Analysis of the Gulf War, 1991
Research Paper on the Gulf War 1991
Ba’athist Iraq by the late 1980’s was a rogue state ruled with an iron fist by the ruthless dictator Saddam Hussein, who in an eight year war with his neighbor Iran, had mounted a pile of debt. Seeking a way to wipe out this debt and show off the military might of the fourth largest military in the world, Saddam looked to its oil-rich neighbor Kuwait. In an unprecedented and unprovoked act of aggression, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait threatened the very stability of the world, for Saddam’s regime had controlled almost 20% of the world’s oil (BBC). The international community responded with an over 30 member UN Coalition, spearheaded by the United States; a nation still haunted by the Vietnam War. Defeating Saddam was imperative to the stability of the region as well as the world economy. Thanks to the technological advances and perfected military tactics of the United States, Saddam’s mighty army, particularly his elite Republican Guard, was wiped out in a little over the course of a month. In the last major conventional war in the 20th century, the US and the Coalition won a quick and decisive victory on the battlefield through this superior air and land technology and tactics, and resurged America’s international role through well handled diplomacy and UN protocol.
At 230 hours, the skies of Baghdad erupted in a hail of anti-aircraft fire, lit up with explosions targeting key parts of the city. US planes overhead conducted precision strikes over anything of use to Iraq’s military, including supply depots, power stations, communications arrays, and forces themselves. Coalition airpower was seeking to put Iraq in the dark so it could not maneuver or communicate with its forces in Kuwait and along the Saudi border. It was January 17th, 1991, and Iraq was a day late for President Bush’s deadline to withdraw forces from Kuwait. The time for negotiations was over; as Operation Desert Shield defended from further possible Iraqi
Ba’athist Iraq by the late 1980’s was a rogue state ruled with an iron fist by the ruthless dictator Saddam Hussein, who in an eight year war with his neighbor Iran, had mounted a pile of debt. Seeking a way to wipe out this debt and show off the military might of the fourth largest military in the world, Saddam looked to its oil-rich neighbor Kuwait. In an unprecedented and unprovoked act of aggression, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait threatened the very stability of the world, for Saddam’s regime had controlled almost 20% of the world’s oil (BBC). The international community responded with an over 30 member UN Coalition, spearheaded by the United States; a nation still haunted by the Vietnam War. Defeating Saddam was imperative to the stability of the region as well as the world economy. Thanks to the technological advances and perfected military tactics of the United States, Saddam’s mighty army, particularly his elite Republican Guard, was wiped out in a little over the course of a month. In the last major conventional war in the 20th century, the US and the Coalition won a quick and decisive victory on the battlefield through this superior air and land technology and tactics, and resurged America’s international role through well handled diplomacy and UN protocol.
At 230 hours, the skies of Baghdad erupted in a hail of anti-aircraft fire, lit up with explosions targeting key parts of the city. US planes overhead conducted precision strikes over anything of use to Iraq’s military, including supply depots, power stations, communications arrays, and forces themselves. Coalition airpower was seeking to put Iraq in the dark so it could not maneuver or communicate with its forces in Kuwait and along the Saudi border. It was January 17th, 1991, and Iraq was a day late for President Bush’s deadline to withdraw forces from Kuwait. The time for negotiations was over; as Operation Desert Shield defended from further possible Iraqi
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