Persian Gulf War Summary

Saddam Hussein thought he could reconstitute Iraq by invading Kuwait. That's exactly what he did. On August 2, 1990 Iraqi military forces invaded Kuwait by the orders of Saddam Hussein. The (UN) United Nations acted quickly. President George Bush forged a military coalition which consisted of Argentina, Bahrain, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Bangladesh, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Untied Kingdom, and the United States of America. The United States assembled 500,000 soldiers, 1,800 aircraft, 100 ships. The UN ordered Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait and restore Kuwaiti government by January 15, 1991 or the coalition would use any means necessary to force the Iraqis from Kuwait, but he refused. So the UN's first objective was to gain control of the air. On January 16 a combined assault of cruise missiles and bombing sorties where discharged upon Iraqi command centers, airbases, and missile launchers to try and gain control of the air. Iraq retaliated by launching scud missiles against cities in Israel and Saudi Arabia. By January 23 a week later of the opening assault the coalition achieved air control another warning was issued to Saddam Hussein leave Kuwait by February 23 or risk a land battle. The coalition prepared for the assault. General Norman Schwarzkopf orchestrated a extensive western deployment on the Arabian border to totally outflank Iraqi positions. February 23 came and went. Then on February 24 the primary assault began . It was so fierce that it would only last 100 hours. Armored units hastily penetrated Iraq and moved towards Kuwait. As the other armored units pushed from the south the Iraqi soldiers where abruptly surrounded and fled in confusion. On February 27 president George Bush announced a cease-fire. The United States suffered 148 killed in action, 407 wounded, 121 killed in nonhostile actions and 15 of the casualties where women . On June 1991 an estimation of Iraqi's killed was 100,000, 300,000 wounded, 150,000 deserted and 60,000 taken prisoner. The war cost Arab States $620 billion. The United States, Great Britain, and France received $84 billion for army expenses, but they spent $51 billion on support for the coalition soldiers. The damage estimated to the oil fields, factories, roads, and other buildings was $160 billion in Kuwait and $190 billion in Iraq.