In modern historiography, there are two wars in the Persian Gulf. The first was in 1990-1991. The oil conflict led to the invasion of the Iraqi army in Kuwait and the occupation of this small emirate. In response to Saddam Husseinâs actions, the UN initiated an international coalition invasion of his country. Then the status quo was restored. After another 12 years, a second invasion of Iraq occurred, initiated by the United States. This war is sometimes called the second Gulf War. As a result, the power of Saddam Hussein was overthrown, and he himself was executed by decision of the Baghdad court.
Reasons for the conflict
The famous Gulf War began on August 2, 1990, when Iraqi forces invaded neighboring Kuwait. The basis of the economy of this small state was oil production. It is because of this resource that the conflict began.
In July, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein publicly accused the Kuwaiti authorities of having illegally produced oil from a field located in Iraq for several years. In Baghdad, they demanded to pay a multi-billion dollar fine. Kuwait's Emir Jaber III refused to follow Husseinâs occasion.
Invasion of Kuwait
After that, the Iraqi army invaded a neighboring small country. Most of the Kuwaiti forces managed to relocate to Saudi Arabia. The emir, who led the government in exile in the city of Dahran, did the same. The occupiers did not encounter any serious resistance. Two days later, on August 4, the Iraqi army took control of the entire territory of Kuwait. Saddam Husseinâs troops lost nearly 300 people dead. In the Kuwaiti armed forces, this figure reached 4 thousand.
Thus began the war in the Persian Gulf. In the occupied country, the puppet and dependent on Baghdad Republic of Kuwait was proclaimed. At the head of this quasi-state stood officers who agreed to become collaborators in relation to Hussein. A week later they asked the neighboring country for a merger, which was done. On August 28, Kuwait became one of the provinces of Iraq.
International response
On the very first day of the Gulf War, the UN Security Council was urgently convened . At its meeting, a resolution was adopted in which the organization demanded that the Iraqi authorities withdraw troops from a neighboring country. At the same time, the Western powers arrested all the bank accounts of the Baghdad leadership on their territory and imposed an arms embargo.
After the occupation of Kuwait, skirmishes began on the border between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The leaderships of both countries began to draw their divisions and regiments to their borders. The Middle East has always been a boiling pot. Now this region could finally turn into a sea of ââblood.
Meanwhile, in Iraq itself began the arrests of citizens of Western countries, who announced sanctions against its authorities. Until the end of the Gulf War, these people actually remained hostages. The United States became the main initiator of the struggle against Iraq. By 1990 , the Cold War had actually ended. The Soviet Union was on the verge of an economic crisis, and the entire communist world system was experiencing its agony. Under these conditions, the United States became the only state that could speak from a position of strength with Saddam Hussein. It was around the American army that a coalition began to form (mainly from NATO member countries), which would later be transferred to Iraq. It should be noted that the USSR supported the actions of the multinational forces (MNF).
Desert Shield
From August 1990 to January 1991, the international coalition armies concentrated their aviation and ground forces in Saudi Arabia in order to prepare for the invasion of Iraq and prevent Hussein from attacking Saudi Arabia itself. There were no intense battles during this period, so we can say that this was an organizational pause, which took the war in the Persian Gulf. Participants called the operations for the transfer of forces to Saudi Arabia Operation Desert Shield.
Not only equipment was delivered to the Middle East, but also food, fuel, medicines and much more. All this was done on the assumption that the war could be extremely protracted. By the beginning of 1991, the coalition managed to concentrate significant forces close to the Iraqi border that exceeded the enemyâs equipment in terms of power and capabilities.
Desert Storm
January 17, 1991 the aviation of the international coalition began bombing Iraq. The attacks were carried out mainly at night. Their main goal was the important military and economic infrastructure of the country. In two days, a record number of sorties (almost five thousand) were completed. The first Gulf War was at its decisive stage. The coalition immediately managed to gain an advantage in the air and destroy important industrial enterprises. At the same time, Iraqi ground artillery began bombing neighboring Saudi Arabia (where the enemy sorties came from) and Israel. In February, the Allied attacks affected communications, ammunition depots, positions on which were launchers, industrial facilities, etc. All this was done in order to facilitate a future ground operation. The first Gulf War was a unique event for their contemporaries precisely because of the importance that aviation received.
On the night of February 24, 1991, a coalition ground operation began. On the coast of the Persian Gulf (in the territory of occupied Kuwait), an American landing was involved. The offensive was swift in all sectors of the front. The units that crossed the Iraqi border in the western and central directions easily overcame border fortifications and moved forward 30 kilometers overnight.
By the evening of February 26, the capital of Kuwait, Kuwait, was liberated from Saddam Husseinâs troops . Two days later, the Iraqi army stopped resistance on all sectors of the front. Its equipment was largely destroyed, and people were demoralized. Affected by the superiority of the coalition in power and technology. In fact, isolated Iraq fought with the whole civilized world, condemning the illegal annexation of Kuwait.
Summary
With the onset of peace, all parties to the conflict began to analyze the consequences of the Gulf War. In the coalition, the largest losses fell on the US Army. 298 people were killed, 40 aircraft, 33 tanks, etc. were destroyed. The losses of the remaining countries were insignificant due to the small share of the contingent in comparison with the American units.
More controversial data on the victims of Iraq. After the war, a wide variety of assessments appeared in the Western media. Figures were given from 25 to 100 thousand dead soldiers. According to official statistics cited by the Iraqi government, more than two thousand civilians died due to air raids. Data on losses in the army in Baghdad were not published or advertised, which makes it very difficult to judge. Western studies in any case could not be based on verified and confirmed information. In technology Iraq lost more than 300 aircraft, 19 ships, about 3 thousand tanks. Interestingly, a considerable part of them were Soviet-made. The government of Saddam Hussein massively purchased equipment of the USSR since the 70s. By 1990, all of these tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, etc. were already noticeably outdated in comparison with the new models of Americans and Europeans.
