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Iraq invades Kuwait, 1990
Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, invaded its neighbor Kuwait. Kuwait was an oil- rich country, but was a small nation. There small size led to Iraq to being able to capture this nation with ease. This gave Iraq 20 percent of the oil reserves. -
Period: to
Persian Gulf War
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The United Nations block Iraq
The United Nations were angered by the invasion and demanded there removal. Because Iraq denied to remove themselves from Kuwait, the United Nations took action. They placed a trade embargo on Iraq, Resolution 661. -
American troops begin the invasion
Due to the Iraq troops not leaving Kuwait the US took action. The US sent their troops through Saudi Arabia to begin the attack. This mission named Operation Desert Shield began the initiative against Iraq. -
Operation Desert Storm
The US, after other nations joined in on the war as well, began another operation. This operation had US troops in helicopters and warplanes. These aircraft machines attacked Baghdad and other military targets in Iraq to get Iraq to remove their soldiers from Kuwait. -
Iraq's retaliation
Iraq decided to retaliate against the US, so they launched missiles on Isreal. Isreal was America's ally. This attack made the US to respond with missiles launched against Iraq. -
Oil Destroyed
Iraq decided that another retaliation effort was to blow up Kuwait's oil wells. This hurt their economy because one of their main exports was the oil. The destruction of there wells pumped oil into the Persian Gulf hurting the environment. -
Last Chance
In order to end all future fights the US president, George Bush, offered them the chance to surrender. 24 hours after the proposal and Iraq declining the fighting continued. The fighting lead to a ground war beginning on February 24. -
The End
After Saddam Hussein surrendered he withdrew his soldiers from Kuwait. This ended the war in a cease fire and this liberated Kuwait from Iraq. Once negotiations were complete American troops were once again sent home.
