Gulf War (Iraq, 1991)

The Gulf War (Iraq, 1991) was a military operation by the United States and 41 allied nations against Iraq, in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. Days later, under the code-name of Operation Desert Shield, the coalition began a buildup of forces in Saudi Arabia. The allied offensive, code-named Operation Desert Storm, was launched on 17 January 1991 with aerial bombing of Iraq. Desert Storm culminated with an invasion of Kuwait by ground forces on 24 February 1991. The country was soon liberated and the conflict ended four days later on 28 February.

During the five-week bombardment, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein ordered the firing of SCUD missiles against Israel, which was not a member of the coalition. Saddam hoped that an Israeli response would split the coalition by alienating its Muslim-majority countries. However, the provocation failed as the Israelis did not retaliate and few Islamic countries sided with Iraq.

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On 2 August 1990, Iraq, governed by President Saddam Hussein, launched an invasion of neighboring Kuwait and fully occupied the country within two days. Initially, Iraq ran the occupied territory under a puppet government known as the "Republic of Kuwait" before proceeding with an outright annexation in which Kuwaiti sovereign territory was split, with the "Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District" being carved out of the country's northern portion and the "Kuwait Governorate" covering the rest. Varying speculations have been made regarding intents behind the Iraqi invasion, most notably including Iraq's inability to repay a Template:Currency debt the country had borrowed from Kuwait to finance its prior war with Iran. Kuwait's demands for repayment were coupled with its surge in petroleum production levels, which kept revenues down for Iraq and further weakened its economic prospects; throughout much of the 1980s, Kuwait's oil production was above its mandatory quota under OPEC, which kept international oil prices down. Iraq interpreted the Kuwaiti refusal to decrease oil production as an act of aggression towards the Iraqi economy, leading up to the hostilities.

The invasion of Kuwait was immediately met with international condemnation, including Resolution 660 by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and economic sanctions were unanimously imposed on Iraq in its Resolution 661. British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and American president George H. W. Bush deployed troops and equipment into Saudi Arabia and openly urged other countries to send their own forces. An array of 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; Saudi Arabia and the Kuwaiti government-in-exile paid out around Template:Currency of the Template:Currency cost to mobilize the coalition against Iraq.

UNSC Resolution 678, adopted on 29 November 1990, offered Iraq one final chance until 15 January 1991 to implement Resolution 660 and withdraw from Kuwait; it further empowered states after the deadline to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait. Initial efforts to dislodge the Iraqis from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991, which continued for five weeks. As the Iraqi military struggled against the coalition attacks, Iraq began to fire missiles at Israel. The coalition did not include Israel. However, the Iraqi leadership expected the missile barrage to provoke an independent Israeli military response, which might have prompted the coalition's Muslim-majority countries to withdraw on account of tense relations between Arab nations and Israel. 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.