Reasons for the Outbreak of the Gulf War

1. Iraq had always claimed Kuwait to be its territory as both were governed under the Ottoman

Empire as the provinces of Basra.

2. Kuwait’s ruling dynasty, the al-Sabah family, had concluded a protectorate agreement in

1899 that assigned responsibility for Kuwait’s foreign affairs to the United Kingdom.

3. The UK drew the border between Kuwait and Iraq in 1922, making Iraq almost entirely

landlocked. Kuwait rejected Iraqi attempts to secure further provisions in the region.

4. There were economic reasons as well because Iraq also accused Kuwait of exceeding its

OPEC quotas for oil production.

5. The Iraqi government described it as a form of economic warfare, which it claimed was
aggravated by Kuwait slant-drilling across the border into Iraq’s Rumaila oil field.

6. Coupled with these reasons, Iraq acquired Casus Beli for military actions against Kuwait.

Aspirants can read the relevant information on Gulf Cooperation Council signed between Saudi

Arabia, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait. BYJU.COM

Peace Restoring Efforts by the UN

The U.N. Security Council declared on August 2, the very day of the invasion, that the Iraqi action
of ignoring the basic order of the international community was a violation of international law and
adopted Resolution 660, which required the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Iraqi forces.
Since Iraq ignored this resolution and did not withdraw from Kuwait, the U.N. Security Council adopted
on August 6 Resolution 661, which obligated member countries to take economic sanctions against Iraq
and Resolution 662 on August 9, which declared the invalidity of the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq

Furthermore, on August 25, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 665, which required those
countries that had deployed maritime forces to take necessary measures including official inspection of
ships to ensure strict implementation of the economic sanctions against Iraq. Thus, the economic
sanctions against Iraq based on the U.N. Security Council resolutions took hold on a global scale and
army, navy and air forces from 28 countries were deployed in the Gulf area for the purpose of enforcing
sanctions against Iraq as well as to restrain Iraq (Note). Among the Arab countries, Egypt, Syria, Morocco
and Saudi Arabia deployed armed forces. Japan decided to contribute by providing transportation, goods,
medical care and funds, and also to extend economic cooperation to the surrounding countries and
assistance in refugee relief efforts.
Despite these steps taken by the international community, Iraq did not show any intention of accepting the
resolutions adopted by the U.N. Security Council. Moreover, Iraq forbade foreign residents in Iraq
and Kuwait, who were under its control, to exit from the country and took further steps to hold
foreign residents of the major Western countries, including Japan, as hostages and to send them to
military and oil facilities as "human shields," an outrageous deed against humanity.
3. Search for a Peaceful Settlement
The international community took the basic stance of urging Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait on Iraq's
own initiative through strict implementation of economic sanctions against Iraq, thereby bringing about a
peaceful solution to the problem. However, Iraq kept ignoring the international community's demand and,
as part of its efforts to justify its invasion of Kuwait, abruptly introduced the so-called "linkage
argument," which insisted that the problem should be solved simultaneously with the issue of peace in the
Middle East. Under these circumstances, the United States and the Soviet Union acted in unity to aim at
the thorough implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions and a peaceful solution of this
Crisis, holding consultations on various occasions, including the U.S.-Soviet Summit in Helsinki on
September 10, 1991. However, no changes were made after all in its basic stance to refuse to
withdraw from Kuwait and abide by the U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Adoption of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 678

On November 29, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 678 that allowed the U.N.
member countries that sent troops to the multinational forces to take "all necessary means"
including the use of force if Iraq did not comply with the series of U.N. Security Council
resolutions by January 15, 1991.

Standing on the position of the international community that resorting to force could
become unavoidable as the case may be, President Bush proposed to Iraq on November 30 that a
direct dialogue be held through mutual visit of Foreign Ministers of both countries. Iraq
announced on December 1 its acceptance of this U.S. proposal. Iraq also decided to release all
the foreign nationals held hostage in Iraq on December 7. (www.mofa.go.jp)

India during the Gulf War:

New Delhi had been one of the first powers to recognise the Baathist regime when
it came to power, and Baghdad, in turn, had consistently maintained a pro-India
stance, especially during the era when the rest of the region was seen to have
gravitated towards Pakistan.
When the Gulf War started, India, which at the time was led by PM Chandra
Shekhar, maintained its signature non-aligned stance. However, it rejected
Baghdad’s demand for linking the hostilities that were unfolding then with the
Palestinian conflict.

Between August 13 and October 20 of 1990, India evacuated over 1,75,000 of its
nationals from war-torn Kuwait, the biggest such operation by the Indian
government. The feat has been mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records
as the largest number of people being evacuated by a civilian airliner, and was
depicted in the 2016 Hindi film ‘Airlift’.

Sources: Indian Express. (www.insightsonindia.com)

Secret Squirrels
The alert pad at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana buzzed with activity in the early morning hours of
Jan. 16, 1991, as seven B-52 Stratofortress from the 2nd Bomb Wing roared to life. A few moments later
they climbed into the gray sky, flying to Iraq to launch the opening bombardment for Operation Desert
Storm.

Many of the 57 crew members who flew that historic mission were here to celebrate its 29th anniversary.
The mission’s official name was Operation Senior Surprise, but the participants nicknamed it Operation
Secret Squirrel because of the mission’s confidential nature.

Operation Senior Surprise was the B-52’s first participation in a major campaign since the Vietnam War.
The objective was to pave the way for successive air strikes by destroying the Iraqi military’s ability to
communicate and generate power.

The mission employed the AGM-86C Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile. It was the first time the
CALCM had been fired in combat, having been developed as a top-secret weapons system only a few
years before.

More than fourteen hours after leaving Barksdale, the Secret Squirrels unleashed their precision-guided
payload on targets in Iraq, destroying over 90 percent of their communication targets and effectively
blinding the Iraqi military from seeing U.S. fighters following them.

