Page 13 - Anthology

THE GULF WAR
2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991

“The Gulf War was codenamed Operation Desert Shield for operations leading to the buildup of troops
and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm was a war waged by coalition forces from 34
nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

The war is also known under other names, such as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I,
Kuwait War, First Iraq War, or Iraq War before the term "Iraq War" became identified instead with the
2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the U.S. as "Operation Iraqi Freedom"). Kuwait's invasion by Iraqi
troops that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation and brought immediate
economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the U.N. Security Council. U.S. President George H. W.
Bush deployed U.S. forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the
scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great
majority of the Coalition's military forces were from the U.S., with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and
Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Saudi Arabia paid around US$36 billion of the US$60 billion
cost.

The war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle,
principally by the U.S. network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the
daily broadcast images on board the U.S. bombers during Operation Desert Storm.

The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 17 January
1991. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the Coalition
forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The Coalition ceased its advance and
declared a cease-fire 100 hour after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was
confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi Arabia's border. Iraq launched Scud missiles against
Coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 passed in April 1991 established formal cease-fire terms.
The controversies over enforcing this and subsequent resolutions would lead to the outbreak of another
war 12 years later.”