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Gulf War

Gulf War
Clockwise from top: USAF aircraft flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops in Operation Granby; Camera view from a Lockheed AC-130; Highway of Death; M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle
Military Conflict
ConflictPersian Gulf War
DateAugust 2, 1990 � February 28, 1991 (210 days) (Operation Desert Storm officially ended 30 November 1995)
LocationIraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel
ResultCoalition victory *Imposition of sanctions against Iraq *Removal of Iraqi invasion force from Kuwait *Heavy Iraqi casualties and destruction of Iraqi and Kuwaiti infrastructure
Coalition forces: Kuwait
United States
United Kingdom
Arab League *Saudi Arabia *Egypt *Syria *Morocco *Qatar *Oman *United Arab Emirates France
Denmark
Belgium
Pakistan
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Argentina
Spain
Italy
Bangladesh
Niger
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Greece
South Korea
Hungary
Soviet Union
and others
Flag of Iraq (1963-1991).svg Iraq *Kuwait Republic of Kuwait
Kuwait Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
US George H. W. Bush
US Norman Schwarzkopf
US Colin Powell
US Calvin Waller
United Kingdom John Major
United Kingdom Patrick Hine
United Kingdom Andrew Wilson
United Kingdom Peter de la Billière
United Kingdom John Chapple
Saudi Arabia King Fahd
Saudi Arabia Prince Abdullah
Saudi Arabia Prince Sultan
Saudi Arabia Turki Al-Faisal
Saudi Arabia Saleh Al-Muhaya
Saudi Arabia Khalid bin Sultan
France Michel Roquejoffre
Egypt Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Syria Mustafa Tlass
Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Pakistan Mirza Aslam Beg
Iraq Saddam Hussein
Iraq Ali Hassan al-Majid
Iraq Salah Aboud Mahmoud
956600
545,000 (100,000 in Kuwait) 
Coalition:
392 killed
776 wounded
Kuwait:
1,200 killed 
20,000-35,000 killed 75,000+ wounded
Kuwaiti civilian losses:
Over 1,000 killed
Iraqi civilian losses:
About 3,664 killed
Other civilian losses:
2 Israeli civilians killed, 230 injured
1 Saudi civilian killed, 65 injured

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The Persian Gulf War (August 2, 1990 � February 28, 1991), commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from thirty-four nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of the State of Kuwait.

This war has also been referred to as Operation Desert Storm for the operational name of the military response (see section 12.1 Operational Names below), the First Gulf War, Gulf War I, or the Iraq War, before the term became identified with the 2003 Iraq War which is also referred to as Desert Storm.

The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed American forces to Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition. The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$36 billion of the US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.

The war was marked by the beginning of live news on the front lines of the fight, with the primacy of the U.S. network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast images on board the American bombers during Operation Desert Storm.

The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 17 January 1991. This was followed by a ground assault on 23 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on the border of Saudi Arabia. However, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.


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