The Secret Squirrels had reduced the fourth-largest military in the world to a stumbling giant, unable to
defend itself. (sofmag.com)

n the early morning of Jan. 16, 1991, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) deployed seven B-52G Stratofortresses crews
from 2nd Bomb Wing (BW) to Iraq in a single, secret mission that would mark the beginning of Operation
Desert Storm.

This opening salvo, launched by the 596th Bomb Squadron (BS), paved the way for American forces to defeat
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whose troops had invaded neighboring Kuwait. The then Strategic Air
Command (SAC) called the classified mission Operation Senior Surprise.
Operation Senior Surprise was a mission orchestrated by SAC during Operation Desert Shield. The term Senior
Surprise was the official name of the mission, but aircrew and maintainers creatively came up with the name
Secret Squirrel so they could track schedules and discuss the mission in unclassified areas.

At the start of Desert Shield, a select group of aircrew and maintainers from the 596th Bomb Squadron (BS)
were briefed about the use in combat of a new type of weapon, the Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile
(CALCM).

The morning of Jan. 16, 1991, seven B-52G Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) took off
heading toward Iraqi targets, launched 35 of the then new AGM-86C CALCMs annihilating Saddam’s forces
and striking key point of communication infrastructure, and returned in secret.

This marked also the first time GPS had ever been used to guide a missile toward a target.

Col. Trey Morriss, 307th BW vice commander, was a new captain when he served as a B-52G electronic warfare
officer during the Secret Squirrel mission.

“The Secret Squirrel mission was used to blind Iraq by eliminating certain power and communication nodes
throughout the country. This severely hampered their response in the initial phase of the war,” Morriss pointed
out. “We proved to U.S. citizens, our allies, coalition partners, and even to our enemies that we will do what we
say we’re going to do. In doing so, we solidified the B-52 in the realm of long-range strike capability.”

Noteworthy during “Secret Squirrel” the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker,
as the B-52 is nicknamed) aircrews faced unpredictable risks when
flying to the Middle East, but maintained confidence in their training.
Those risks included potential enemy action, landing into friendly
territory that may not have been prepared to accommodate U.S.
military aircraft or any number of system failures within the aircraft.
Secret Squirrel remained classified until Jan. 16, 1992, when the
aircrew members and maintainers who made the mission possible
were presented with air, achievement and commendation medals for
their efforts. (nationalinterest.org)
peration Senior Surprise, also known as Secret Squirrel,[1] was a long range B-52G
Stratofortress cruise missile strike against Iraqi targets that initiated the bombing campaign during
the Gulf War in 1991.[2] But was given the unofficial nickname Operation Secret Squirrel by the B-52
crews. The mission took place from January 16, 1991, and ended January 17, 1991. Lt. Col John "Jay"
Beard, was the mission commander and Barksdale AFB's 596th Bomb Squadron's commanding
officer.[3] (en.wikipedia.org/)

OPERATION DESERT SHIELD

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Kuwait asked the United States for assistance in
defending themselves, and within five days United States F-15 Eagle fighters arrived in the
Persian Gulf from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to begin Operation Desert Shield, an effort
to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein, the political leader of Iraq. The United States was able
to put together a coalition of more than thirty-five nations who supported the military liberation
of Kuwait (moral support, troops, money, and supplies). It was clear that the United States
would carry the major burden of the effort. On August 22, 1990, President George Bush
authorized the call-up of the reserves. Reservists began to mobilize in preparation to go to the
Gulf for combat and to receive casualties. Areas were prepared to receive patients in the Gulf, in
Europe, and in the United States. The activities in August began a five-month diplomatic effort
to liberate Kuwait and stop the conflict. However, on January 17, 1991, a one-month air war
began to try to convince Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait, with no result. On February 22,
President Bush delivered an ultimatum to Hussein demanding that he withdraw from Kuwait by
February 23, 1991. When no withdrawal came, United States armed forces moved into Iraq and
Kuwait. Though there had been much concern about a substantial resistance from Iraqi forces,
little resistance was encountered and on February 26, 1991, Kuwaiti resistance leaders declared
that they were again in control of Kuwait. On February 27, President Bush ordered a cease-fire
at the end of what is sometimes referred to as the “one-hundred hours’ war.” On March 3, 1991,
Iraqi leaders accepted the terms of the cease-fire. During the war there were 148 combat deaths
out of the 533,608 troops who served in the Gulf War. Another 145 died of non-combat-related
conditions. One hundred thousand Iraqi troops died during the conflict and three hundred
thousand Iraqis were wounded. (rsc.byu.edu)

Our objectives in the Persian Gulf are clear, our goals defined and familiar: Iraq
must withdraw from Kuwait completely, immediately and without condition.
Kuwait’s legitimate government must be restored. The security and stability of the
Persian Gulf must be assured. And American citizens abroad must be protected.
These goals are not ours alone. They have been endorsed by the United Nations
Security Council five times in as many weeks. Most countries share our concern
for principle. And many have a stake in the stability of the Persian Gulf. This is not,
as Saddam Hussein would have it, the United States against Iraq; it is Iraq against
the world.

President Bush then instigated Operation Desert Shield, a massive multi-national

effort to defend Saudi Arabia. Major General Houston’s US 82nd and Major
General James H.B. Peay III’s 101st Airborne Divisions arrived in August 1990. The
US 24th Infantry (Mechanized) Division, in the shape of its 1st and 2nd Brigades
under Major General Barry McCaffrey, was the first heavy formation to deploy to
the Gulf in September 1990. It was followed by Brigadier General John Tilelli’s US
1st Cavalry Division the following month and Major General Thomas Rhame’s US
1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) in December. All these units had come from
America and, with the exception of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, were
equipped with the M1 or IPM1 Abrams tank armed with a 105mm gun.

