but instead, Kuwait increased production, lowering prices,an attemptleveragebetter resolutiontheir border dispute. In addition, Iraq charged that Kuwait had taken advantage ofIran-Iraq Wardrilloilbuild military outposts on Iraqi soil near Kuwait. Furthermore, Iraq charged thathad performedcollective serviceall Arabs by acting asbuffer against Iranthat therefore KuwaitSaudi Arabia should negotiate or cancel Iraq's war debts.

Duringwar, Iraq enjoyed good relations withUnited States:United States tilted towards supporting Iraq, despite (or perhaps because of) earlier Soviet influenceIraq,suppliedwith weaponseconomic aid (withonly aberration beingIran-Contra affair, where some American officials secretlyillegally sold armsIran). Followingwar, there were moves withinUnited States Congressisolate Iraq diplomaticallyeconomically over concerns about human rights violations. These moves were disowned by high-ranking US senators like Robert Dole, who told Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that "Congress does not represent [U.S. President George H. W.] Bush orgovernment"that Bush would veto any move toward sanctions against Iraq. (FromIraqi transcript ofmeeting, as publishedSifry.)

In late July, 1990, as negotiations between IraqKuwait stalled, Iraq amassed troops on Kuwait's borderssummoned American ambassador April Glaspiean unanticipated meetingIraqi President Saddam Hussein. In that meeting, Saddam outlined his grievances against Kuwait, while promising that he would not invade Kuwait before one more roundnegotiations. Although Glaspie expressed concern overtroop buildup, some people perceived her answers as giving tacit approvalan invasion, by saying thatUS "[has] no opinion onArab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreementKuwait" (fromIraqi transcript ofmeeting, as publishedSifry). To emphasize this point, she also said atmeeting, "James Baker has directed our official spokesmenemphasize this instruction." Although ambassador Glaspie shortly after leftforeign service, US sources say that she had handled everything "bybook"had not signaled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein any approvaldefyingArab League's Jeddah crisis squad which conductednegotiations. However, Saddam's expectations may have been preoccupied byperception thatUS just at this time was approvingreunificationGermany, another act that he consideredbe nothing more thannullificationan artificial, internal border.

Some people, like William Blum, allege thatUnited States gave secret encouragementKuwaitbe provocativetheir territorial claimspromiseddefend Kuwait fromexpected Iraqi reaction. This, his argument goes, wasresponseincreasing Iraqi warnings about American hegemony inGulf regionalso helped stanch expected cutsdefense spendingboost President George H. W. Bush's domestic popularity. (Blum, Ch. 52)

Subsequent toinvasionIraqis claimedhave foundmemorandum pertaining toconversation between CIA director William Webster andKuwaiti headsecurity, which readpart:

"We agreed withAmerican side thatwas importanttake advantage ofdeteriorating economic situationIraqorderput pressure on that country's governmentdelineate our common border. The Central Intelligence Agency gave us its viewappropriate meanspressure, saying that broad cooperation should be initiated between us on condition that such activities be coordinated athigh level."

ThoughCIA dismisseddocument asfabrication, thereother indications thatdocument was real. For example, when confronted byIraqi foreign minister withdocument at an Arab summit1990,Kuwaiti foreign minister was startled enough that he fainted. (Ibid)

The Onset

Iraqi troops invaded Kuwaitarmorinfantry, occupying strategic posts throughoutcountry, includingEmir's palace, on August 2, 1990. Troops looted medicalfood supplies, detained thousandscivilians,took overmedia. Iraq detained thousandsWestern visitors as hostages,later attempteduse them as bargaining chips. Iraq initially establishedpuppet "liberated" Kuwaiti government, but quickly dissolved thisdeclared partsKuwaitbe extensions ofIraqi provinceBasra andrestbe19th provinceIraq.

Within hours ofinitial invasion,UN Security Council passed Resolution 660, condemninginvasiondemandingwithdrawalIraqi troops. On August 6,Security Council passed Resolution 661, placing economic sanctions on Iraq and, on November 29, Resolution 678 was passed, giving Iraqwithdrawal deadlineJanuary 15, 1991,authorizing "all necessary meansupholdimplement Resolution 660".

President George H. W. Bush quickly announced thatUS would launch"wholly defensive" missionprevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia - Operation Desert Shield [PRES],US troops moved into Saudi Arabia on August 7. Thereno evidence that Iraq ever intendedinvade Saudi Arabia, as even General Norman Schwarzkopf,allied commander duringconflict, admitted. Iraq claimed all throughout that its only intent wasreclaim its "province" Kuwait. The DepartmentDefense claimedhave satellite photos oflarge troop buildupKuwait alongSaudi border, but never made them publicsecurity reasons. Other satellite photos purchased from Soviet satellite sources apparently showed no such buildup.

