Jenny has masters' degrees in public health and public administration.
If you were the president of the United States and a leader of one country invaded another, what would you do? On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein, a dictator and the leader of Iraq, invaded Kuwait, a small country with lots of valuable oil.
The United States, under President George H.W. Bush, worried about Hussein and stability in the Middle East. Of particular concern was protecting Saudi Arabia, another oil-rich country near Iraq and a huge supplier of oil to the United States.
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President Bush worked with the international community and the United Nations (UN), an international peacekeeping organization made up of 193 countries. He put together a coalition, a group of countries to fight Iraq. The Persian Gulf War was short and successfully removed Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.
The Gulf War was fought from August 2, 1990, to February 28, 1991. It was divided into three different operations, each comprised of different military actions.
On August 3, 1990, the day after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the United Nations Security Council ordered him to get out. Instead, Iraq officially made Kuwait part of its country.
Operation Desert Shield began on August 7, 1990, when the United States and countries from Europe and the Middle East sent soldiers to Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this operation was not only to protect Saudi Arabia but also to begin preparing for a possible war. At the same time, Iraq was adding troops in Kuwait.
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On November 29, 1990, the UN Security Council gave Iraq a deadline of January 15, 1991, to leave Kuwait. Otherwise, the UN would allow countries to use any force necessary to remove Iraq from Kuwait. The United States Congress also voted that President Bush could go to war.
President Bush worked very hard to build a coalition, and by January 15, 1991, there were 700,000 soldiers from around 30 countries (most were from the United States). But Saddam Hussein still would not leave Kuwait.
Since Hussein ignored the deadline, the coalition started Operation Desert Storm on January 16, 1991, by dropping bombs from the air. General Norman Schwarzkopf of the U.S. army was in charge. They blew up roads, government buildings, and other targets that made it hard for the Iraqi army to move around, communicate, and fight.
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During this time, Saddam Hussein shot Scud missiles at cities in Saudi Arabia and Israel and Iraqi soldiers set fire to many Kuwaiti oil wells. The United States gave Israel Patriot missiles to block the Scuds and they continued their air offensive.
On February 24, the ground offensive, Operation Desert Sabre, began. Coalition soldiers went from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait and by February 26, Iraqi soldiers were in full retreat. On February 28, 1991, Iraq issued a cease-fire and the war was over.
Thousands of Iraqi troops and about 300 coalition soldiers died in the war.
To end the war, Iraq recognized Kuwait as a separate country and agreed to stop making certain kinds of weapons. President Bush did not want to push farther into Iraq or make Saddam Hussein give up power. However, years later, under President George W. Bush ( President George H.W. Bush's son), another war with Iraq was begun. The story of that war, which ultimately did remove Saddam Hussein from power, is for another lesson!
The Persian Gulf War took place in 1991, several months after Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, invaded Kuwait. President George H.W. Bush put together a coalition of soldiers from around the world and worked with the United Nations. After a series of successful operations, including Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Desert Sabre, the coalition forces pushed Iraqi soldiers out of Kuwait.
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