Desert Storm

January 17th 1991- February 28th 1991

How did Desert Storm commence?

• July 17th, 1990- Saddam Hussein accuses Kuwait of oil overproduction and theft of oil from the Rumailia Oil Field.

• Aug. 2nd, 1990- Hussein invades Kuwait.• Aug. 8th, 1990- Iraq annexes Kuwait.• Sep. 14th, 1990- Iraqi forces storm a number of diplomatic

missions in Kuwait City.• Nov. 29th, 1990- UN Security Council authorizes force if Iraq

doesn't withdraw from Kuwait by midnight.• January, 1991- Hussein sets fire to the Kuwait oil fields.• Jan. 12th, 1991- Congress votes to allow for US troops to be

used in offensive operations.• Jan. 16th, 1991- First US government statement of Operation

Desert-Storm made. Marlin Fitzwater, US Press Secretary, announces, "The liberation of Kuwait has begun..."

Operation Desert Storm

• Feb. 24th- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf executes Operation Desert Storm.

• Diversionary attacks along the Kuwaiti border, while the bulk of the coalition force hit the west flank. They hit practically no resistance.

• The Iraqis surrendered to anyone who approached them.

• Within one hundred hours, Kuwait was liberated.

Leaders of Operation Desert Storm

• Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: Kuwait

• Saddam Hussien: Iraq• George H. W. Bush: America• Norman Schwarzkopf: America

Tactics of Operation Desert Storm

• The tactic used in attacking the west flank was likened by Schwarzkopf to a “Hail Mary” pass in football for its use as a desperate late resort.

• Early in the conflict, aerial bombings took place. Bombs were dropped over 100,000 aircraft departure points, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs, the main priority being the destruction of the Iraqi air force and anti-aircraft facilities.

• The second priority with these bombings were to destroy command and communication facilities, and the third and largest of these priorities targeted various other military targets throughout Iraq and Kuwait; including Scud missile launchers, weapons research facilities, and naval forces.

Who lost, and who won?

• In the end, Kuwait was liberated, succeeding in their goal.

• But at the same time Hussein was not caught.

Aftermath

• The Kuwait oil fires burned for ten months straight, around six million barrels worth a day, costing Kuwait approximately 1.5 billion US dollars to put the fires out and leading to widespread pollution.

• Saddam Hussein became notorious the world over as a cruel dictator, with the media giving his actions exposure.

• The war was just the beginning in a long lasting feud with the Middle East, culminating in the World Trade Center attack on Sep. 11, 2001.