The navy mobilised two naval battle groups, USS Dwight D. EisenhowerUSS Independence, toarea [NAVY], wherewere ready by August 8. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching 500,000 troops. The consensus among military analyststhat until October,American military forces inarea would have been insufficientstop an invasionSaudi Arabia had Iraq attempted one.

The United States, especially SecretaryState James Baker, assembledcoalitionforcesjoinin opposing Iraq, consistingsoldiers from 34 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Honduras, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, The Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Syria, Turkey, The United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom andUnited States itself. US troops represented 74%660,000 troops intheaterwar. Many ofcoalition forces were reluctantjoin; some felt thatwar was an internal Arab affair; others feared increasing American influenceKuwait. Inend, many nations were persuaded by offerseconomic aid or debt forgiveness. (Blum)

The United States went throughnumberdifferent public justificationstheir involvement inconflict. The first reasons given wereimportanceoil toAmerican economy andUnited States' longstanding friendly relationshipSaudi Arabia [PRES]. However, some Americans were dissatisfiedthese explanations"No Blood For Oil" becamerallying crydomestic peace activists, though opposition never reachedsizeopposition toVietnam Wardemonstrations inUnited States were often overwhelmed by people protestingprotesters. Later justifications forwar included Iraq's historyhuman rights abuses under President Saddam Hussein,potential that Iraq may develop nuclear weapons or weaponsmass destruction,that "naked aggression [against Kuwait] will not stand."

Shortly after Iraq's invasionKuwait,organization Citizens forFree Kuwait was formed inUS. It hiredpublic relations firm HillKnowltonabout $11 million, money fromKuwaiti government. This firm went onmanufacturefake campaign, which described Iraqi soldiers pulling babies outincubatorsKuwaiti hospitalsletting them die onfloor. A video news release was widely distributed by US TV networks; false supporting testimony was given before CongressbeforeUN Security Council. The fifteen-year-old girl testifying before Congress was later revealedbedaughter ofKuwaiti ambassador toUnited States;supposed surgeon testifying atUN wasfactdentist who later admittedhaving lied. [MCA] (For more, see Nurse Nayirah.)

Various peace proposals were floated, but none were agreed to. The United States insisted thatonly acceptable termspeace were Iraq's full, unconditional withdrawal from Kuwait. Iraq insisted that withdrawal from Kuwait must be "linked" tosimultaneous withdrawalSyrian troops from LebanonIsraeli troops fromWest Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights,southern Lebanon.

On January 12, 1991United States Congress authorizedusemilitary forcedrive Iraq outKuwait.

Air Campaign

On January 16, 1991, one day afterdeadline setResolution 678,coalition launchedmassive air campaign codenamed Operation Desert Storm: more than 1,000 sorties per day. Weapons used included smart bombs, cluster bombs, daisy cutters,cruise missiles (see below). Iraq responded by launching 8 Scud missiles into Israelnext day. Air superiority intheatre was quickly achieved; coalition air forces flew sorties largely unchallenged.

The air campaign targeted military targets likeIraqi Republican GuardKuwait, air defense systems, Scud missile launchers, air forcesairfields, weapons research facilities,naval forces. In addition,targeted facilities usefulbothmilitarycivilians: electricity production facilities, telecommunications equipment, port facilities, oil refineriesdistribution, railroadsbridges. [RCCPGW] Two live nuclear reactors were bombed (see Washington Post article by Atkinson & Devroy),violation ofrecently passed UN Resolution 45/52 banning such attacks. Electrical power facilities were destroyed acrosspreviously industrialized country. Atend ofwar, electricity production was at 4%its pre-war levels; months later,was still only at 20-25%. (Bolkom) Bombs destroyedutilityall major dams, most major pumping stations,many sewage treatment plants. Sewage flowed directly intoTigris River, from which civilians drew drinking water, resultingwidespread disease (Arbuthnot, Felicity). Documents released by The Pentagon indicate that "increased incidences, if not epidemics,disease" were anticipatedperhaps intended. (Seeleaked memo: Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities). In most cases,Allies avoided hitting civilian-only facilities. However, on February 13, 1991 two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroyed an air raid shelterBaghdad killing hundredsIraqis. U.S. officials claimed thatbunker wasmilitary communications center, but Western reporters have been unablefind evidencethis. (See Is Iraq comingfromcold? by Allan Little, linked below. This strikealso discussedKilling Hope.)

