The Gulf War and Its Aftermath

Abstract

Last year marked the 10th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, the start of the Persian Gulf War. The facts are clear. Iraq occupied Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Shortly after, Coalition Forces, led by the United States, began a military deployment known as Operation Desert Shield. On January 17, 1991, an active air campaign began against Iraq, Operation Desert Storm, and on February 24 a ground war began, lasting only four days. For the Coalition it was a military success. Iraqi forces were beaten in the field and expelled from Kuwait. The main contributor to the Coalition was the United States, with 697,000 personnel. Substantial contributions also came from the United Kingdom (53,000), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, France, Syria, Kuwait, Pakistan, Canada, Bahrain, Morocco, and Qatar. Twenty-five other countries also contributed smaller numbers.