(/weaponsandwarfare.com)
Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm
Operation Desert Shield was prompted by the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on 2 August
1990. The operation was a buildup phase in which Coalition Forces--comprised of
Kuwaiti, American, British, French, Saudi Arabian, and Egyptian troops--moved into
the region to discourage Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia after invading Kuwait. On 29
November 1990, the UN passed Resolution 678: a deadline for Iraqi troops to evacuate
Kuwait by 17 January 1991. That deadline passed with no withdrawal and the defensive
Operation Desert Shield became combative Operation Desert Storm.

Battleship Missouri arrived in the Middle East in the first few days of 1991. Her first
accomplishment in the Persian Gulf was the disarming of a mine by her Explosive
Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team on 9 January. She then spent the period between 8-15
January underway in the Persian Gulf conducting a variety of operations. On 17
January, USS Missouri fired her first Tomahawk missile aimed at Baghdad. The next
day, she fired thirteen more. By 20 January, the battleship had fired a total of 28
missiles.

On 29 January, Iraqi forces took the coastal town of Kafji in Saudi Arabia. Battleship
Missouri steamed there to ensure that reinforcements could not reach the Iraqi forces.
On 3 February, the battleship fired her main battery in anger for the first time since the
Korean War. She targeted concrete command-and-control bunkers as well as Iraqi
artillery positions, firing 112 16” rounds between 5 to 7 February. The next week,
Missouri fired 69 16-inch rounds during fire-support missions. This time, her targets
were infantry battalions, a mechanized unit, an artillery battery, and a command
bunker.

Later in the month, she headed north towards Kuwait City, but before she could provide
fire support, a mine-free lane six miles long and one thousand yards wide had to be
created so the battleship could hit targets further inland. Her EOD team contributed to
this effort, bringing their mine disarmament total to ten. She then bombarded Faylaka
Island, which was under Iraqi control.
On 24 February, Coalition forces began their ground war for Kuwait. The battleship
provided fire support for ground troops. On 25 February, she feinted an amphibious
assault on Kuwait. When a Silkworm missile seemed headed straight for the battleship,
HMS Gloucester was there to fire two Sea Dart anti-air missiles to intercede. the first
time an anti-air missile had successfully engaged and destroyed an enemy missile
during combat at sea. In return, the battleship turned her 16-inch guns toward the
Silkworm battery and destroyed her target. The land war by the Coalition forces proved
a success and the Gulf War ended in a Coalition victory on 28 February 1991.
(/ussmissouri.org)

AIR CAMPAIGN
On January 17, 1991, the coalition began its air strike. So began Operation: Desert Storm. The
coalition used advanced technology such as "Stealth bombers, Cruise missiles, so-called “Smart”
bombs with laser-guidance systems, and infrared night-bombing equipment." The primary objective
of Desert Storm was to destroy the Iraqi communications networks, weapons plants, oil refineries and
other important Iraq bases. They went "all-out" in order to end the war in the air and minimize
ground combat. The coalition air forces were largely successful, demolishing the Iraqi fleets and
infrastructure on the ground. The coalition's first objective had been accomplished: to destroy Iraq's
air forces and anti-aircraft facilities.
The next objective was to destroy command and communication facilities. Saddam Hussein was all
about control and command, so if he couldn't do that, then Iraq resistance would be severely
weakened. This campaign was successful as well.
The third and largest air strike targeted missile launchers, weapons research facilities, and naval
forces. This was the final air victory.
The air campaign ended with the US suppression of Iraq's attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia. Hussein
hoped that his missiles would spur Israeli response and that this response would cause some
countries to disband from the coalition. The attacks failed because the United States sent Patriot
missile squadrons to Israel to protect its citizens. Iraq attacked Saudi Arabia with more missiles
targeting civilians and military forces, but only killed 1 civilian and 30 soldiers, proving to be largely
ineffective. Thus sparked the war on the ground.
Sites.google.com

The opening attacks of Desert Storm signaled a radical departure in the conduct of war.
Over 150 discrete targets – in addition to regular Iraqi Army forces and surface-to-air
missile (SAM) sites – made up the master attack plan for the opening 24 hours. The war
began with more targets attacked in one day than the total number of targets hit by all of
the Eighth Air Force in 1942 and 1943 combined – that’s more separate targets attacked
in less time than ever before in history.
Twenty-five years ago, those involved in the Desert Storm air campaign applied force not
only across the entire breadth and depth of the country geographically, but also across all
the key strategic and operational level centers of gravity. How was that accomplished?
And what was different from previous conflicts?
Advances in technology, in conjunction with an effects-based approach to planning and
execution, allowed us to institute a new concept of operations that has been described as
‘parallel’ war: the simultaneous application of force across the totality of the enemy
system.
While simultaneous attack has always been a desired element of offensive warfare, it had
never evolved into the parallel war demonstrated in Desert Storm for three reasons: one,
the requirement for mass to compensate for a lack of precise weapons delivery; two, the
large number of resources required to suppress enemy air defenses; and three, the absence
of a focus on effects rather than destruction to achieve control over an opponent.
The first two challenges required technological solutions, and were simply not mature
before the mid-1980s. Those two solutions were stealth and precision. To provide insight
into the significance of those two elements, in the first 24 hours of Desert Storm stealth,
precision, and effects-based planning allowed targeting 36 stealth aircraft armed with
precision-guided munitions against more separate targets than the complete non-
stealth/non-precision air and missile force launched from the entire complement of six
aircraft carriers and all the other ships in the theater combined. The stealthy F-117 force
flew less than 2 percent of the combat sorties, but struck over 40 percent of the fixed
targets.
The leverage that stealth demonstrated in the first Gulf War is further illustrated by the
following example that involves the first non-stealthy attack on one target with three
aimpoints in the Basrah area – Shaiba Airfield to be exact. The attack package consisted
of 4 US Navy A-6s dropping bombs, along with 4 Saudi Tornado bomb droppers: 5 US
Marine EA-6Bs jamming acquisition radars; 4 US Air Force F-4Gs taking out one type of
surface to air missile system; 17 US Navy F-18s taking out another; 4 F/A-18s as escort;
and three drones to cause the enemy radars to radiate. That is a total of 41 aircraft – 8
dropping bombs, on 3 aimpoints, on one target. balloonstodrones.com
he air campaign of the Gulf War, also known as the 1991 bombing of Iraq, was an extensive aerial bombing
campaign from 17 January 1991 to 23 February 1991. The Coalition of the Gulf War flew over 100,000 sorties,
dropping 88,500 tons of bombs, [4] widely destroying military and civilian infrastructure. [5] The air campaign was
commanded by USAF Lieutenant General Chuck Horner, who briefly served as Commander-in-Chief—Forward of
U.S. Central Command while General Schwarzkopf was still in the United States. The British air commanders were
Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Wilson (to 17 November 1990) and Air Vice-Marshal Bill Wratten (from 17 November).[6]
The air campaign had largely finished by 23 February 1991 when the coalition invasion of Kuwait took place.

