1990–1991 Iraq War

, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers
3,113 tanks
1,800 aircraft
2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96-10/pdf/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96-10.pdf
, strength2 = 1,000,000+ soldiers (~600,000 in Kuwait)
5,500 tanks
700+ aircraft
3,000 artillery systems
, casualties1 = Total:
13,488

---

Coalition:
292 killed (147 killed by enemy action, 145 non-hostile deaths)
776 wounded (467 wounded in action)
31 tanks destroyed/disabled

28 Bradley IFVs destroyed/damaged

1 M113 APC destroyed
2 British Warrior APCs destroyed
1 artillery piece destroyed
75 aircraft destroyed
Kuwait:
420 killed

12,000 captured

≈200 tanks destroyed/captured

850+ other armored vehicles destroyed/captured

57 aircraft lost

8 aircraft captured (Mirage F1s)

17 ships sunk, 6 captured. Acig.org. Retrieved on 12 June 2011
, casualties2 = Total:
175,000–300,000+

---

Iraqi:
20,000–50,000 killed
75,000+ wounded
80,000–175,000 captured
3,300 tanks destroyed
2,100 APCs destroyed
2,200 artillery pieces destroyed
110 aircraft destroyed
137 aircraft flown to Iran to escape destruction
19 ships sunk, 6 damaged
, casualties3 = Kuwaiti civilian losses:
Over 1,000 killed
600 missing people
Iraqi civilian losses:
3,664 killed directly
Total Iraqi losses (including 1991 Iraqi uprisings):
142,500–206,000 deaths (according to Medact)
Other civilian losses:
75 killed in Israel and Saudi Arabia, 309 injured
, campaignbox =

, partof = Arab Cold War

The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.

On 2 August 1990, Iraq, governed by Saddam Hussein, invaded neighboring Kuwait and fully occupied the country within two days. The invasion was primarily over disputes regarding Kuwait's alleged slant drilling in Iraq's Rumaila oil field, as well as to cancel Iraq's large debt to Kuwait from the recently ended Iran-Iraq War. After Iraq briefly occupied Kuwait under a rump puppet government known as the Republic of Kuwait, it split Kuwait's sovereign territory into the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District in the north, which was absorbed into Iraq's existing Basra Governorate, and the Kuwait Governorate in the south, which became Iraq's 19th governorate.

The invasion of Kuwait was met with immediate international condemnation, including the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 660, which demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal from Kuwait, and the imposition of comprehensive international sanctions against Iraq with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 661. British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. president George H. W. Bush deployed troops and equipment into Saudi Arabia and urged other countries to send their own forces. Many countries joined the American-led coalition forming the largest military alliance since World War II. The bulk of the coalition's military power was from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Egypt as the largest lead-up contributors, in that order.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, adopted on 29 November 1990, gave Iraq an ultimatum, expiring on 15 January 1991, to implement Resolution 660 and withdraw from Kuwait, with member-states empowered to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq's compliance. Initial efforts to dislodge the Iraqis from Kuwait began with aerial and naval bombardment of Iraq on 17 January, which continued for five weeks. As the Iraqi military struggled against the coalition attacks, Iraq fired missiles at Israel to provoke an Israeli military response, with the expectation that such a response would lead to the withdrawal of several Muslim-majority countries from the coalition. The provocation was unsuccessful; Israel did not retaliate and Iraq continued to remain at odds with most Muslim-majority countries. Iraqi missile barrages against coalition targets in Saudi Arabia were also largely unsuccessful, and on 24 February 1991, the coalition launched a major ground assault into Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. The offensive was a decisive victory for the coalition, who liberated Kuwait and promptly began to advance past the Iraq–Kuwait border into Iraqi territory. A hundred hours after the beginning of the ground campaign, the coalition ceased its advance into Iraq and declared a ceasefire. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas straddling the Iraq–Saudi Arabia border.

The conflict marked the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the American network CNN. It has also earned the nickname ''Video Game War'', after the daily broadcast of images from cameras onboard American military aircraft during Operation Desert Storm. The Gulf War has also gained fame for some of the largest tank battles in American military history: the Battle of Medina Ridge, the Battle of Norfolk, and the Battle of 73 Easting.

Names

The war is also known under other names, such as the Second Gulf War (not to be confused with the 2003 Iraq War, also referred to as such), Persian Gulf War, Kuwait War, or Iraq War before the term "Iraq War" became identified with the 2003 Iraq War (also known in the US as "Operation Iraqi Freedom"). The war was named ("mother of all battles") by Iraqi officials. After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Gulf War of 1990–1991 is often known as the "First Iraq War".

