19 First Gulf War Flashcards
What happened on Aug. 2 1990?
Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Was Kuwait expecting this?
No, despite Iraq’s warnings.
How long did it take to complete the invasion?
2 days
What was Hussein’s motivation?
To establish hegemony over the region.
hegemony = dominance
What had Iraq and Kuwait been arguing about for a long time?
Their border.
What did Hussein call Kuwait?
The 19th province of Iraq
How long had Iraq been independent of the Ottoman Empire?
Since 1932, from Britain.
When did Kuwait gain its independence?
1961, from Britain.
What was Iraq and Kuwait’s relationship during the Iran-raq war?
They were close.
Kuwait provided financial support
What happened after the end of the war?
Kuwait wanted to be paid back.
Did they pay?
No, the war devastated their economy and they needed more money.
What did he accuse Kuwait of?
Of stealing their oil through slant drilling.
What would invading Kuwait do?
The profits from Kuwait’s oil fields could fix Iraq’s economic ruin.
What did Kuwait reply?
They refused to forgive the loans.
What did Hussein do one week before the invasion?
Met with US diplomat April Glaspie.
What was going on at that time?
100,000 Iraqi troops were at the Kuwait border.
What did Glaspie tell Saddam Hussein?
The US had no interest in the border dispute.
John Kelly also told Congress we had no commitment to Kuwait.
Years later, what did Glaspie say?
That the US considered an invasion by Iraq as “inconceivable”.
Who condemned Iraq?
Everyone, including both the US and Russia.
Which was the only country not to condemn?
Yemen
What was the response?
Saudi threw all Yemen workers out of the country.
Which Arab countries joined the US-led coalition?
What was the most effective act of the coalition?
Embargo against Iraqi oil, destroying their economy.
Who felt most threatened by Iraq?
Saudi Arabia.
They allowed foreign troops to base there.
What did the UN do?
Gave Iraq a deadline to leave?
How many Coalition nations had sent troops?
39
What happened on Jan 17, 1991?
Operation Desert Storm
What happened over the next 40 days?
The Coalition dropped more bombs than in all of World War II
How did Iraq respond?
Scud missile attacks on Israel.
DId Israel respond?
No.
The missiles had not done much damage.
What happened next?
Coalition troops landed in Kuwait.
How did Iraq respond?
They retreated from Kuwait
DId coalition forces invade Iraq?
No
Why?
Bush thought he would lose his Arab coalition.
What was required of Iraq?
To destroy all weapons of mass destruction and to allow inspections to confirm this.
What did GHWBush’s Sec’y of Defense DIck Cheney say about why we did not invade Iraq in 1991?
We were not going to get bogged down in a war in Iraq.
How did Saddam Hussein stay in power after that?
He used the helicopters the UN let him keep to fight off rebels.
He killed tens of thousands
What ecological disaster did he create?
He drained the marsh beds of the Mesapotamia region.
Over the next decade, how many children died in Iraq?
Over 300,000.
No clean drinking water, food or medicines
How long did it take Kuwait to fully recover?
Just 10 years
What did Saddam never do again after the war?
Leave Iraq.
He feared for his life and an internal rebellion.
What did the UN do in 1995 to provide relief for Iraqi citizens?
Created an oil for food program
Did it work?
Mostly. There was some corruption in both Iraq and the UN.
What did US troops in Saudi Arabia cause?
Osama bin Laden to create a Holy War against the US.
What was this the beginning of?
9/11
