Gulf War I I
Iraq – Kuwait Dispute Kuwait part of Ottoman province of Basra The UK drew the border between the two countries in 1922 UAE and Kuwait exceeding its OPEC quotas resulting loss of $7 billion a year to Iraq slant-drilling across the border into Iraq's Rumaila oil field
UN Declarations, Failed Diplomacy
August 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait UN 678 gave Iraq until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait and empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait after the deadline.
Coalition 34 countries the largest since WW II Kuwait $15 Billion Saudi, Syria, Egypt, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar
17 January 1991 The Air War Ground War Elimination of Iraqi air force radar capabilities, media centers Ground War 24 February Coalition Enters Kuwait Kuwaiti forces liberate Kuwait City After 4 days Iraqi forces leave Kuwait Coalition extents to 150 miles from Baghdad before withdrawing to the Kuwait border
Battle of 73 Easting The bulk of Iraqi forces positioned in Kuwait supported by reserve IRG tanks Global Positioning System technology 3 US mechanized divisions advanced 120 miles in 82 hours First ever ground defeat of the Republican Guard
Highway of Death War Crimes? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhmXleZXAr0 Kurdish and Shi’ite uprisings Rebellion put down by Republican Guard
Outcomes Coalition did not seek regime change or occupation Increased sectarianism Kurdish autonomy Increased military cooperation: US and Gulf States
New World Order (11 September 1991) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byxeOG_pZ1o
Francis Fukuyama The End of History (1992) What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government