The initial strikes were carried out by Tomahawk cruise missiles[7] launched from warships situated in the Persian Gulf,
by F-117A Nighthawk stealth bombers[7] with an armament of laser-guided smart bombs,[7] and by F-4G Wild Weasel
aircraft as well as F/A-18 Hornet aircraft armed with HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation) anti-radar missiles.[8] These
first attacks allowed F-14, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 fighter bombers to gain air superiority over Iraq and then continue
to drop TGM-guided and laser-guided bombs.

Armed with a GAU-8 rotary cannon and infrared-imaging or optically guided Maverick missiles, A-10 Thunderbolts
bombed and destroyed Iraqi armored forces, [7] supporting the advance of US ground troops. Marine Corps close air
support AV-8B Harriers employed their 25mm rotary cannon, Mavericks, cluster munitions, and napalm against the
Iraqi dug-in forces to pave the way forward for the Marines breaching Saddam's defenses. The AH-64 Apache and
AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters fired laser-guided Hellfire missiles and TOW missiles which were guided to tanks by
ground observers or by scout helicopters, such as the OH-58D Kiowa.[9] The Coalition air fleet also made use of the E-
3A Airborne Warning and Control Systems and of a fleet of B-52 bombers.[7][8] en.wikipedia.org/

The Ground Campaign

The Battle of Khafji
Iraq forces occupied the lightly defended city of Khafji, Saudi Arabia, but were quickly forced out by the
Saudi Arabian National Guard, ending the battle.
Coalition Forces on the Ground
Mid-February, coalition forces shifted their focus from Iraq air attacks to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia ground
attacks. Operation: Desert Sabre, as the ground campaign was codenamed, was a "massive allied ground
offensive." Coalition forces used GPS to locate their targets and move into Kuwait from Saudi Arabia. The
US air forces sent in decoy drones to bomb central Kuwait, leading Hussein's forces to believe that the
coalition attack was going to be directly at the center of Kuwait.
Instead, coalition forces encircled Kuwait, taking down Iraqi forces along the perimeter and liberating Kuwait.
US forces attacked Iraq at the same time and flanked the Iraqi rear. The Iraq forces mounted a huge
defense at "the south of Al-Basrah in Southeastern Iraq, but most were defeated by February 27."

This is the order of battle for the ground campaign in the Gulf War between U.S. and Coalition Forces[1] and the Iraqi
Armed Forces[2] between February 24–28, 1991. The order that they are listed in are from west to east. Iraqi units that
were not in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations are excluded from this list. Some Iraqi divisions remained un-identified
by Department of Defense intelligence and a number of the details of the Iraqi order of battle are in dispute among
various authoritative sources.
The coalition forces dominated the air with their technological advantages, but the
ground forces were considered to be more evenly matched. However, the coalition
ground forces had the significant advantage of being able to operate under the
protection of coalition Air supremacy that had been achieved by the Air Forces prior to
start of the main ground offensive.
Initial moves into Iraq
Elements of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division performed a covert recon into Iraq on
February 9, 1991, followed by a recon in force on February 20, that destroyed an Iraqi
battalion. On February 22, 1991, Iraq agreed to a Soviet-proposed cease-fire agreement.
The agreement called for Iraq to withdraw troops to pre-invasion positions within three
weeks following a total cease-fire, and called for monitoring of the cease-fire and
withdrawal to be overseen by the UN Security Council. The US rejected the proposal but
said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked, and gave twenty-four hours for
Iraq to begin withdrawing forces.
Coalition forces enter Iraq

General Colin Powell briefs President George H. W. Bush and his advisers on the progress of the
ground war.

The U.S. VII Corps launched an armored attack into Iraq, just to the west of Kuwait,
taking Iraqi forces by surprise. Simultaneously, the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps launched
a sweeping "left-hook" attack across the largely undefended desert of southern Iraq, led
by the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR) and the 24th Infantry Division
(Mechanized). The left flank of this movement was protected by the French 6th Light
Armored Division (which included units of the French Foreign Legion). The fast-moving
French force quickly overcame the Iraqi 45th Infantry Division, suffering only a handful
of casualties, and took up blocking positions to prevent any Iraqi force from attacking
the coalition flank. The right flank of the movement was protected by the British 1st
Armoured Division. Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned
eastward, launching a flank attack against the Republican Guard.
Both sides exchanged fire, but the Republican guard divisions, worn down by weeks of
aerial bombardment, proved unable to withstand the Allied advance. Tank battles flared
as the Republican Guard attempted to retreat. The coalition won with minimal losses.
Iraq's forces outmatched
It soon became obvious the Iraqi strategy was inherently flawed. Once Iraq had decided
it was not going to advance into the eastern oil fields of Saudi Arabia, there was no
reason for Iraqi forces to deploy further south from Kuwait City in great numbers. The
decision to deploy significant quantities of troops along the desert border of Kuwait
unnecessarily increased the length of Iraqi supply lines. Secondly, once the decision had
been made to deploy along the border, the decision to extend it only slightly along the
Iraqi border invited a massive flanking. Indeed, the Iraqis did not possess enough forces
to maintain a long enough front along the border of Kuwait and southwestern Iraq.
Therefore it was imperative that the deployment and the front should have been
shortened to just South of Kuwait City and extending to the outskirts of Basra. Iraq
possessed only one absolute military advantage over the coalition, that being the quality
and quantity of its artillery pieces. However, most of Iraq’s artillery pieces were towed
and hence not well suited to large expansive maneuvers. This also meant that it was in
Iraq’s interest to slow down the movement of opposition forces and engage along lines
that could not be easily broken or flanked.
The coalition advance was much swifter than U.S. generals expected. On February 26,
Iraqi troops began retreating out of Kuwait, allegedly setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as
they left (although the fact that coalition troops had to clear unexploded cluster bombs
from the oil fields before the fires could be extinguished has lead some observers to
suggest that the fires may have been caused by the coalition bombing campaign). A long
convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait highway. The
column also had prisoners and other fleeing Iraqi civilians such as families of Iraqi
military. Controversially, this convoy was bombed so extensively by the Allies that it
came to be known as the Highway of Death. Equally controversially, forces from the
United States, the United Kingdom, and France continued to pursue retreating Iraqi
forces over the border and back into Iraq, moving to within 150 miles (240 km) of
Baghdad before withdrawing.
One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, President Bush declared a cease-
fire and on February 27, declared that Kuwait had been liberated.

