Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990.
Alarmed by these actions, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene.
For many years, Iraq and Kuwait had disputed parts of the border between their two countries. The territory near the border is desert-like, for the most part, and desert winds whip sand around until borders can hardly be seen for sure.
In 1990, Iraq accused Kuwait of drilling for oil in disputed lands. The places that Kuwait was drilling might very well be Iraqi land, Iraq argued. Kuwait argued that it was drilling in Kuwaiti territory. Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait and quickly overran the country, on August 2.
With the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East worried that Iraq wouldn't stop there but would invade other countries as well. The United States and other countries made it very clear that what Iraq had done was invade another independent country and take it over. The United Nations Security Council condemned the Iraqi invasion and imposed an embargo that made illegal almost all trade by any other country with Iraq. Iraq responded by claiming Kuwait as the 19th Province of Iraq.
The United Nations and a great many other countries were angered. The U.N. Security Council adopted sanctions (economic punishment) against Iraq, but Iraqi troops still patrolled Kuwait. Finally, in November 1990, a U.N. resolution allowed other countries to use any means necessary (including military action) to convince Iraq to leave Kuwait.
For weeks, members of the armed forces of many countries from around the world had been gathering in Saudi Arabia. The initial idea was to protect that country and others around it from further Iraqi aggression. But the more Iraq refused to cooperate, the more these Allied troops turned their thoughts from defense to attack.
Iraq had a deadline to get their troops out of Kuwait: January 15, 1991. That day came and went, and Iraqi troops still patrolled Kuwait. Two days later, Allied forces from 28 countries struck back.
The war lasted six weeks, during which the Allies hit Iraq with 140,000 tons of bombs (more than 7 Atomic bombs). About 20,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed, and about 2,300 Iraqi civilians died as well. Allied deaths numbered in the hundreds.
On February 28, 1991, a cease-fire was announced. Iraq agreed to give up its claims to Kuwait. Iraqi troops quickly left Kuwait. Included in the agreement was a promise by Iraq that it would allow international weapons inspectors to tour their weapons factories at regular intervals, to make sure that Iraq wasn't making more and more weapons like the chemical weapons that they used against their own people in 1988.
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/thegulfwar2.htm
Watch this video on the Gulf War and answer the questions on
Persian Gulf War: Timeline of Operation Desert Storm worksheet.
Persian Gulf War: Timeline of Operation Desert Storm worksheet.
Complete Iraq worksheets.
Comment on the blog:
Share one thing that you learned from this video. Try not to repeat what someone else has said.
Comment on the blog:
Share one thing that you learned from this video. Try not to repeat what someone else has said.
I did not realize that Israel was attacked throughout all of this!
ReplyDeleteI learned that 250,000 of the coillision soldiers who had served, acquired Gulf War Syndrome, an illness from the use of chemical weapons during the war.
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ReplyDeleteI learned that 34 countries joined us Coalition.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that it was called Desert Shield I thought it was Desert Storm.
ReplyDeleteI thought the video said Desert Field until I put up closed captions.
DeleteShield and Storm are two different operations. Shield is the buildup of American troops to protect Saudi Arabia and keep Saddam from gaining complete control of the oil trade. Storm is the actual liberation of Kuwait.
DeleteI learned that if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait, the Coalition would be permitted to respond with force.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned was because Iraq was not cooperating to the agreement made with Kuwait at the end of the war, Iraq was invaded by the US starting the Iraq War.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Saddam Hussein retreted to where he was born after america invaded. I also did not know that he was hung.
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting idea for Hussein to purposely attack Israel to protect themselves. He tried to use Israel's retaliation law against them. He did it so that other countries wouldn't get involved because no one wanted to fight with Israel.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Operation Desert Storm began on Jan 28, 1991
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize Israel was attacked and agreed not to retaliate! 0.0
ReplyDeleteI learned that Iraq did not completely go along with what they agreed to after the war. (I do not know if someone has already said that) I thought it was odd.
ReplyDeleteI learned that Saddam Hussein was reluctant to do some of the things on the treaty that was signed at the end. I also learned that Iraq attacked Isreal during the war.
ReplyDeleteI know someone already said this (sorry Evan) but I learned that there were 34 countries involved in the coalition!
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