The Gulf War

Wars have been apart of this world almost as long as anything else has. Even in the Bible days there are records of wars. There are many reasons that states choose to go to war. Sometimes it is for the expansion of a nation or state, other times it is for financial gains, and it also could be for security or defense purposes. Whatever the case may be, wars have been apart of human life and will always be. There were no differences when it came to the Persian Gulf War. This war involved the United States, Iraq, and Kuwait. When trying to determine the purpose behind this war I chose to view it from a comparison of both the realist and liberalist views on the war.

On September 11, 2001, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. This was the very first contact that the United States of America had with the terrorism that went on in Iraq. March 20, 2003 marked the day that President George W. Bush announced the start of the war against Iraq (1). This was the beginning of a very costly war on both America and Iraq. The cost of the Iraq War was not just the amount of money spent, but the impact of war on the soldiers and the toll that it took on the families of those who were involved, as well as the amount of time and dedication of resources put into the war by the Government.

In the early morning hours of the 19th of March 2003 the leviathan force better known as the United States military began an occupation to topple the brutal Saddam Hussein regime. The conflict later known as the Iraq War and dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States, brought together four separate nations to overturn Saddam Hussein and the Ba’athist government. The war introduced tactics and strategies of urban warfare, the likes of which have never used by the U.S. military before; and despite President George W. Bush declaration on the 1st of May 2003 abroad the USS Abraham Lincoln, the war was anything but “mission accomplished.” Operation Iraqi Freedom consisted of twenty-one major battles throughout its rough ten-year occupation. Operation Phantom Fury, or better known as the Second Battle of Fallujah, was one of those strategic key battles. Then Major General Richard F. Natonski led the 1st Marine Division through Operation Phantom Fury. I will introduce a brief history of LTG Natonski, the strategic location of the City of Fallujah, and an in-depth critical analysis of the mission command throughout the deadliest battle in the Iraq War.

Throughout history, the United States Government and Armed Forces have learned from devastating mistakes and decisive victories making the US Armed Forces superior to most, if not all, other militaries; however, the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia throughout Operation Restore Hope, Operation Provide Relief, and the Joint Special Operations Task Force missed the mark on such “lessons learned”. The inadequate intelligence; the ignorance of tactics, techniques, and procedures; and absence of reinforcements cost needless loss of US troops, and crippling a sophisticated, well-equipped military at the hands of an under-equipped militia using irregular warfare tactics. Even 24 years later, the impact resonating still weighs heavily on minds of key leaders in the government along with all echelons of military commanders.

In General Petraeus' Opening Statement to the Joint House Committee on Iraq, General Petraeus covers a summary of the surge and its effects, the nature of the conflict in Iraq, the situation before the surge, the current situation, and explains his recommendations to his leadership on the future of Iraq. This speech, or statement by title, was made as part of an update following the commencement of the surge. General Petraeus' speech, while lacking in non-verbal communicative properties, was extremely effective when paired with its topical organization and logos proofs.

It is not enough to understand that the surge and Petraeus’s strategy were effective; policymakers must be able to comprehend why they were effective, that way these strategies and lessons are properly put into action in the future. I will explain why they were effective by comparing and contrasting the situation in Iraq before and after February, 2007 (when Petraeus took command and the additional troops started arriving) and establishing the causal relationships between the new strategy and the decline in violence and that between the troop surge and the decline in violence. Furthermore, I will address the arguments put forth by those who do not believe the surge or Petraeus’s strategy were the main factors that caused violence in Iraq to fall precipitously.

Was the Gulf War a fight on the protection and freedom of a defenseless nation. Or was it what laid beneath Kuwait's city in its rich oil field reserves. The Gulf War or also called the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm or the First Iraqi War was a very cooperative

In August 1990 the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein commanded his military to invade Kuwait. Leaving this to be the first time a United Member Nation had attacked just one of its fellow United Member Nation. Kuwait is a small country located at the North-Western end of the Persian Gulf, this gulf separates South Western Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. Saddam Hussein was known to be a ruthless dictator. Refugees fled Kuwait, as many were robbed, assaulted, and looted. According to legends, that Hussein himself accepted, during the war with Iran he had used poison gas against both Iranian troops and Iraqi civilians because they opposed to his regime (Carlisle 3). With this certain example we can furthermore comprehend Hussein’s brutality and desire for power.

The American response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the threat against Saudi Arabia was a logical extension of the United States' post World War II Arabian Gulf policy. Planning for the huge air base at Dhahran, which figured so prominently in DESERT SHIELD/STORM, began in 1944 and continued after the war as a symbol of American commitment to the Saudi monarchy. The U.S. Navy maintained a permanent presence in the Gulf since the establishment of the Middle East Force in 1949. The small MIDEASTFOR's peacetime mission was focused on building good relations--"showing the flag" to generate goodwill and promote mutual understanding. When Bahrain became a sovereign state in 1971, the U.S. Navy worked out an agreement to take over piers, radio

A brief history of the middle east and the nation of Iraq prior to the Persian Gulf War will help explain why the Persian Gulf War was viewed as necessary by the allied countries. The formation of a coalition of countries, the use of innovative military equipment, and strategic military operations helped the allied forces secure victory in the Persian Gulf War. The effects of this victory and subsequent conflict have changed our world as we know it.

While both Iran and Iraq, the two most powerful states in the Persian Gulf, had boarder disputes dating back to 1501, Iraq has always had a long history of conflicts with its neighboring countries but none more conspicuously than Iran. Historians believe that the forty battles of the Iran- Iraq war were fought because of territorial and government disputes. After eight long years, the Iran- Iraq war was adequately more than people had every imagined it to be. The bitter war devastated both countries and left many with unanswered questions.

Persian Gulf War, also called Gulf War, (1990–91), international conflict that was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait with the apparent aim of acquiring that nation’s large oil reserves, canceling a large debt Iraq owed Kuwait, and expanding Iraqi power in the region1. The Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein claimed as a reason for the invasion a territorial dispute over the Shatt al-Arab, the waterway which forms the boundary between the two countries2. Saddam Hussein believed that Iran was in turmoil and that his forces could achieve quick victory3.

This paper explores a few articles that report on the results from research conducted on online (internet) and offline (non-internet) in reference to the Gulf War also known under other names such as The Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, First Iraq War, or Iraq War. The Articles though similar vary in the information. Finlan (2003) gives a breakdown the coalition forces, Sadam Husain invading Kuwait, Global impact and casualties. CNN.com and Gulf War link offer very similar time while but some facts are not identical, both articles examine and decipher the time line, the size of the force or troops , the makeup of the coalition, the types and amount of equipment , the cost for the war and the casualties

Arab soldiers who crowded into the temple cheered and fired their guns into the temple's ceiling in celebration.

The Iran-Iraq lasted from September 1980 to August 1998, which made it the longest conventional war of the 20th century. The consequence of the war cost billions of dollars and millions of lives. The result of the war, although stalemate would be a critical factor that would shape the future of the Middle East. The historical deep-rooted hostile relationship that emanated from the ethnic Arab-Persian and religious Sunni- Shi’ite tensions between the two neighbouring countries contributed to the conditions necessary for war. Although many historians and scholars argue that the deep-rooted ethnic and religious tension caused the outbreak the war, it fails to explain the periods where both countries were cooperating and involved in alliances