Gulf War

The Gulf War of 1990–1991 began when Iraq invaded and annexed its small neighbour Kuwait and ended when a coalition of 42 countries, led by the United States, drove Iraqi forces out. The coalition's air campaign and a ground offensive of about a hundred hours defeated Iraq quickly, but left Saddam Hussein in power and Iraq under sanctions for more than a decade.

Iraq emerged from its long war with Iran in 1988 heavily in debt, much of it owed to Gulf states including Kuwait. Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait of keeping oil prices low by overproducing and of drilling into Iraqi oil fields, and revived old Iraqi claims to Kuwaiti territory. On 2 August 1990 Iraqi forces invaded and took the country within two days; the emir fled to Saudi Arabia, and Iraq soon declared Kuwait its nineteenth province.

The UN Security Council condemned the invasion and imposed sanctions. Fearing an attack on Saudi Arabia, the United States sent forces there in Operation Desert Shield, and an unusually broad coalition formed, including Britain, France, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia itself. On 29 November 1990 the Security Council authorised the use of "all necessary means" if Iraq had not withdrawn by 15 January 1991. Diplomatic efforts failed. By then the coalition had assembled roughly 950,000 troops in the region, around three-quarters of them American.

Operation Desert Storm began on 17 January 1991 with a massive air campaign against Iraqi air defences, command centres, infrastructure and troops, which featured precision-guided weapons and was broadcast live on television. Iraq fired Scud missiles at Israel and Saudi Arabia, hoping to draw Israel into the war and split the coalition, but Israel did not retaliate. In late January Iraqi forces briefly took the Saudi town of Khafji before being pushed back.

The coalition ground offensive began on 24 February. While forces attacked directly into Kuwait, a large armoured force swept west and north through the Iraqi desert to cut off the Iraqi army. Iraqi resistance collapsed, and many soldiers surrendered. Iraqi forces set some 700 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire and released oil into the Gulf, causing severe environmental damage. Kuwait City was liberated on 26–27 February, and on 28 February President George H. W. Bush declared a ceasefire.

The coalition lost about 300 personnel killed, many in accidents. Iraqi military deaths are uncertain, with estimates commonly ranging from about 20,000 to 50,000, and thousands of civilians also died, while later damage to infrastructure and sanctions added to the toll.

Encouraged by the defeat, Shia Arabs in the south and Kurds in the north rose against Saddam in March 1991, but his forces crushed the uprisings; coalition countries later set up no-fly zones over parts of Iraq. Iraq accepted UN demands to give up weapons of mass destruction under inspection, and sanctions remained in place. The confrontation remained unresolved until the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, while the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia was cited by Osama bin Laden among his grievances.

Our 1985 and 1994 maps show the borders of Iraq and Kuwait, which the war restored to their prewar line.