After air attacks that lasted for six weeks, the

ground campaign lasted only 100 hours before
Kuwait was liberated.
The coalition only committed ground forces to re-occupy Kuwait in the final
four days of the conflict.

What were the effects of Gulf War?

Regarding these, the human health and the underground water was negatively impacted. Additionally,
the number of aquatic animals and birds declined dramatically by 100,000-230,000, while 100 mammals
were killed. The actions of the Iraqi forces has had a destructive effect on the soil of the Persian Gulf
region.

What were 3 Results of the Persian Gulf War?

Gulf War

• Iraqi forces expelled from Kuwait.

• Kuwaiti independence restored.
• Destruction of Iraqi and Kuwaiti infrastructure.
• Uprisings against the Iraqi government.
• Saddam Hussein regime of the Iraqi Baathist government retains power in Iraq.
• UN sanctions against Iraq.
• Iraqi no-fly zones established. heimduo.org/

Effects

People (historyplex.com)

The Gulf War caused a lot of physical and emotional distress to war veterans.
The soldiers who participated in the Gulf War displayed some unique
characteristics, which are commonly referred to as “Gulf War illness” or “Gulf
War Syndrome”. Chronic fatigue, moodiness, depression, sleeping problems,
nausea, short-term memory loss, joint pains, etc., were some of the symptoms
of the “Gulf War illness”, which according to research, was observed in
approximately 2,63,000 soldiers.

The war had a huge impact on the common people too. Thousands of people
were killed, thousands were injured, and many were taken as war prisoners.
Women were raped in the midst of the war and had to bear many atrocities.

Environment

During the war, approximately 11 million barrels of oil was released into the
Arabian gulf. It is estimated that as many as 80 ships carrying oil and weapons
were sunk into the Arabian gulf. This disturbed the entire ecosystem,
destroying marine life to a large extent. Migratory birds were killed and many
marine turtles lost their lives or developed lesions. The land where the war
took place, became infertile, as the desert vegetation was trampled upon by
heavy artillery. Due to the accumulation of solid wastes, groundwater
contamination took place on a large scale.

The atmosphere was the worst affected. There was huge air pollution caused
by the fire and smoke, produced by explosives and weapons. Moreover, the
Iraqis while retreating from Kuwait, set fire to approximately 600 oil wells. The
pollution caused due to this barbarous act has left a huge impact on the
environment and weather of the entire planet.

Economy

As for the economic effects, Iraq was the major sufferer. It not only suffered
losses in military equipment, but also its infrastructure as well, which may take
years and billions of dollars to rebuild. Similarly, both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
suffered some infrastructural losses, running into billions of dollars. The major
economic impact of the Gulf War was perhaps on cleaning up the oil slicks,
which cost a whopping $700 million to clean up. However, due to the rising
oil prices and growth of the oil industry post the Persian Gulf War, Kuwait was
able to make up for many of its economic losses.

As it can be seen, the Gulf War adversely affected people, environment, and
economies of all the nations involved. Its aftermath can still be felt in various
countries. Even after so many years, the countries that were directly involved
are still trying to recover from the losses caused by the Persian Gulf War.

gulf War Impact/Results

After the war ended, Iraq was required to submit to inspections to assess and ensure that it did not
possess any chemical or weapons of mass destruction.

• Iraq lost anywhere between 25000 to 50000 of its troops, and also more than 3000 civilians.
• On the coalition side, only 300 troops were killed.
• Kuwait lost more than 4000 troops and 1000 civilians.
• Saudi Arabia and Israel also lost some civilians in Iraqi scud missile attacks.

India and the Gulf War

India had been one of the earliest countries to recognise Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime. Iraq had
also been pro-India especially when other countries in the region tilted towards Pakistan. The then
Indian Prime Minister was Chandra Shekhar, and the Indian government maintained its signature non-
aligned stance during the Gulf War. However, India rejected linking the conflict with the Palestinian
issue.

Between August and October 1990, India evacuated more than 1,75,000 Indian citizens from Kuwait.
The Guinness Book of World Records records this event as the largest number of people evacuated
by a civilian airliner. BYJU.COM

Winning the Conventional Fight

The ability of the United States to completely destroy a more or less modern Iraqi military
establishment remains a remarkable achievement. Only a few doubted at the time that the United
States Army, supported by airpower and by a huge international coalition, could prevail over the Iraqis.
The extent of the victory, and its relative bloodlessness on the American side, surprised almost
everyone.
This is especially true given that the influence of airpower was overstated. To be sure, Coalition air
attacks badly attrited Iraqi main forces, damaged Iraqi logistics and broke the morale of many front-
line Iraqi conscript units. However, Iraqi armored units nevertheless maneuvered under fire, moving
into blocking positions and carrying out counterattacks. Even in these conditions, U.S. and British
armored forces shattered their Iraqi opponents with only trivial casualties.

