war of gulf

“Gulf War” is the most unexpected and complicated war among all other happened in the last century. It was beyond the imagination of world people who observed the destructiveness of the war created by another great dictator Saddam Hussein, after Adolf Hitler. On August 2, 1990 Saddam Hussein launched a full scale invasion of neighboring Kuwait and quickly conquered this small, virtually defenseless, oil-rich nation. Kuwait was and still is regarded as one of the richest countries in the middle-east. During 1990s it was a country of 18 thousands square kilometers, 2 million population and GDP $18.5. Its neighboring states were Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran. It was a part of Ottoman Empire and a colony of Britain. It achieved independence in 1961. Since then Iraq continuously demanded Kuwait as its own territory. But when Iraq attacked Iran in 1980 Kuwait gave economic assistance to Iraq. In spite of such help Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 for their own economic gain. This war created a sense of fear among Arab states as they believed that such war would bring instability and hostility.

Background of the War:

Iraq and Iran were hostile to each other before the outbreak of Gulf War in 1990-1. Iraq conducted invasion over Iran on 22 September, 1980 as Saddam Hussein did not want to lose his control over  Iraqi population for the uprising of Shia minorities. As Hussein believed that Iranian leaders fueling Shia people of Iraq for gaining their illegal right. Saddam wished to run the country according to his direction instead of

Islamic religion like the Republic of Iran. Moreover Saddam asked for the belongings of Iranian border province of Khiezestan. The most important reason for their hostility was the Shat-El-Arab, the waterway which was the outlet of oil exporting for both countries. During this war U.S.A covertly supported Iraq although there remained a friction between Iraq and U.S.A regarding the Cold War. Iraq continued their involvement in terrorism but in spite of that America subtract their name from the list of state sponsored terrorism. Because their real motive was to defeat Iran by Iraqi troops. The war caused great loss both in economy and human lives. Iraq got economic assistance from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as they provided easy loans. In 1988 the war came to an end. After the war Iraq became bankrupt and began to pressurize the two neighboring states Kuwait and the Saudi Arabia to discharge of debts. Moreover Iraq made the accusation that Kuwait had exceeded OPEC quotas and driven down the price (Iraq wanted to sell $25 per barrel whereas Kuwait was happy with $14 per barrel) in world market which hampered the economy of Iraq greatly. There is no doubt that Saddam Emerged as a dictator and he never gave up his aggressive activities. Though Kuwait was emerging as a independent state but Saddam claimed that it had been a part of Ottoman empire and as a result it belonged to Iraq. Meanwhile Britain had been providing security to Kuwait as Sabah Family signed a security treaty in 1899 with Britain. Saddam Hussein did not like this idea.

Moreover Iraq claimed that Kuwait had stolen $24 million from Iraqi Rumail Oil Field. For this reason they claimed compensation from Kuwait. But Kuwait was reluctant and refused to pay the demanded amount. So Iraq did not get their compensation and this event made Saddam Hussein more aggressive.

Another reason for Iraqi invasion was the geographical interest. Iraq had only 29 kilometers of cost and their only sea port was “Umme Kasar”. But they did not use it properly because of “Bubian” island of Kuwait. So it became urgent for Iraq to take control of that island to save a large sum of money for trade and business.

As a result of above mentioned reasons Iraq massed troops on Kuwaiti border in late July 1990 and invaded Kuwait on 2 August, 1990.

The Devastating War:

Iraq invaded Kuwait in dawn on August 2, 1990 to achieve various goals. Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya gave full hearted support to Saddam Hussein. By the eve of the Invasion of Kuwait which led to the 1991 Gulf War, the Army had 1,000,000 men, 42 infantry and seven armored divisions, and 20 Special Forces brigades, grouped in seven corps, plus six Iraqi Republican Guard divisions. Although it was said at the time in Western media that Iraqi troops numbered approximately 545,000 (even 600,000). Iraq invaded with 150,000 regular military forces that were known as “Republican Guard”, one of the strongest military forces of that time. They had approximately 1.2 million ground troops, 5,800 tanks, 5,100 armored vehicles, 3,800 artillery pieces all. All of these made a good strength on ground. Saddam Hussein was prepared for the war to take over the control of the whole middle-east. He also regarded U.S and Britain as prominent threats. So he tried to show his power by invading Kuwait very swiftly. Saddam achieved a quick victory after two days. Commandos conducted the deployment by helicopters and boats to attack Kuwait City and others were involved in seizing the airports, airbases. Iraq combated intensely for two days to achieve victory. After the victory Saddam Hussein appointed Hasan-Al-Majid as the governor of Kuwait.  The ruling Sabah family fled to Saudi Arabia.

