Ope ra ti on De se rt Storm The early 1990s we re a time of political, social and economic flux. George H.

W Bush, Bill Clinton, a nd Ross Perot all competed for the1992 presidential election. Each campaigned on such noble ideals as promise of peace, economic stability, and a return to traditional values. (Brown, 10) President H. W Bush wa s expected to win because of the United States exemplar performance during the Persian Gulf War. During this time period many third-world countries saw a shift in their living standards and an increase i n individuals' quality of life. New exciting technologies also began to emerge. For the first time personal computers started to become are a reality and the Internet became a coined term. The early 1990s were not without their conflicts. The Pe rsian Gulf War brought about many conflicting ideologies: war and peace, change and stagnation, new technologies and old values. (Ashbee, 4-5) The Gulf War was one of the most highly debated points during the 1992 Pre sidential election. Support for the war had been extremely high. This event was met with immediate international di sapproval, and the United Nations voted unanimously to enforce economic sanctions on the invading country. The United States felt that economic sanctions were not punishment enough to prevent Iraq's i llegal annexation of Kuwait. On August 8, 1990 the United States arrived in Saudi Arabia, a bordering country of Kuwait, at the request of the leader of King Fahd. (Atkison 509) *USA motivations paragraph* The Persian Gulf War began with an aerial bombardment of specific enemy targets on January 17th 1991. Thi s bombardment, codenamed Operation Desert Storm consisted of three primary objectives. (Atkison, 509) The first was the destruction of Iraqi anti-aircraft and air-force facilities. The ne xt objective targeted communication facilities. The United States' intelligence believed that the de struction of these facilities would collapse the Iraqi resistance, and bring quick resolution to the war. The final and largest objective was to seek and destroy military targets and to search for Scud missiles. (Atki son, 41) This objective was twofold. Almost one-third of the American-British 2 forces took part in a n aerial assault mission, while several infantry divisions assisted on the ground. (Rottman, 13) Both Bri tish and American special forces had been covertly inserted behind enemy lines to aid in the search a nd destroy mission. (Atkison, 369) *Ira q motivation for Kuwait invasion* On January 29, 1991 Iraq turned its attention away from Israeli front and once again began their a dvancement toward Kuwait. Before they could continue this advancement Iraqi ground troops had to pass through the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji. The occupation of Khafji was met with heavy re sistance from both the Saudi Arabian National Guard and the United States Marine Corps. The battle of Khafji re sulted in some of the highest casualties of the war. After two days Iraq forces were driven out of Sa udi Arabian with three-hundred dead and four-hundred captured. The loss of this pivotal city almost put a complete halt to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, quickening the end of the war Al most month later the coalition of American, British, and several Arab forces began the final ma neuver of the war, the liberation of Kuwait. (Rottman, 61) The2nd Marine Division and first light

Comment [J1]: Will probably not call it this

Comment [J2]: Insert some quotes from bush that help to back up claims. Comment [J3]: Talk about why the USA joined the war effort.

Comment [J4]: This is a good paragraph but there should be some form of transition between it and the second paragraph.

Comment [J5]: Again need a transition between paragraphs.

a rmored artillery crossed the countries border and headed directly for Kuwait city. The coalition troops me t ve ry little resistance along the way. Some positions were lightly defended, but these were easily ove r-run. On February 27 Iraqi troops began their retreat out of the country burning oil wells as they we nt. The same day President Bush declared the country liberated. During this time period the USA launched a sweeping left-hook maneuver across the southern de sert of Iraq. This maneuver was used to navigate around the Iraqi flank; its primary weapon was de ception. (Atkinson, 113) For the maneuver to be successful it relied on three things. First Coalition force s could not be discovered by Bedouin-Iraqi spies. Second the Iraqis could not suspect that the Coa lition planned on flanking them. Finally Iraqi troops must be fully engaged with the decoys that were se t up by American forces when the attack began. (Atkinson, 332) The left-hook was successful for se veral reasons. The main one being Hussein's military intelligence had been destroyed by air-raids early i n the war, making it very difficult to know the exact location of Coalition forces. Iraqis also never e xpected a flanking maneuver to work because they believed traversing the desert would be impossible. Once Kuwait was free life in the country finally began to get back to normal. During the war over half the population had fled the country, now many were returning. In 1992 the United Nations drew up a commission that officially delimited the border between Iraq and Kuwait, and reinforced the border's i nviolability. Because Saddam Hussein remained in power both Great Britain and the United States ma intained a large military force in the area. During this time tensions between Kuwait and Iraq were ve ry hi gh. A compromise on trade relations between the two countries was never reached and the war had only created feelings of deep animosity.

Comment [J6]: What year?

Comment [J7]: Who specifically

Comment [J8]: Need something more conclusive this is not a good way to end it.