The Coalition victory was so lopsided that no state has risked conventional war with the United States
and its allies since. This has become part of the problem. American opponents have increasingly
focused on waging struggles at the margins of political and military conventionality. This has included
terrorism, insurgent-style conflicts fought among the people and military-political struggles that
remain just below the threshold for conventional military response. American military power, fueled
by outstanding execution and modern technology, can still do remarkable things, but others have
adapted. NATIONALINTEREST

Desert shield
President Bush also ordered US troops to protect Saudi Arabia. Operation
Desert Shield began with the arrival of 230,000 Americans in Saudi Arabia to
take defensive action.

After the Iraqis continued their military build-up in Kuwait, Bush ordered an
additional 200,000 troops deployed to prepare for offensive action. On 8
November he obtained a UN Security Council resolution setting a 15 January
1991 deadline for Iraq to withdraw unconditionally from Kuwait.

Desert Sabre
When the ground offensive, Desert Sabre, began on 24 February 1991, the Iraqis
were expecting a frontal assault from the south. In fact, the main coalition effort
was a wide left flanking attack by forces including 1st Armoured Division. For
the cost of 10 men killed, 1st Armoured Division advanced 290km (180 miles)
in 66 hours, destroyed the equivalent of three Iraqi armoured divisions and took
7,000 prisoners.

Once the allied flanking movement had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory,
they turned east, launching a massive attack against the Republican Guard.
Tank battles flared as the Guard attempted to retreat. The coalition won with
minimal losses

Kuwait liberated
As the flank attack took place, coalition soldiers penetrated deep into Kuwait,
collecting thousands of deserting Iraqi troops, demoralized by the air campaign.
A few days into the campaign, Kuwait City was recaptured on 26 February. As
they retreated, the Iraqi army set fire to over 500 oil wells as a final act of
destruction.

President Bush declared a ceasefire and on 27 February 1991 informed the

world that Kuwait was liberated. On 3 March Iraq agreed to abide by all of the
UN resolutions and peace was finally signed on 6 April.

Behind the lines

After the outbreak of war, the Iraqis fired scud missiles at Israel in the hopes of
drawing it into the war and forcing Arab countries to break with the Americans.

Coalition air strikes were launched against missile sites, but British and
American Special Forces were also covertly inserted into western Iraq to aid in
the destruction of scuds. However, the lack of adequate terrain for concealment
hindered their operations and many of them were killed or captured.
During the conflict there was a constant fear that Saddam Hussein would use
his stockpile of chemical weapons against coalition troops. Although this did
not occur there were many false alarms. The wearing of NBC suits in hot
desert conditions was especially uncomfortable. www.nam.ac.uk/