Iraq launched missile attacks on coalition basesSaudi Arabiaon Israel, inhopesdrawing Israel intowardrawing other Arab states outit. This strategy proved ineffective. Israel did not joincoalition,all Arab states stayed incoalition except Jordan, which remained officially neutral throughout.

Ground Campaign

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A USMC convoy crossesIraqi desert.

On February 22, 1991, Iraq agreed toSoviet-proposed cease-fire agreement. The agreement calledIraqwithdraw troopspre-invasion positions within three weeks followingtotal cease-fire,calledmonitoring ofcease-firewithdrawalbe overseen byUN Security Council. The US rejectedproposal but said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked,gave twenty-four hoursIraqbegin withdrawing forces.

On February 24,US began Operation Desert Sabre,ground portionits campaign. US forces pulled plows along Iraqi trenches, burying their occupants alive. Soon after,convoyMarines penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, collecting thousandsdeserting Iraqi troops, weakeneddemoralised byextensive air campaign. The US anticipated that Iraq might use chemical weapons; General Colin Powell later suggested thatUS responsesuch an act might have beendestroy dams onTigrisEuphrates rivers, drowning Baghdadwater, though this was never fully developed asplan. [PBS]

Iraq did not use chemical weapons, andallied advance was much swifter than US generals expected. On February 26, Iraqi troops began retreating outKuwait, setting fireKuwaiti oil fields asleft. Aconvoyretreating Iraqi troops--alongIraqiPalestinian civilians--formed alongmain Iraq-Kuwait highway. This convoy was bombed so extensively byAllies thatcamebe known asHighwayDeath. One hundred hours afterground campaign started, President Bush declaredceasefireon February 27 declared that Kuwait had been liberated. Journalist Seymour Hersh has charged that, two days afterceasefire was declared, American troops led by Barry McCaffrey engaged insystematic massacreretreating Iraqi troops,additionsome civilians. McCaffrey has deniedchargesan army investigation has cleared him. (Forbes, Daniel)

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The "HighwayDeath"

A peace conference was heldallied-occupied Iraq. Atconference, Iraq negotiated usearmed helicopters on their side oftemporary border. Soon after, these helicopters,much ofIraqi armed forces, were refocused toward fighting againstShiite uprising insouth. InNorth, Kurdish leaders took heartAmerican statements thatwould supportpeople's uprising,began fighting, inhopestriggeringcoup. However, when no American support was forthcoming, Iraqi generals remained loyalbrutally crushedKurdish troops. MillionsKurds fled acrossmountainsKurdish areasTurkeyIran. These incidents would later resultno-fly zonesbothNorth andSouth (see below). In Kuwait,Emir was restoredpro-democracy forces were attacked alongsuspected Iraqi collaborators, especially Palestinians. Eventually, over 400,000 people were expelled fromcountry. [PBS]

On March 10, 1991, Operation Desert Farewell beganmove 540,000 American troops out ofPersian Gulf.

Canadian Involvement

Canada was one offirst nationsagreecondemn Iraq's invasionKuwaitit quickly agreedjoinU.S. lead coalition. In August Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sentdestroyers HMCS Terra NovaHMCS Athabaskanenforcetrade blockade against Iraq. The supply ship HMCS Protecteur was also sentaidgathering coalition forces. WhenUN authorized full useforce inoperation Canada sentCF18 sqaudronsupport personnel. Canada also sentfield hospitaldealcasualties fromground war.

Whenair war began Canada's planes were integrated intocoalition forceprovided air coverattacked ground targets. This wasfirst time sinceKorean War that Canadian forces had participatedcombat operations.

Canada suffered no casualties duringconflict but since its end many veterans have complainedsuffering from Gulf War Syndrome.

Casualties

Gulf War casualty numberscontroversial. Coalition military deaths seembe around 378,US forces suffering 148 battle-related145 non-battle-related deaths (included in378). The UK suffered 47 deaths. The largest single lossCoalition forces happened on February 25, 1991 when an Iraqi Scud missile hit an American military barracksDhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania. The numbercoalition wounded seemshave been less than 1,000. Iraqi casualty numbershighly disputed. Some claim as low as 1,500 military killed, some 200,000. Many scholars believenumber around 25,00075,000. The numbermilitary woundedequally unknown. 71,000 Iraqis were taken as prisonerswar by US troops. EstimatesIraqi civilian deaths range from 10035,000.

Cost

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Kuwaiti oil wells on fire.

