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World Geography
The First War with Iraq:
An Examination of Operation Desert Storm
At about 2:00 AM local time, on August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops swept over the country’s
southern border into its small, oil-rich neighbor Kuwait. Iraq’s army of one million soldiers far
outnumbered Kuwait’s army of 17,000 men. As Iraqi troops poured across the border, Kuwaiti radio
broadcasts called on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to stop the attack and resolve his dispute with
Kuwait peacefully. Hussein ignored the request. Shortly after dawn, the Iraqi troops had taken
control of Kuwait’s capital (Kuwait City). Many Kuwaiti citizens awoke to find their streets crowded
with Iraqi soldiers and tanks. Iraqi troops continued to storm the rest of the country until they
reached the border of Saudi Arabia. Hussein claimed that Kuwait had been drilling for oil on Iraqi
soil. Additionally he believed that Kuwait had been producing too much oil which had driven down
the price (neither of these claims were ever proven to be true).
All of Kuwait’s Arab allies (which included Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman & the United
Arab Emirates) did nothing to aid Kuwait because they were afraid of Iraq. Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein had a reputation as a powerful and ruthless dictator. In 1979 Saddam Hussein took control of
Iraq’s government. He led a long and devastating war with Iran throughout much of the 1980s which
resulted in large casualties on both sides. In 1988 he used chemical weapons (mustard gas) on the
Kurds (an ethnic group living in northern Iraq). Hussein was known for using his Republican Guard
to carry out acts of torture against any Iraqis who opposed him. Given these facts, it is not surprising
that Kuwait’s allies did not want to anger Hussein. Some of Kuwait’s neighbors, like Yemen and
Jordan, publicly supported Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
The rest of the world took a very different stance. The United States, the Soviet Union, China
and most European nations all denounced Saddam Hussein’s actions. Within days, the United
Nations Security Council issued a resolution, calling for Iraq to immediately withdraw its troops from
Kuwait and to resolve its problems peacefully. Iraq ignored the demands of the United Nations and
on August 8th, 1990, Saddam Hussein announced that Kuwait was no longer an independent nation;
it was now a part of Iraq. That same day, U.S. President George H. Bush sent troops to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi royal family, fearing that Iraq might invade them next, had requested the support of the
United States. The United Nations soon followed America’s lead and sent in troops on August 11th,
1990.
Why would the entire world have such a strong reaction to the hostile takeover of a small
Arab nation? It was (and still is) rare that diverse countries like the U.S., China and the Soviet Union
agree on any issue. Why then were they able to agree that Iraq was wrong this time? The answer is oil.
As you know, the Persian Gulf is the world’s largest and most vital source of oil (it is estimated that
over 60% of the world’s known oil reserves exist in this region). In 1989, a year before the invasion,
the United States only imported about 1% of its oil from Kuwait. Looking at that figure, it’s obvious
that America was not dependent on Kuwaiti oil at that time. However, the United States, and many
other nations anticipated that they would be more dependent on Kuwaiti oil in the future. As the
domestic supply of oil continues to decrease, the need for foreign oil will increase. As the world’s
developed nations have become more dependent on oil, they have become increasingly concerned
about maintaining peace (and control) in the Middle East. The world wanted to prevent a hostile,
unstable ruler like Saddam Hussein, from gaining control of Kuwait’s oil supply.
After the United Nations had moved its troops into Saudi Arabia, it spent the next two
months trying to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict. The U.N. employed a variety of tactics
to try and persuade Iraq to withdraw its troops. For example, they established a trade embargo against
Iraq (which prevented Iraq from exporting its oil). They hoped this would weaken Iraq’s economy
and force the nation to surrender. During this time, the United States continued to send more troops
to Saudi Arabia. On November 29th, 1990 the United Nations stated that if Iraq did not withdraw its
troops by January 15th, 1991, they would use force against them. Hussein refused to give in. All
attempts at a peaceful resolution had failed. American, British and Kuwaiti aircraft began an assault
on Baghdad, the capital of Iraq on January 15th. The United States named the mission “O
Operation
Desert Storm”.
The airstrikes against Iraq continued for the next month. On February 24th, 1991, a land
assault began at the Kuwaiti border. The Iraqi army put up little resistance and by February 28th, the
war was over. Kuwait was once again an independent nation. Iraq was forced to disarm by the United
Nations. Weapons inspectors entered the country to make sure that Hussein destroyed all of his
chemical, biological and conventional weapons. A trade embargo was also imposed on Iraq. They
were only allowed to trade their oil in exchange for food, not for money (this was known as the “O
Oil
for Food” program). The United Nations wanted to ensure that Iraq would not have the money to
rebuild its arsenal. Iraq had to agree to allow UN weapons inspectors to periodically search the
country for more weapons.
While this was an incredibly short war, the impact of the Operation Desert Storm has been
long-lasting. Iraq had an arsenal of chemical weapons and they were suspected of having biological
weapons as well. While it is still not known to what extent these were used during the Operation
Desert Storm, veterans of the war developed a mysterious illness that became known as Gulf War
Syndrome. As Iraq’s troops withdrew from Kuwait, Hussein ordered them to light fire to all of
Kuwait’s oil fields. The fires burned for weeks and resulted in large quantities of oil being spilled onto
the land and into the Persian Gulf. The pollution had a devastating effect on the environment. These
are only a few of the ways that the events of Operation Desert Storm would affect the future. While
no one could predict it at the time, this little war laid the foundation for the anti-American
sentiment that lead to terrorist attacks on the United States and the two current wars being fought in
the Middle East today.
Name:
Date:
Core:
World Geography
The First War with Iraq:
Reflections & Reader Response
Directions: Use the “First War with Iraq” handout to answer the following questions.
Fact Check…
1. Name the country invaded by Iraq in 1990. _______________________________________
2. Who was president of Iraq at the time of this invasion? ______________________________
3. Why did Iraq invade Kuwait? (identify two reasons from the text)
a. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. True or False. Kuwait’s allies came to its defense quickly because they believed that Hussein
was a weak leader.
I think that this statement is _______________(true or false) because in the text it says: _____
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Who was President of the United States at the time of this invasion? _____________________
6. Which country agreed to let American troops set up bases on their land to prepare for a war
with Iraq? ______________________________________________________________________
7. Why did this country allow the United States’ military to set up bases on its soil? ___________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8. True or False. Most of the oil that the U.S. was using in 1990 was being imported from
Kuwait.
I think that this statement is _______________(true or false) because in the text it says: _____
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Reader Response.
1. Why did so many countries rush to help Kuwait after they were invaded by Iraq in 1990?
Support your response using two pieces of evidence from the text (ATIC2).
______________________________________________________________________________
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Exemplary
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Insightful, well
organized, and fluent
Deep understanding
of text is
demonstrated
Specific references to
text are used to
support ideas
Text references are
well interpreted and
clearly connected to
response
3
Proficient
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Thoughtful, organized,
and fluent
Clear understanding of
the text is
demonstrated
Relevant references to
text are used to
support ideas
Text references are
explained and
connected to response
2
Progressing
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Organized and
somewhat fluent
Basic understanding
of text is displayed
At least one relevant
example from text is
used to support ideas
Text references are
somewhat connected
to response
1
Beginning
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Disorganized or
confusing
Limited or no
understanding of text is
displayed
Limited or no examples
from text are used to
support ideas
Text reference seems
irrelevant to response