What was the Gulf War?

The Gulf War, also called Operation Desert Storm or the First Gulf War, was a brief war from January 17 to February 28, 1991 in which a 35-nation coalition led by the United States liberated Kuwait from an Iraqi invasion ordered by dictator Saddam Hussein. Iraq had invaded its small oil-rich neighbor on August 2, 1990, claiming that Kuwait had stolen Iraqi oil through cross-border slant drilling and was driving down oil prices. Within hours, Iraqi forces seized Kuwait City, and Saddam declared Kuwait the nineteenth province of Iraq.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the invasion the same day in Resolution 660 and imposed economic sanctions in Resolution 661. President George H.W. Bush built an extraordinary international coalition over the next five months, drawing in countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, and even the Soviet Union as a diplomatic partner. Operation Desert Shield deployed about 540,000 American troops to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf to defend Saudi Arabia and prepare for offensive action.

Resolution 678, passed November 29, 1990, authorized member states to use all necessary means to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait if they did not withdraw by January 15, 1991. The United States Senate authorized military action 52 to 47 on January 12, 1991, and the House voted 250 to 183. Operation Desert Storm began with a five-week air campaign on January 17, 1991, the most intense bombing campaign since Vietnam. Coalition aircraft flew about 100,000 sorties and destroyed Iraqi command centers, air defenses, and military equipment. Iraq launched Scud missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to break the coalition, but Patriot missile defenses and Israeli restraint kept the coalition together.

The ground campaign began on February 24, 1991 and ended just 100 hours later, on February 28. Iraqi forces collapsed quickly. The famous left hook maneuver by General Norman Schwarzkopf and General Frederick Franks bypassed Iraqi defenses and trapped the Republican Guard. About 100,000 Iraqis died, while American military deaths totaled 148 in combat and 145 in non-hostile causes. President Bush halted the offensive at the Iraqi border, leaving Saddam Hussein in power, a decision that became controversial and contributed to the second Iraq War in 2003.