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| Kuwait War | |
|---|---|
| Conflict | Kuwait War |
| Caption | Kuwaiti flag raising after liberation |
| Date | 2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991 |
| Place | Kuwait, Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Iraq |
| Combatant1 | Iraq; Ba'athist Iraq |
| Combatant2 | Kuwait; United States; United Kingdom; France; Saudi Arabia; Egypt; Syria; Canada; Australia; Italy; Belgium; Netherlands; Pakistan; Jordan; Morocco; Sudan; United Arab Emirates; Qatar; Bahrain; Oman |
| Commander1 | Saddam Hussein; Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri; Ali Hassan al-Majid |
| Commander2 | George H. W. Bush; Norman Schwarzkopf; Colin Powell; H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.; Tommy Franks |
| Strength1 | ~100,000–200,000 |
| Strength2 | ~500,000 (coalition peak) |
| Casualties1 | est. tens of thousands killed, wounded, captured |
| Casualties2 | est. thousands killed, wounded (coalition and Kuwaiti forces) |
Kuwait War The Kuwait War was a 1990–1991 armed conflict initiated by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and culminating in a multinational military campaign led by the United States to expel Iraqi forces. The crisis drew a broad United Nations response, a large regional coalition including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and precipitated major operations such as Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. The conflict reshaped post‑Cold War geopolitics, affected oil markets, and influenced subsequent interventions in the Middle East.
Iraqi ambitions under Saddam Hussein followed the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, leaving Iraq with heavy debts to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and strained ties with OPEC members. Disputes over oil production, alleged slant drilling into the Rumaila oil field, and historical territorial claims to Bubiyan Island and the Kuwait–Iraq border exacerbated tensions between Baghdad and Kuwait City. Diplomatic incidents involved envoys from United Nations Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and envoys between Baghdad and Kuwait City, while regional actors including Iran, Syria, and Turkey monitored the buildup. Iraq's leadership, including figures like Tariq Aziz and Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, justified action partly by invoking debts from the Iran–Iraq War and pan‑Arab narratives associated with the Arab League.
On 2 August 1990, Iraqi forces under Iraqi commanders crossed the Kuwait border, rapidly overwhelming the Kuwaiti Armed Forces and capturing strategic sites including the Kuwait International Airport and the Emiri Diwan. Senior Iraqi figures including Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid directed the occupation, with Iraqi Republican Guard units conducting urban and armored assaults reminiscent of maneuvers in the Iran–Iraq War. Kuwait's ruling family, including Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and members of the House of Al-Sabah, evacuated; a Kuwaiti government-in-exile formed contacts with envoys in Riyadh and Washington, D.C.. Iraqi proclamations dissolved Kuwaiti sovereignty and announced annexation as the nineteenth province, prompting international condemnation from figures like Mikhail Gorbachev, François Mitterrand, and Margaret Thatcher.
The United Nations Security Council passed a series of resolutions including United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, demanding Iraqi withdrawal and authorizing force if Baghdad did not comply by 15 January 1991. The United States deployed forces in Operation Desert Shield to protect Saudi Arabia and deter further Iraqi expansion; key U.S. officials included George H. W. Bush, Colin Powell, and Dick Cheney. A broad coalition coalesced with major contributions from United Kingdom, France, Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, coordinated through SHAPE channels and liaison between commanders such as Norman Schwarzkopf and political leaders in Cairo, London, and Paris. Military logistics involved staging areas in Dhahran, King Khalid Military City, Camp Doha, and sea lift through U.S. Central Command supply nodes; naval forces from United States Navy and Royal Navy enforced maritime interdiction against Iraqi shipping.
On 17 January 1991 coalition air forces, including assets from U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force, Armée de l'Air, and Egyptian Air Force, initiated a strategic bombing campaign targeting Iraqi air defenses, command centers in Baghdad, and infrastructure such as Al-Rasheed Hotel installations. Precision munitions and platforms including F-117 Nighthawk, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 Eagle, Panavia Tornado, and B-52 Stratofortress executed missions against strategic and tactical targets; support units included AWACS and E-3 Sentry surveillance assets. Following sustained aerial interdiction, a ground offensive launched on 24 February 1991 featured coalition armored thrusts, airborne operations, and coastal maneuvers culminating in the liberation of Kuwait City and the defeat of organized Iraqi forces by late February. Notable operations encompassed the Highway of Death engagement, the Battle of Khafji, and the breaching of Iraqi defensive lines in southern Kuwait and southern Iraq.
Iraqi forces withdrew or were expelled, leaving extensive damage to Kuwait's infrastructure and environment, including deliberate fires set in the Kuwaiti oil fields by retreating Iraqi units overseen by personnel linked to Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and Ali Hassan al-Majid. Coalition troops conducted stabilization tasks while United Nations inspection regimes, notably UNSCOM and later United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), oversaw weapons inspections in Iraq. The postwar period saw the imposition of UN sanctions via United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 and the creation of compensation mechanisms through the United Nations Compensation Commission to address claims from Kuwait and other states affected by the invasion and environmental damage.
The invasion and occupation prompted war crimes allegations, prosecutions, and investigations involving International Committee of the Red Cross reports, testimonies to Human Rights Watch, and cases before ad hoc tribunals. Accusations included forced displacement of civilians, treatment of Kuwaiti and foreign nationals, destruction of oil wells, and use of prisoners; figures like Saddam Hussein were later indicted in other contexts for related abuses. The humanitarian response involved agencies including United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Children's Fund, International Organization for Migration, and non‑governmental organizations such as Red Crescent societies providing relief to displaced populations in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait. The sanctions regime and postwar inspections raised debates in forums like International Court of Justice advisory discussions and among legal scholars at institutions such as Harvard Law School and International Criminal Tribunal proponents.
The conflict accelerated the United States's strategic footprint in the Persian Gulf with enduring basing agreements and security partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar; U.S. Central Command posture changed significantly. It influenced subsequent policy debates in capitals including Washington, D.C., London, and Paris and presaged later interventions in Iraq War (2003) and regional realignments involving Iran, Turkey, and Israel. The war affected oil markets and institutions such as Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and reshaped inter‑Arab relations within the Arab League, impacting regimes in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. Commemorations in Kuwait City and memorials for coalition casualties reflect continuing public memory, while scholarship at universities like Oxford University and Georgetown University analyzes its strategic, legal, and environmental legacies.
Category:1990s conflicts Category:Wars involving Iraq Category:History of Kuwait