Saddam Hussein invaded oil-rich Kuwait to take the control of its wealth. But it was an illegal effort, so international response grew very quickly against it.  Kuwaiti and U.S delegations immediately requested for a meeting of the UN Security Council. In reply it passed Resolution 660, condemning the invasion and withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. On August 6 UN Resolution 661 placed economic sanction on Iraq.  The UN Security Council authorized the naval blockage to enforce the embargo against Iraq when it passed Resolution 665. This Resolution provided necessary measures to halt all inward and outward maritime shipping to verify the cargoes and ensure implementation of Resolution 661. Arab League also passed a resolution to solve the war without outside intervention. Iraq army came very close to the Saudi Arabian border from where they could easily strike oil fields. This attempt by Iraq made many western countries worried, especially U.S. Because 60% of their industries were directly depending on the supply of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Moreover Saddam began to attack the Saudi Arabia verbally. He also described it as an unworthy guardian of Mecca and Medina. Then the U.S President George H. W. Bush took a step and quickly announced the launching of “Wholly Defensive Mission “against Iraq to protect the Saudi Arabia. U.S troops moved into the Saudi Arabia on August 7, 1990 launching mission “Desert Shield “. UK defined this war as “Operation Granby”, Canada as “Operation Friction”.  About 48 U.S Air Force F-15s of 1^st fighter wing at Langlcy Air Base, Virginia landed in Saudi Arabia to discourage Iraq from further invasion or advancement.. U.S sent battle ships USS MISSOURI and USS WISCONSINE as they massed 543,000 troops there. As a result Saddam Hussein’s plan of attacking the Saudi Arabia was quickly abandoned. On August 8 Iraq declared parts of Kuwait as the extension of Iraqi province of Basra and the rest to be the 19^th province of Iraq. Coalition forces took position near the southern border of Iraq to prevent further invasion of Iraq. As a result the Iraqi force retreated from Saudi Arabian border.

 U.S made a coalition of 34 countries : Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States itself. Some of these allies contributed with troops while some other assisted financially. For example Japan and Germany made $10 and $6.6 billion individually. About 73% of the coalition troops were provided by U.S. At first many coalition forces were unwilling to join as they did not interfere to the internal Arab affair. But finally they agreed because of belligerence of Iraq towards other states. The military description of the war is given below:

Troops :

§        U.S 575,000 – 697,000 military

§        Iraq deployed 545,000 – 600,000 troops.

§        Saudi Arabia 52,000 - 100,000

§        United Kingdom -43,000 - 45,400

§        Egypt 33,600 - 35,000

§        France 14,600

§        Syria 14,500

§        Morocco 13,000 Security Personnel

§        Kuwait 9,545

§        Oman 6,000

§        Pakistan 4,900 - 5,500 Backup team

§        United Arab Emirates 4,500

§        Canada 2,700

§        Qatar 2,600

§        Bangladesh 2,200 Medical team

§        Italy 1,200

§        Australia 700

§        Netherlands 700 Naval deployment      

§        Niger 600 Patroller group

§        Sweden 525

§        Senegal l500

§        Spain 500 Engineers

§        Bahrain 400 Base Guards

§        Belgium 400 Base Engineers

§        South Korea 314

§        Afghanistan 300

§        Argentina 300

§        Czechoslovakia 2,000

§        Greece 200 Pilots

§        Poland 200    

§        Philippines 200

§        Denmark 100

§        New Zealand 1002 C-130 Hercules transporter aircraft

§        Hungary 50

§        Norway 50 Naval & medical deployment

Military Instruments and vehicles:

§        1,820 Fighter aircraft and attack aircraft (1,376 American, 175 Saudi, 69 British, 42 French, 24 Canadian, 8 Italian)

§        3,318 tanks (mainly M1 Abrams(U.S.),Challenger 1(UK), M60(U.S.)