The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself:
''Gulf War'' and ''Persian Gulf War'' are the most common terms for the conflict used within western countries, though it may also be called the ''First Gulf War'' (to distinguish it from the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent Iraq War). Some authors have called it the ''Second Gulf War'' to distinguish it from the Iran–Iraq War. ''Liberation of Kuwait'' () (''taḥrīr al-kuwayt'') is the term used by Kuwait and most of the coalition's Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Terms in other languages include and (''War of Kuwait''); (''Gulf War'') and (''Second Gulf War'').

Operational names

Most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the war's operational phases. These are sometimes incorrectly used as the conflict's overall name, especially the US ''Desert Storm'':
* ''Operation Desert Shield'' was the US operational name for the US buildup of forces and Saudi Arabia's defense from 2 August 1990 to 16 January 1991
* ''Operation Desert Storm'' was the US name of the airland conflict from 17 January 1991 through 28 February 1991
** ''Operation Desert Sabre'' (early name ''Operation Desert Sword'') was the US name for the air and land offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations (the "100-hour war") from 24 to 28 February 1991, in itself, part of ''Operation Desert Storm''
* Operation Desert Farewell was the name given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwait's liberation, sometimes referred to as ''Operation Desert Calm''
* Operativo Alfil was the Argentine name for Argentine military activities
* Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict
* Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations
* Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations and conflict
* Operazione Locusta (Italian for Locust) was the Italian name for the operations and conflict

Campaign names

The US divided the conflict into three major campaigns:
* ''Defense of Saudi Arabian country'' for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
* ''Liberation and Defense of Kuwait'' for the period 17 January 1991, through 11 April 1991
* ''Southwest Asia Cease-Fire'' for the period 12 April 1991, through 30 November 1995, including Operation Provide Comfort

Background

Throughout the Cold War, Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union, and there was a history of friction between Iraq and the United States. The US was concerned with Iraq's position on Israeli–Palestinian politics. The US also disliked Iraqi support for Palestinian militant groups, which led to Iraq's inclusion on the developing US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in December 1979.

The US remained officially neutral after Iraq's invasion of Iran in 1980, which became the Iran–Iraq War, although it provided resources, political support, and some "non-military" aircraft to Iraq. In March 1982, Iran began a successful counteroffensive (Operation Undeniable Victory), and the US increased its support for Iraq to prevent Iran from forcing a surrender. In a US bid to open full diplomatic relations with Iraq, the country was removed from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Ostensibly, this was because of improvement in the regime's record, although former US Assistant Defense Secretary Noel Koch later stated: "No one had any doubts about he Iraqis'continued involvement in terrorism ... The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran."

With Iraq's newfound success in the war, and the Iranian rebuff of a peace offer in July, arms sales to Iraq reached a record spike in 1982. When Iraqi President Saddam Hussein expelled Abu Nidal to Syria at the US's request in November 1983, the Reagan administration sent Donald Rumsfeld to meet Saddam as a special envoy and to cultivate ties. By the time the ceasefire with Iran was signed in August 1988, Iraq was heavily debt-ridden and tensions within society were rising. Most of its debt was owed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Iraq's debts to Kuwait amounted to $14 billion. Iraq pressured both nations to forgive the debts, but they refused.

The Iraq–Kuwait border dispute involved Iraqi claims to Kuwaiti territory. Kuwait had been a part of the Ottoman Empire's province of Basra, something that Iraq claimed made Kuwait rightful Iraqi territory. 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. 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.

Iraq also accused Kuwait of exceeding its OPEC quotas for oil production."OPEC pressures Kuwait to moderate quota demand", ''New Straits Times'', 7 June 1989 In order for the cartel to maintain its desired price of $18 per barrel, discipline was required. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait were consistently overproducing; the latter at least in part to repair losses caused by Iranian attacks in the Iran–Iraq War and to pay for the losses of an economic scandal. The result was a slump in the oil priceas low as with a resulting loss of $7 billion a year to Iraq, equal to its 1989 balance of payments deficit. Resulting revenues struggled to support the government's basic costs, let alone repair Iraq's damaged infrastructure. Jordan and Iraq both looked for more discipline, with little success. 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. According to oil workers in the area, Iraq's slant drilling claim was fabricated, as "oil flows easily from the Rumaila field without any need for these techniques." At the same time, Saddam looked for closer ties with those Arab states that had supported Iraq in the war. This move was supported by the US, who believed that Iraqi ties with pro-Western Gulf states would help bring and maintain Iraq inside the US' sphere of influence.

In 1989, it appeared that Saudi–Iraqi relations, strong during the war, would be maintained. A pact of non-interference and non-aggression was signed between the countries, followed by a Kuwaiti-Iraqi deal for Iraq to supply Kuwait with water for drinking and irrigation, although a request for Kuwait to lease Iraq Umm Qasr was rejected. Saudi-backed development projects were hampered by Iraq's large debts, even with the demobilization of 200,000 soldiers. Iraq also looked to increase arms production so as to become an exporter, although the success of these projects was also restrained by Iraq's obligations; in Iraq, resentment to OPEC's controls mounted.

