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Persian Gulf War Research Paper

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The Persian Gulf War began in August of 1990 and lasted until President George H. W. Bush declared a ceasefire on February 28, 1991. This war was a result of Iraq invading Kuwait in order to gain control of the Persian Gulf and all trading posts in nearby port cities. Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, believed that invading and seizing control of Kuwait would give him strategical and economical advantages over the other nations in the region. Once Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait, President Bush and the leaders of other nations sent troops to prepare for a war to break out. The Persian Gulf War was a short, four month war between Iraq and the rest of the world for the freedom of Kuwait.
Throughout history the Middle East …show more content…

He warned the world that if his troops were attacked, then he would inflict pain to the nations responsible. Hussein could not back his promises. U.S. Marines destroyed his “surprise” attack on them (Martin, 2005). The Iraqis eventually ended up having 8,000 to 10,000 casualties, while the allied forces only had 300. Allowing these things to happen without any retaliation proved to the world that Saddam Hussein was not as strong as he made himself out to be.
After the cease-fire agreement, Saddam Hussein pulled his troops and commanded them to put down the Shiite Muslims and Kurds. Shiite Muslims started an uprising in southern Iraq to overthrow Hussein. Iraq’s Republican Guard (army) strafed down civilians and poured gas on the wounded and set them on fire then publicly hung the captives. Saddam turned his attention to the Kurds after taking care of the Shiites. Thousands were massacred and they were killed with poison gas, tanks, artillery, and rockets from helicopters. Killing all these innocent people proved how insane and cruel Saddam Hussein …show more content…

Saddam Hussein was not forced out of power mainly because the cease fire treaty was declared by George Bush before the Iraqis were ultimately defeated (Persian Gulf War, 2009). In the years after the war, U.S. and Britain mandated a no-fly zone over Iraq but the country continued to shoot down aircrafts. Iraq made every attempt possible to frustrate the U.N. while they attempted to carry out peace terms, like the United Nations weapons inspections (Persian Gulf War, 2009). Peace terms were very difficult to carry out with Iraq.
The Persian Gulf War had a huge impact on all the countries that were involved. The victory gave the U.S. credibility since the loss in the Vietnam War (The Gulf War, n.d.). Kuwait’s infrastructure and oil fields were a complete wreck (The Gulf War, n.d.). Thousands of people in Kuwait and Iraq were displaced and wounded, this had a horrible social effect on the region (The Gulf War, n.d.). Iraq also suffered major damage in Basra and Baghdad. They had to restore their oil economy (The Gulf War, n.d.). Although not much good came out of the war, it left its mark in

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