§        8 aircraft carriers

§        2 battleships

§        20 cruiser

§        20 destroyers

§        5 submarines 545,000 (100,000 in Kuwait)

§        649 fighters, 4,500 tanks (Chinese Type-59s, Type-69s, & self produced T-55 T-62,about 500 Soviet Union T-72)

The UN Security Council and Arab League made a series of resolution to stop Saddam Hussein. Among them resolution 678, passed on November 1990 giving Iraq a withdrawal deadline of 15 January, 1991. The UN Security Council also authorized military action to coalition forces for compliance. On 12 January,1991 the U.S Congress authorized the use of military forces to drive away Iraq from Kuwait. The votes were 52-47 in the U.S Senate and 250-183 in the U.S House of Representatives. U.S and the UN justified publicly for their involvement in the conflict. They insisted to prevent Iraqi violation against Kuwaiti territorial integrity as a prominent reason of their involvement. They defined Iraq as the violator of human rights. But Saddam did not pay attention to these.

The coalition forces launched a air attack which is known as “Instant Thunder” under “Desert Storm” on 16 January 1991. They first attacked in Baghdad and other military installations. Within 14 hours the Coalition forces made 1,000 air strikes and dropped 2,232 tons of bombs. These bombs destroyed the civilian and military infrastructure in Iraq. USAF Lieutenant General Chuck Horner commanded the air campaign and served as the Commander-in-Chief too. About 2,278 civilians were killed while 5,965 were wounded according to the report. On February 13, 1991 the Amiriyah Blockhouse was destroyed causing the death of hundreds civilians. Iraq made missile attacks in Israel, especially in Tel Ramat Gan and other big cities. These attacks caused massive destruction though causing little loss of human lives.96 people were injured and 3 elderly people died due to heart attack. They launched modern and destructive missile attack to Israel. Saddam thought that Israel would response and attack Iraq as it must create distance among Arab states. But U.S insisted Israel to remain calm and so did Israel. 300 civilian were killed on 20 February as Saddam Hussein asked for negotiation and announced Iraq as victorious in the war. He also mentioned that the Iraqi forces would leave Kuwait as soon as possible. But he set some 11 conditions before the coalition. U.S President George H. W. Bush disagreed with Saddam Hussein. Moreover he covertly planned for attacking Iraq again. The U.S VII corps assembled in full strength. They launched a surprise attack into Iraq early Sunday, February 24, 1991. They attacked from the west of Kuwait. The U.S XVlll Airborne Corps launched a attack across the desert of southern Iraq. This attack was led by 3^rd armored Cavalry Regiment and the 24^th Infantry Division. As a matter of fact this war lasted only a few hours. On February 26, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they left. A long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait highway. Although they were retreating, this convoy was bombed so extensively by Coalition forces that it came to be known as the ‘‘Highway of Death.’’ One hundred hours after the attack President George H. W. Bush announced a   cease-fire and on April 6 he declared that Kuwait had been liberated. Due to this attack Iraq lost many skillful troops and army vehicles.

Casualties and losses:

The exact number of Iraqi combat casualties is unknown, but known to be heavy. Immediate estimates said up to 100,000 Iraqis were killed. Some now estimate that Iraq sustained between 20,000 and 35,000 fatalities. However other figures still maintain fatalities as high as 200,000. A report commissioned by the U.S. Air Force, estimated 10,000-12,000 Iraqi combat deaths in the air campaign and as many as 10,000 casualties in the ground war. This analysis is based on Iraqi prisoner of war reports. It is known that between 20,000 and 200,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed. Saddam Hussein's government gave high civilian casualty figures in order to draw support from the Islamic countries. The Iraqi government claimed that 2,300 civilians died during the air campaign. According to the Project on Defense Alternatives study, 3,664 Iraqi civilians and between 20,000 and 26,000 military personnel were killed in the conflict. 75,000 Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

·        Enemy fire: 190 killed,719 wounded, 41 taken prisoner (unknown Kuwaiti casualties, but at least 605 missing)

·        Friendly fire: 44 dead, 57 wounded

·        Exploding munitions: 11 dead

·        Accidents: 134 dead

·        Total: approximately 175,000 - 355,000 killed,   75,000 wounded, and 80,000 captured.