The cost ofwar toUnited States was calculated by Congressbe $61.1 billion; two-thirdsthat amount was paid by Kuwait, JapanSaudi-Arabia.

Media Campaign

The US policy regarding media freedom was much more restrictive thanprevious conflicts. Most ofpress information came from briefings organized bymilitary. Only selected journalists were allowedvisitfront lines or conduct interviewssoldiers. Those visits were always conducted inpresenceofficers,were subjectboth prior approval bymilitary,censorship afterward. This was ostensiblyprotect sensitive information from being revealedIraq, but oftenpracticewas usedprotect politically embarrassing information from being revealed. This policy was heavily influenced bymilitary's experience withVietnam War, whichbelievedhad lost duepublic opposition withinUnited States.

Atsame time,coveragethis war was newits instantaneousness. Many American journalists remained stationed inIraqi capital Baghdad throughoutwar,footageincoming missiles was carried almost immediately onnightly television news andcable news channels such as CNN.

Consequences

Followinguprisings inNorthSouth, no-fly zones were establishedhelp protectShiiteKurdish minoritiesSouthNorth Iraq, respectively. These no-fly zones (originally north of36th parallelsouth of32nd) were monitored mainly byUS andUK. Combined,flew more sorties over Iraq ineleven years followingwar than were flown duringwar. These sorties dropped bombs nearly every other day. However,greatest amountbombs were dropped during two sustained bombing campaigns: Operation Desert Strike, which lastedfew weeksSeptember 1996,Operation Desert Fox,December 1998.

Economic sanctions were keptplace followingwar. Iraq was allowedimport certain products underoil-for-food program. A 1998 UNICEF report found thatsanctions resultedan increase90,000 deaths per year [IAC]. The sanctions on Iraq andAmerican military presenceSaudi Arabia contributed toUnited States' increasingly negative image withinArab world.

A United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on weapons was established,monitor Iraq's compliancerestrictions on weaponsmass destructionballistic missiles. Iraq accepted somerefused other weapons inspections. The team found some evidencebiological weapons programs at one site,non-compliance at many other sites.

In 1997, Iraq expelled all US members ofinspection team, alleging thatUnited States was usinginspections asfrontespionage, whichU.S. later admitted was true. The team returnedan even more turbulent time period between 19971999; one member ofweapons inspection team, US Marine Scott Ritter, resigned1998, alleging thatUnited States was blocking investigations becausedid not wantfull-scale confrontationIraq. He also alleged thatCIA was usingweapons inspection teams ascovercovert operations inside Iraq. In 1999,team was replaced bynew team which began inspections2002. For more on these inspections, see Iraq disarmament crisis. In 2002, Iraq--and especially Saddam Hussein--became targets inUnited States' War on Terrorism, leading to2003 invasionIraq, led byUnited States,tolesser extent,United Kingdom.

Many returning coalition soldiers reported illnesses following their participation inGulf War,phenomenon known as Gulf war syndrome. There has been widespread speculationdisagreement aboutcauses (and existence)this syndrome. Some factors considered as possibly causal include exposuredepleted uranium, oil fires, oranthrax vaccine.

Palestinian supportIraq caused some discontent among its Arab supportersthis hadeffectcausingPalestinian'sbegin secret negotiationsIsrael which led toOslo Accords. The People's RepublicChina was surprised byswiftness ofCoalition victorythis led tostart ofhigh technology change inPeople's Liberation Army.

Technology

Precision guided munitions (PGMs, also "smart bombs"), such asUnited States Air Force guided missile AGM-130, were heralded as keyallowing military strikesbe made withminimumcivilian casualties. Specific buildingsdowntown Baghdad could be bombed whilst journaliststheir hotels watched cruise missiles fly by. PGMs amountedapproximately 7.4%all bombs dropped bycoalition. Other bombs included cluster bombs, which break up into clustersbomblets,daisy cutters, 15,000-pound bombs which can "[disintegrate] everything within hundredsyards". (Walker)

Scud islow technology rocket bomb that Iraq used, launching them into both Saudi ArabiaIsrael. Some bombs caused extensive casualties, others caused little damage. Concerns were raisedpossible chemical or biological warheads on these rockets, but ifexistedwere not used. Coalition effortseliminate Scud launchers orknock down Scudsflight withPatriot missile defense were far less effective than military leaders claimed attime.

Global Positioning System units were keyenabling coalition unitsnavigate acrossdesert undetected by enemy troops. Airborne WarningControl System (AWACS)satellite communication systems were also important.

Important Individuals

United States:

Iraq: Others:

Films

Related Legislation

Related articles

Bibliography

Further Reading:


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