Films about the Gulf War (The Marines, Courage in Battle) show another unique phenomenon associated with this conflict. Many American soldiers who visited Iraq, returned home, began to experience severe stress. In some ways, this massive disease was similar to what veterans of Vietnam in the USA and Afghanistan in the USSR survived before. In popular culture, the phenomenon is called the âGulf War Syndromeâ.
Environmental impact
Before leaving Kuwait, Iraqi forces began to dump oil into the Persian Gulf. These actions were later called environmental terrorism. Although Allied Aviation tried to paralyze the oil industry of occupied Kuwait with precision bombing, more than 8 million barrels of environmentally harmful material ended up in the sea.
The consequences were terrible - thousands of birds, many fish and other representatives of the fauna died. In the Middle East, for some time after this, there were so-called black rains. The actions of the escaped Iraqi army led to the largest environmental disaster of its time.
Isolation of Iraq
What were the political implications of the Gulf War? In short, the status quo has been restored to the region. Kuwait was released, a legitimate government returned there. Saddam Hussein in 2002 made his official apology to this country, which, however, was not accepted. For Iraq, after the Desert Storm, a strip of isolation began. Western sanctions have survived.
After the defeat in the war in the north of the country, uprisings of Kurds and Shiites began. Speeches by ethnic and religious minorities were brutally suppressed by the Iraqi army. Punitive operations led to a humanitarian disaster in the region. Because of this, troops of the international coalition were introduced into the northern regions. This decision was motivated by the security of the Kurds. In addition, in order to stop the bombing of civilians, no-fly zones were introduced where Iraqi planes could not fly.
The Gulf War, the cause of which lay in the adventurous decisions of Saddam Hussein, led to an escalation of tension throughout the Middle East. Although the situation has relatively stabilized since its end, there are many unresolved contradictions and conflicts in the region. Because of them, after more than ten years, the second Gulf War broke out.
Prerequisites for a New War
After the war ended in 1991, the UN demanded that Iraq get rid of the existing weapons of mass destruction (chemical, bacteriological) and suspend the development of a new one. For this, an international commission was sent to the country. She successfully monitored the implementation of the UN decision until the end of the 90s, when the Iraqi authorities refused to cooperate with this structure. The problem of Hussein's possession of prohibited weapons has become one of the reasons for another war in the Persian Gulf. There were no other reasons for the invasion of US forces and their allies until 2001. Then, on September 11, terrorist attacks carried out by the al-Qaeda group took place in New York. Later, the American leadership accused Hussein of having links with these Islamists.
The claims of the United States have been questioned from a variety of sides. It is still widely believed that the American invasion was not only erroneous, but also illegal. The United States and coalition allies (primarily Great Britain) attacked Iraq without UN permission, thus violating the organizationâs Charter.
Second invasion of Iraq
On March 20, 2003, a new invasion of the international coalition in Iraq began. In addition to the United States, the union includes another 35 countries. This time, unlike the First Gulf War, there wasnât such a thorough aerial bombardment. Emphasis was placed on a land invasion, for which the very same Kuwait became a bridgehead. The active phase of the operation in March-May 2003 is today known as the Iraq War, or the Second Persian Gulf War (although in fact battles were fought across the country, and not just along the coast).
In three weeks, the coalition managed to capture all of the country's largest cities. The battle for Baghdad took place from April 3 to 12. International troops almost met no resistance. The Iraqi army was demoralized. In addition, a significant part of the local population was dissatisfied with the dictatorial power of Saddam Hussein and therefore only gladly met foreigners. The president himself fled the capital, and was on the run for a long time. He was found only on December 13, 2003 in the basement of an unremarkable house in the small village of Ed Daur. Hussein was arrested and put on trial. He was accused of Kurdish genocide and numerous war crimes (including during the war in Kuwait in 1990-1991). On December 30, 2006, the former dictator was executed by hanging.
The results of another war
The overthrow of the former Ba'ath Party in Iraq was the main outcome of the second Gulf War. Photos of the arrested and convicted Saddam Hussein flew around the world. After the territory of Iraq was occupied by the forces of the international coalition, democratic elections were held in the country, following which a new government was elected.
US troops remained in Iraq until 2011. This was due to the fact that, despite the collapse of the Hussein regime, the situation in the region only got worse. Documentary films about the Persian Gulf war, which criticized the American invasion, clearly showed how Islamic movements intensified in Iraq. The radicals declared jihad to the interventionists. In Baghdad, terrorist attacks began to occur regularly (mainly suicide bombings or mined cars).
Now in Iraq there is a civil war, which took the form of solitary attacks of radicals against civilians. Such acts of intimidation are the main instrument of pressure on the pro-American government objectionable to Islamists. In 2011, the general âArab springâ began in the Middle East. Due to a similar civil war in Syria , a quasi-state of Islamists and jihadists, ISIS, appeared in the border areas of these two countries. Today, this organization is considered the vanguard of world terrorism (it managed to overshadow even Al Qaeda).
The US leadership is often accused of the fact that the situation in the region was shaken due to the American invasion, which led to the emergence of numerous extremist groups fighting not only in their homeland, but also arranging attacks on civilians in Europe and the rest of the world . On the other hand, after the 2003 war, the issue of the Kurds fighting for their independence in northern Iraq is still unresolved.