Iraq's relations with its Arab neighbors, particularly Egypt, were degraded by mounting violence in Iraq against expatriate groups, who were well-employed during the war, by unemployed Iraqis, among them demobilized soldiers. These events drew little notice outside the Arab world because of fast-moving events directly related to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. However, the US did begin to condemn Iraq's human rights record, including the well-known use of torture. The UK also condemned the execution of Farzad Bazoft, a journalist working for the British newspaper ''The Observer''. Following Saddam's declaration that "binary chemical weapons" would be used on Israel if it used military force against Iraq, Washington halted part of its funding. A UN mission to the Israeli-occupied territories, where riots had resulted in Palestinian deaths, was vetoed by the US, making Iraq deeply skeptical of US foreign policy aims in the region, combined with the reliance of the US on Middle Eastern energy reserves.

In early July 1990, Iraq complained about Kuwait's behavior, such as not respecting their quota, and openly threatened to take military action. On the 23rd, the CIA reported that Iraq had moved 30,000 troops to the Iraq-Kuwait border, and the US naval fleet in the Persian Gulf was placed on alert. Saddam believed an anti-Iraq conspiracy was developingKuwait had begun talks with Iran, and Iraq's rival Syria had arranged a visit to Egypt. On 15 July 1990, Saddam's government laid out its combined objections to the Arab League, including that policy moves were costing Iraq $1 billion a year, that Kuwait was still using the Rumaila oil field, and that loans made by the UAE and Kuwait could not be considered debts to its "Arab brothers". He threatened force against Kuwait and the UAE, saying: "The policies of some Arab rulers are American ... They are inspired by America to undermine Arab interests and security." The US sent aerial refuelling planes and combat ships to the Persian Gulf in response to these threats. Discussions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, mediated on the Arab League's behalf by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, were held on 31 July and led Mubarak to believe that a peaceful course could be established.

During Saddam Hussein's 2003–2004 interrogation following his capture he claimed that in addition to economic disputes, an insulting exchange between the Kuwaiti emir Al Sabah and the Iraqi foreign minister – during which the emir stated his intention to turn "every Iraqi woman into a $10 prostitute" by bankrupting the country – was a decisive factor in triggering the Iraqi invasion.

On the 25th, Saddam met with April Glaspie, the US Ambassador to Iraq, in Baghdad. The Iraqi leader attacked American policy with regards to Kuwait and the UAE:

Glaspie replied:

Saddam stated that he would attempt last-ditch negotiations with the Kuwaitis but Iraq "would not accept death."

According to Glaspie's own account, she stated in reference to the precise border between Kuwait and Iraq, "... that she had served in Kuwait 20 years before; 'then, as now, we took no position on these Arab affairs'." Glaspie similarly believed that war was not imminent.

Saddam's foreign minister Tariq Aziz later told PBS '' Frontline'' in 1996 that the Iraqi leadership was under "no illusion" about America's likely response to the Iraqi invasion: "She laspiedidn't tell us anything strange. She didn't tell us in the sense that we concluded that the Americans will not retaliate. That was nonsense you see. It was nonsense to think that the Americans would not attack us." Then in a second 2000 interview with the same television program, Aziz said:

There were no mixed signals. We should not forget that the whole period before August 2 witnessed a negative American policy towards Iraq. So it would be quite foolish to think that, if we go to Kuwait, then America would like that. Because the American tendency ... was to untie Iraq. So how could we imagine that such a step was going to be appreciated by the Americans? It looks foolish, you see, this is fiction. About the meeting with April Glaspie—it was a routine meeting...She didn't say anything extraordinary beyond what any professional diplomat would say without previous instructions from his government...what she said were routine, classical comments on what the president was asking her to convey to President Bush. He wanted her to carry a message to George Bush—not to receive a message through her from Washington.

On 26 July 1990, only a few days before the Iraqi invasion, OPEC officials said that Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates had agreed to a proposal to limit their oil output to per day, "down from the nearly 2 million barrels a day they had each been pumping," thus potentially settling differences over oil policy between Kuwait and Iraq.

Invasion of Kuwait

The result of the Jeddah talks was an Iraqi demand for $10 billion to cover the lost revenues from Rumaila; Kuwait offered $500 million. The Iraqi response was to immediately order an invasion, which started on 2 August 1990 with the bombing of Kuwait's capital, Kuwait City.

Before the invasion, the Kuwaiti military was believed to have numbered 16,000 men, arranged into three armored, one mechanized infantry and one under-strength artillery brigade. The pre-war strength of the Kuwait Air Force was around 2,200 Kuwaiti personnel, with 80 fixed-wing aircraft and 40 helicopters. In spite of Iraqi saber rattling

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