The Persian Gulf War Debate

Tensions Mount

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The tensions between Iraq and the rest of the world began to mount when Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein said "We will strike at Israel with all the arms in our possession if they attack Iraq or the Arabs. Also Israel was concerned that Iraq was close to being capable  to produce nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein also said that he will strike Israel first if Iraq is attacked. Israel responded with a surprise attack on the Osirak nuclear plant in Iraq. Israel was criticized by the UN for this raid.


Time line gulf war
  • May 28-30: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein says that oil overproduction by Kuwait and United Arab Emirates is "economic warfare" against Iraq.
  • July 15: Iraq accuses Kuwait of stealing oil from Rumaylah oil field near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border and warns of military action.
  • July 22: Iraq begins deploying troops to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border and building a massive military buildup.
  • August 2: About 100,000 Iraqi troops invade Kuwait. Kuwait is in Iraqi control by the end of the day.
  • August 7: The United States launches Operation Desert Shield. First U.S. troops arrive in Saudi Arabia.
  • August 12: Naval blockade of Iraq begins.
  • August 28: Iraq declares Kuwait as its 19th province and renames Kuwait City as al-Kadhima.
  • September 14: Great Britain and France announce the deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia.
  • November 29: The United Nations sets a deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait before January 15, 1991, or face military action.
  1991
  • January 9: Talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz end with no progress.
  • January 16: First US government statement of Operation Desert Storm made.
  • January 22: Iraqi troops begin blowing up Kuwaiti oil wells.
  • January 25: Iraqi troops dump millions of gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf.
  • January 29: Iraqi forces invade the town of Khafji in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi forces are soon engaged by Saudi Arabian and Qatari troops with help from U.S. Marines.
  • January 31: Iraqi forces capture Melissa Rathbun-Nealy, the first female Prisoner of War since World War II.
  • February 1: Iraqi forces are driven out of Saudi Arabia. Allied Forces win the Battle of Khafji.
  • February 22: U.S. President George H. W. Bush issues a 24-hour ultimatum: Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait to avoid start of a ground war.
  • February 24: Allied Forces invade Iraq and Kuwait at around 4 a.m. Baghdad time. The British Special Air Service is the first to enter Iraqi territory.
  • February 26: Saddam Hussein orders the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. About 10,000 retreating Iraqi troops are killed when Allied aircraft bomb them. This is called the Highway of Death.
  • February 27: U.S. Marines and Saudi Arabian troops enter Kuwait City. The U.S. Army engages the Iraqi Republican Guard in several tank battles in Iraq, also known as the Battle of Medina Ridge
  • February 28: The Gulf War ends.
  • March 1: The cease-fire plan is negotiated in Safwan, Iraq.
  • March 17: First U.S. troops arrivess home.