ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait

international conflict

Readers and viewers with this understanding have taken a crucial step toward demanding more of their media, whether broadcast or print.

polarize society

For decades, the development of propaganda has turned the job of creating enemies over to the media. But this process isn't limited to war.

the stifling of alternative views

flashy technology

Researchers found that heavy TV watchers were more likely to support the war. They were also less (not more) likely to be well informed about its causes and consequences.

What would happen if they held a war and nobody watched?

sheer scale of its opponents

Without the serious impact the bombing campaign had on the Iraqi forces and the Iraq infrastructure, no one knows how the Gulf War would have developed, how long it would have lasted, and what other consequences there might have been.

the Iraqi Government continued to experience financial difficulties as the rising costs of the war impacted across the country

Saddam Hussein possessed the ability to have influence over, or outright control of, 40 per cent of the known oil supplies on the planet by combining his own reserves with Kuwait and possibly, that of Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, what is also interesting in this debate is the suggestion that interest in the conflict from coalition forces came out of an attraction to Kuwait’s oil production. Oil is in increasing demand within the Western World and it is not surprising that many see it as a strong underlying motive for – or at least, a significant factor in – the Coalition’s engagement.

As long after the war as 1996, Iraq was in a dire situation, with a humanitarian crisis, and the UN agreed to offer temporary oil-for-food (OFF) program where Iraq was permitted to sell oil under very stringent conditions.

The worst civilian suffering, senior officers say, has resulted not from bombs that went astray but from precision-guided weapons that hit exactly where they were aimed at electrical plants, oil refineries and transportation networks.

75 aircraft losses out of 100,000 sorties

Therefore, even at the outset of the war, air played a part, by assisting Iraq to take over Kuwait in a very speedy manner.

These air tactics, Hallion argues, allowed coalition forces to control Iraq without causing large fatalities.

Air power dominated the media images of the Gulf War. Video footage of precision-guided munitions hitting their targets with pinpoint accuracy remains embedded in popular memory

Following this liberation the coalition entered Iraq and after four days

Kuwait from seven months of Iraqi military occupation

the price – we think the price is worth it

The main aim of the coalition troops was to expel the Iraqi military from Kuwait

the UN was strongly encouraged to act and find a way forward

34 different countries led by the United States of America, against Iraq

a $14 billion deficit as a direct result of Kuwait’s oil production

$2.4 billion

offered assistance by effectively becoming Iraq’s major port

several factors

Iraq’s allegation that Kuwait was stealing its oil

Firstly, it can be argued that the Gulf War is significant as it gives the background to the overall recent warfare known as the ‘Iraq War’

Iraq had been an ally with the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War

economic sanctions

Saddam Hussein decided that he had no other option but military might so he stationed 100,000 troops on the border and in early August invaded Kuwait. As the Iraqi forces invaded and took over Kuwait they set fire to hundreds of Kuwaiti oil fields on the way.

While other countries may have agreed Kuwait did the opposite and asked to increase its quota by fifty percent, much to the dissatisfaction of Iraq.

For a year they tried to resolve the financial situation but to no avail.

when Iraq was at war with Iran. During this war Iran was not only attacking Iraq

actual causes of the Gulf War are lost on many.

Member states of the UN Security Council, however, differed in their opinion of the degree to which Iraq had cooperated with inspections.

There are no official figures for the Iraqi military operation, leading to vastly differing figures of combatants and casualties.

three days Arab and U.S. forces

Over the next few weeks, this sustained aerial bombardment, which had been named Operation Desert Storm, destroyed Iraq’s air defenses before attacking its communications networks, government buildings, weapons plants, oil refineries, and bridges and roads.

Saddam steadfastly refused to withdraw Iraqi forces from Kuwait, however, which he maintained would remain a province of Iraq.

Iraq’s invasion and the potential threat it then posed to Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer and exporter, prompted the United States and its western European NATO allies to rush troops to Saudi Arabia to deter a possible attack.

Persian Gulf War