Civilian deaths:

·        About 3,664 Iraqi civilians killed.

·        2 Israeli civilians killed, 230 injure.

·        1 Saudi civilian killed, 65 injured.

·        Around 1,000 Kuwaiti civilians killed during the Iraqi occupation in addition to 300,000 refugees.

Consequences of the War:

The “Gulf War” had terrible effects on both Iraq and Kuwait as they lost many resources which ultimately dropped down their economy. But it also brought some good things for both sides. It also affected the political conditions in western world. The consequences of the war were:

Ø     The hostility between Iraq and Kuwait regarding the border came to an end.

Ø     Heavy casualties in Iraq and Kuwait.

Ø     Iraq lost a total of 259 aircrafts in the war and 122 in the combat.

Ø     The coalition forces failed to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Ø     Imposition of sanction against Iraq.

Ø     Removal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Ø      Both Iraq and Kuwait lost most of their oil fields.

Ø     The permanent presence of U.S military force in Saudi Arabia.

Ø     Due to a massive victory western countries saved their interests.

Ø     U.S established its dominance over the Middle East states since then.

Ø     Iraq became more vulnerable in terms of economy after the war.

Ø     The war worked as a basis for invading Iraq in 2003 by U.S.A.

Ø     This war created a sense of war and conflict among Muslim states.

After the end of the war Saddam Hussein faced the threat of uprising in southern and northern Iraq from Shia and Kurdi people. Saddam treated them brutally by his Republican Guard. When the national election came he again got enormous popularity among Iraqi people and achieved victory quite easily. On the other hand, George H. W. Bush defeated badly by Bill Clinton in the presidential election. Some politician believed that involvement in the Gulf War was the prominent cause for his defeat.

The coalition forces achieved a valuable victory over Iraq, but they were unable to throw Saddam Hussein from power. They also allowed rest of the Republican Force to return safely to Iraq. Latter Saddam used these forces to suppress the uprising of Kurdi and Shia in northern and southern Iraq.

Kuwait , Saudi Arabia and other Arab states became inferior to U.S and its allies as they helped during war period. As a result western countries ensured their regular supply of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Although Kuwait achieved victory over Iraq with the help of coalition force, they allowed U.S troops to establish their permanent home in Kuwait.

Today most experts think that both the qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the Iraqi army at the time were exaggerated, as they included both temporary and auxiliary support elements. Many of the Iraqi troops were also young, under-resourced and poorly trained conscripts. The widespread support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war meant Iraq had military equipment from almost every major dealer of the world's weapons market. This resulted in a lack of standardization in this large heterogeneous force, which additionally suffered from poor training and poor motivation. The majority of Iraqi armored forces used old Chinese Type 59s and Type 69s, Soviet-made T-55s from the 1950s and 1960s, and some T-72s from the 1970s in 1991. These machines were not equipped with up-to-date equipment, such as thermal sights or laser rangefinders, and their effectiveness in modern combat was very limited. Iraqis also tried to use Soviet military weapons, but the implementation failed due to the lack of skill of their commanders and the preventive air strikes of the USAF on communication centers and bunkers. On the other hand coalition forces were well trained and experienced. As a result they easily beat the Iraqi troops.

The U.S and coalition forces demolished the Iraqi infrastructures by using many unused and modern weapons and bombs. They also showed their power and destructiveness to the world people and other emerging states.

U.S helped Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war in 1980s. But why they went against Iraq in the Gulf War in 1990-91? Because U.S President George H. W. Bush believed that Iraq would be the only threat for them in establishing dominance in the Middle East. Moreover he saved Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to sustain their supply of oil.

Although a superpower like U.S involved in this war, but contributions were made from other countries within the coalition. This war also reflected the true intentions of U.S.A as a belligerent state which has always involved themselves as a third person working for their own interests not for the betterment of world community.

REFERENCES:

1.      Modern World History – Norman Lowe (3^rd Edition)

2.      A History of The World from the 20^th to the 21^st Century- J.A.S Grenville

3.      The World since 1945: A History of International Relations- McWilliams, Wane. C