Possibility of attack on Saudi Arabia

The decision by the West to repel the Iraqi invasion had as much to do with preventing
an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia, a nation of far more importance to the world than
Kuwait, as it did with defending Kuwait itself. The rapid success of the Iraqi army
against Kuwait had brought Iraq’s army within easy striking distance of the Hama oil
fields, Saudi Arabia’s most valuable resources. Iraqi control of these fields as well as
Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves would have given it a large share of the world’s oil supply,
second only to Saudi Arabia itself. The United States, Europe, and Japan saw such a
potential monopoly as dangerous. Saudi Arabia, a geographically large nation with
dispersed population centers would have found it difficult to quickly mobilize to meet
the Iraqi division deployed in Southern Kuwait. Very likely Iraq would have gained
control of the Eastern oil fields but it is heavily debatable whether Iraq could have
fought into the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The Iraqi armored divisions would face the same
difficulties that Saudi forces were facing in order to defend the oil fields, namely to
transverse large distances across inhospitable desert. This would have all occurred
against the backdrop of intense bombing by the Saudi Air Force, by far the most modern
arm of the Saudi military.
Iraq had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The concern over debts stemming
from the Iran-Iraq war was even greater when applied to Saudi Arabia, which Iraq owed
some $26 billion. The long desert border was also ill-defined. Soon after his victory over
Kuwait, Saddam began verbally attacking the Saudi kingdom. He argued that the
American-supported country was an illegitimate guardian of the holy cities of Mecca
and Medina. Saddam combined the language of the Islamist groups that had recently
fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis.
The addition of "Allahu Akbar" (“God is Great”) to the flag of Iraq and images of
Saddam praying in Kuwait were seen as part of a plan to win the support of the Muslim
Brotherhood and detach Islamist Mujahideen from Saudi Arabia. There was further
escalation of such propaganda attacks on Saudi Arabia as western troops poured into
the country.
Building a coalition
A long series of UN Security Council and Arab League resolutions were passed regarding
the conflict. One of the most important was Resolution 678, passed on November 29,
giving Iraq a withdrawal deadline of January 15, 1991, and authorizing "all necessary
means to uphold and implement Resolution 660," a diplomatic formulation authorizing
the use of force.
The United States, especially Secretary of State James Baker, assembled a coalition of
forces to join it in opposing Iraq, consisting of forces from 34 countries: Afghanistan,
Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Honduras, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the
United Kingdom and the United States itself. U.S. troops represented 74 percent of the
coalition’s 660,000 troops in Iraq. Many of the coalition forces were reluctant to join;
some felt that the war was an internal Arab affair, or feared increasing American
influence in Kuwait. In the end, many nations were persuaded by Iraq’s belligerence
toward other Arab states, and offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness.
Coalition involvement
Company, 1 STAFFS, in a live firing exercise, during Operation Granby (British name for the GulF
War), 6 January 1991.
Members of the Coalition included Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium,
Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United
Kingdom and the United States of America. Germany and Japan provided financial
assistance and donated military hardware instead of direct military assistance. America
asked Israel not to participate in the war despite air strikes on Israeli citizens. India
extended military support to the United States in the form of refueling facilities situated
in the Arabian Sea.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was numerically the largest European nation to partake in combat
operations during the war. Operation Granby was the name for the operations in the
Gulf. The Royal Air Force, using various aircraft, operated from airbases in Saudi
Arabia. Almost 2,500 armored vehicles and 43,000 troops were shipped for action.
Chief Royal Navy vessels deployed to the gulf included a number of Broadsword class
frigates, and Sheffield class destroyers, other RN and RFA ships were also deployed. The
light aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea.
Canada
Canada was one of the first nations to agree to condemn Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and it
quickly agreed to join the U.S. led coalition, sending the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova
and HMCS Athabaskan to enforce the trade blockade against Iraq. The supply ship
HMCS Protecteur was also sent to aid the gathering coalition forces. After the UN
authorized full use of force in the operation Canada sent a CF18 squadron with support
personnel. Canada also sent a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war.
When the air war began, Canada's planes were integrated into the coalition force and
provided air cover and attacked ground targets. This was the first time since the Korean
War that Canadian forces had participated in offensive combat operations.
Highway 80 in Kuwait on April 18, 1991. The "Highway of Death".
Post-war military analysis
Estimates of the number of Iraq troops deployed at the time ranged from 545,000 to
600,000. Subsequently, experts think that the qualitative and quantitative descriptions
of the Iraqi Army at the time were exaggerated, including both temporary and auxiliary
support elements. Many of the Iraqi troops were also young, under-resourced and
poorly trained conscripts. Both the coalition and the Iraqi leadership had an interest in
exaggerating the numbers and strength of the Iraqi forces.
The coalition committed approximately 540,000 troops. A further 100,000 Turkish
troops were deployed along the common border of Turkey and Iraq, which caused
significant force dilution of the Iraqi military by forcing it to deploy its forces along all
its borders (except, ironically, its bitter enemy Iran). This allowed the main thrust by the
Americans to not only possess a significant technological advantage but also a
superiority in force numbers.
The main surprise of the ground campaign was the incredible success of Allied
technology over the Soviet equipped and styled Iraqi army. This was due to the rigid
Soviet style of centralized command and control that was easily disrupted and the Iraqis
failing to find an effective countermeasure to the thermal sights and the sabot rounds
used by the M1 Abrams and the other coalition tanks. This equipment enabled coalition
tanks to effectively engage and destroy Iraqi tanks from more than three times the
distance that Iraqi tanks could engage. The Iraqi forces also failed to utilize the
advantage that could be gained from using urban warfare—fighting within Kuwait City—
which could have inflicted significant casualties on the attacking forces. Urban combat
reduces the range at which fighting occurs and can negate some of the technological
advantage that well equipped forces enjoy.
The end of active hostilities
A peace conference was held in Iraqi territory occupied by the coalition. At the
conference, Iraq won the approval of the use of armed helicopters on their side of the
temporary border, ostensibly for government transit due to the damage done to civilian
transportation. Soon after, these helicopters, and much of the Iraqi armed forces, were
refocused toward fighting against a Shiite uprising in the south. The rebellions were
encouraged on February 2, 1991, by a broadcast on CIA run radio station, The Voice of
Free Iraq, broadcasting out of Saudi Arabia. The Arabic service of the Voice of America
supported the uprising by stating that the rebellion was large and that they soon would
be liberated from Saddam. [6]
In the North, Kurdish leaders took heart in American statements that they would
support an uprising and began fighting, in the hopes of triggering a coup. However,
when no American support was forthcoming, Iraqi generals remained loyal and brutally
crushed the Kurdish troops. Millions of Kurds fled across the mountains to Kurdish
areas of Turkey and Iran. These incidents would later result in no-fly zones being
established in both the North and the South of Iraq. In Kuwait, the Emir was restored
and suspected Iraqi collaborators were repressed. Eventually, over 400,000 people were
expelled from the country, including a large number of Palestinians (due to their
support of and collaboration with Saddam Hussein).
There was some criticism of the Bush administration for its decision to allow Saddam
Hussein to remain in power, rather than pushing on to capture Baghdad and overthrow
his government. In their co-written 1998 book, A World Transformed, Bush and Brent
Scowcroft argued that such a course would have fractured the alliance and would have
had many unnecessary political and human costs associated with it.
Instead of greater involvement of its own military, the United States hoped that Saddam
would be overthrown in an internal coup. The Central Intelligence Agency used its
assets in Iraq to organize a revolt, but the Iraqi government defeated the effort.
On March 10, 1991, Operation Desert Storm began to move 540,000 American troops
out of the Persian Gulf.

