US involvement in the Gulf War
In the early morning hours of 2 August 1990 Iraq sent an invasion force consisting of 120,000 troops and 2000 tanks into the neighboring country of Kuwait (Military Analysis Network, "Operation Desert Shield"). The invasion force quickly overwhelmed the small country to the south, thus allowing Iraq to declare, in less that a week, that Kuwait had become Iraq's nineteenth province. The United Nations quickly responded, passing a series of resolutions condemning the invasion, called for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Kuwait, imposed financial and trade embargo's and declared the annexation void. President George Bush, regarding the actions as a threat to a vital U.S. interest, namely the oil production capability of the Persian Gulf Region, immediately ordered warplanes and ground forces to Saudi Arabia after obtaining King Fahd's approval (Military Analysis Network, "Operation Desert Shield"). Iraqi troops had begun to mass along the Saudi Arabian border indicating the possibility of an attack into the Saudi oil fields. The first course of action lasted for five months, from August 1990 until January 1991. The diplomatic community conducted furious and fast paced diplomatic activity aimed at getting Iraq out of Kuwait
3. To protect the lives of American citizens abroad. 2. To restore Kuwait's legitimate government. 4. To promote the security and stability of the Persian Gulf. 4. Jim Marshal, "The Survival of a Regime", "The Mistakes of the Gulf War" The U.S. used several different approaches to military strategy during the build up and execution phases of the Gulf War. In the beginning a deterrent strategy was used by the deployment of forces to Saudi Arabia in an effort to prevent Iraq from continuing the attack into the Saudi oil fields. Almost simultaneously a sequential approach was being used for the build up of military forces in the region by the continued deployment of U.S. forces and the diplomatic process that was underway to gain international support and military assistance from more than two dozen other allied nations. Also, ongoing at this same time was the massive step by step planning for the air and ground war. On 17 January 1991 the operation entered the direct approach phase when the allied forces attacked into Kuwait and Iraq to cut off and defeat the Iraqi army. Although this was a direct approach, it was still a sequential approach as seen by the four-phased plan of the offensive campaign, each phase dependent on the success of the previous phase. . Two main issues were at the heart of the diplomacy: the occupation itself and the matter of the hostages. Iraq had detained and taken hostage a large number of foreign nationals that had been working in Kuwait and Iraq at the time of the invasion and threatened to use them as a human shield against a possible attack on Iraq. During this time period the United Nations Security Council passed a total of 12 resolutions condemning the actions and calling for the withdrawal of Iraqi tro
Some common words found in the essay are:
Saudi Arabia, Iraq Kuwait, Kuwait Iraq, Gulf War, Security Directive, Saudi Arabian, Air Forces, Desert Saber, United Nations, Council Resolution, coalition forces, january 1991, iraqi troops, saudi arabia, operation desert, network operation desert, analysis network, military analysis, network operation, persian gulf, resolution #, analysis network operation, operation desert shield, military analysis network, arkin fog war,
Approximate Word count = 1184
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
