1 THE GULF WAR By: Douglas Wiles

2 Contents §Background §Why Iraq invaded Kuwait §Initial UN attacks §Apache helicopter §The shooting down of David Eberly §The Cease-fire §Public opinion after the war

3 Background §On 2nd August Iraq invaded Kuwait §Kuwait is Iraq’s Southern and much smaller neighbour §Within a few hours Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein had achieved his objective of seizing the tiny oil-rich state

4 Why invade Kuwait? §Kuwait has considerable financial resources §Iraq only has a very short coastline, having Kuwait as part of Iraq would extend the coastline considerably.

5 Initial UN attacks §Political outrage - deadline set §Deadline was breached §Allied attack begins with Apache strike at 2:38 A.M. on 17th January 1991 §On 23rd January intense attacks against Iraqi aircraft shelters begins.

6 Apache Helicopter The Apache was designed for the attack role It has Boron Carbide armour Blast shields separate the pilot and co-pilot

7 David Eberly §David Eberly was shot down along with Thomas Griffith on the 19th January §He was captured and interrogated §He was released on the 5th March

8 The Cease-fire §The bombing campaign overwhelmed the Iraqis, so once the long dreaded ground war was underway, it was quickly over, with relatively few casualties §The Cease-fire occurred at 8A.M. on February 28th

9 After the Gulf War §Although the war was a success, there have been complaints about the way it was carried out §There was American Government was censoring the media §Too many Iraqi civilian deaths §Daytime vs. Nighttime bombing

10 Summary "I have seen in your eyes a fire of determination to get this war job done quickly. My confidence in you is total, our cause is just. Now you must be the the thunder and lighting of Desert Storm." I have covered: Details of the cause and duration of the war One of the principle weapons of the war: the Apache helicopter The shooting down of David Eberly The controversy concerning civilian deaths following the war