Casualties
Coalition deaths
Gulf War casualty numbers are controversial. Coalition military deaths have been
reported to be around 378, but the DoD reports that U.S. forces suffered 147 battle-
related and 235 non-battle-related deaths, plus one F/A-18 Hornet Navy pilot listed as
MIA. The UK suffered 47 deaths, the Arab countries lost 39 men (18 Saudis, 10
Egyptians, 6 from the UAE, 3 Syrians, and 1 Kuwaiti), and France lost 2 men. The
largest single loss of coalition forces happened on February 25, 1991, when an Iraqi Al-
Huseyn missile hit an American military barrack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28
U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania.
Coalition wounded
The number of coalition wounded in combat seems to have been less than 1,000.
However, as of the year 2000, 183,000 U.S. veterans of the Gulf War, more than a
quarter of the U.S. troops who participated in the War, have been declared permanently
disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs. [7] About 30 percent of the 700,000 men
and women who served in U.S. forces in the Gulf War still suffer an array of serious
symptoms whose causes are not fully understood.[8]
Pre-war estimates
Before the war Pentagon officials were estimating 30,000-40,000 coalition casualties.
The Dupuy Institute stood alone and in front of Congress predicted coalition casualties
below 6,000. They used the TNDM model which makes use of historical data from
previous wars to predict casualties. While the Institute was phenomenally accurate, it
was because the Iraqi armed forces fought in the open desert with tanks placed behind
sand berms. Had the Iraqi military made use of urban warfare in Kuwait City and dug
their tanks in within the city perimeters instead of behind sand berms the actual figures
may have been different. The TNDM model makes use of human factors such as morale
and they predicted that very few Iraqi divisions would put up resistance. This is a value
judgment that is difficult to make accurately before war. The 120,000 professional Iraqi
soldiers backed by 4,500 tanks, 4,000 armored vehicles, and 3,000 artillery pieces and
with another 280,000 conscripted soldiers armed with RPGs, heavy mortars, and heavy
machine guns provided a force that could have made the low casualty estimate
questionable. The United States, on the other hand had 3,400 tanks, 3,700 artillery
pieces, 4,000 armored personnel carriers, 2,000 helicopters, and about 2,600 aircraft.
Iraqi deaths and wounded
Some analysts agree the Iraqi death toll was well below initial post-war estimates. In the
immediate aftermath of the war, these estimates ranged as high as 100,000 Iraqi troops
killed and 300,000 wounded. For example, a report commissioned by the U.S. Air Force
estimated 10-12,000 Iraqi combat deaths in the air campaign and as many as 10,000
casualties in the ground war. This analysis is based on enemy prisoner of war reports.
The Iraqi government claimed that 2,300 civilians died during the air campaign, most of
them during an F-117 Stealth Fighter strike on what was believed to be an Iraqi military
communications center in Baghdad but turned out to be an air raid shelter.
Other independent reports state significantly higher figures. Beth Osborne Daponte’s
report for the U.S. Commerce Department’s Census Bureau of Foreign Countries
update, estimated 86,000 men, 39,000 women, and 32,000 children killed by coalition
forces. Controversially, she was reprimanded and her report reissued with reduced
figures including the omission of women and children deaths. Since the original report,
she has published more studies that have put the estimate to around 200,000 deaths. [9]
www.newworldencyclopedia.org)

Consequences
Following 1991 uprisings in the north and south, Iraqi no-fly zones were established to
help protect the Shi'ite and Kurdish groups in South and North Iraq, respectively. These
no-fly zones (originally north of the 36th parallel and south of the 32nd parallel) were
monitored mainly by the United States and the United Kingdom, though France also
participated. Combined, they flew more sorties over Iraq in the eleven years following
the war than were flown during the war. These sorties dropped bombs nearly every
other day against surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns that engaged the
patrolling aircraft. However, the greatest amount of bombs was dropped during two
sustained bombing campaigns: Operation Desert Strike, which lasted a few weeks in
September 1996, and Operation Desert Fox, in December 1998. Operation Northern
Watch, the no-fly zone covering the Kurds, allowed the population to focus on
developing security and infrastructure, which was reflected after Saddam's fall in 2003
by a much more progressive and sustainable region (when compared to the rest of the
country following Operation Iraqi Freedom). Operation Southern Watch, on the other
hand, was not successful in providing the Shi'ite population the same opportunity.
Widespread infrastructure destruction during the ground war hurt the Iraqi population.
Years after the war, electricity production was less than a quarter of its pre-war level.
The destruction of water treatment facilities caused sewage to flow directly into the
Tigris River, from which civilians drew drinking water, resulting in widespread disease.
Funds provided by Western nations to help combat the problem were diverted instead
to maintaining Saddam's military control over the country.
Economic sanctions were kept in place following the war, pending a weapons inspection
with which Iraq never fully cooperated as it accused the UN inspectors of spying
(something which was later proven to be at least partially true). Iraq was later allowed to
import certain products under the UN's Oil for Food program. A 1998 UNICEF report
found that the sanctions resulted in an increase to 90,000 deaths per year. Many argue
that the sanctions on Iraq and the American military presence in Saudi Arabia
contributed to an increasingly negative image of the United States in the Arab world.
A United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on weapons was established, to
monitor Iraq's compliance with restrictions on weapons of mass destruction and
ballistic missiles. Iraq accepted some and refused other weapons inspections. The team
found some evidence of biological weapons programs at one site and non-compliance at
many other sites.
In 1997, Iraq expelled all U.S. members of the inspection team, alleging that the United
States was using the inspections as a front for espionage; members of UNSCOM were in
regular contact with various intelligence agencies to provide information on weapons
sites back and forth. The team returned for an even more turbulent time period between
1997 and 1999; one member of the weapons inspection team, U.S. Marine Scott Ritter,
resigned in 1998, alleging that the Clinton administration was blocking investigations
because they did not want a full-scale confrontation with Iraq. In 1999, the team was
replaced by UNMOVIC, which began inspections in 2002. In 2002, Iraq—and especially
Saddam Hussein—became targets in the United States' War on Terrorism, leading to the
2003 invasion of Iraq, led by the United States and, to a lesser extent, the United
Kingdom.
The People's Republic of China (whose army in many ways resembled the Iraqi army)
was surprised at the performance of American technology on the battlefield. The
swiftness of the coalition victory resulted in an overall change in Chinese military
thinking and began a movement to technologically modernize the People's Liberation
Army.
The war also exacerbated Islamic extremism, although it had already been there to start
with. The change of face by Saddam's secular regime did little to draw support from
Islamist groups. However, it, combined with the Saudi Arabian alliance with the United
States and Saudi Arabia being perceived as being allied with Israel, dramatically eroded
that regime's legitimacy among Islamists. Activity of Islamic groups against the Saudi
regime increased dramatically. The presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia, the
invasion of Iraq, and the subsequent blockade were some of the grievances listed by
Osama bin Laden in his 1998 Fatwa.
In part to win back favor with Islamic groups, Saudi Arabia greatly increased funding to
those that would support the regime. Throughout the newly independent states of
Central Asia the Saudis paid for the distribution of millions of Qur'ans and the building
of hundreds of mosques for extremist groups. In Afghanistan the Saudi regime became a
leading patron of the Taliban in that nation's civil war, and one of the few foreign
countries to officially recognize the government.