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Desert Storm was a military conflict led by the US and a coalition of 35 countries to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1990-1991. It resulted in a quick victory with 358 coalition casualties and estimates of 30,000-100,000 Iraqi dead. Controversies include the use of depleted uranium rounds and Gulf War Syndrome. The war is also associated with major oil spills and environmental degradation in the Persian Gulf.
Desert Storm is the American military code word used to refer to the first Gulf War, an American-led military conflict that lasted between August 2, 1990 and February 28, 1991. Many people use the term “Desert Storm” to refer collectively to this war, despite the fact that it involved a coalition of 35 countries, each of which used their own code words to refer to the war. This conflict is also known simply as the Persian Gulf War or Gulf War, with the “First” added in 2003 to differentiate between this conflict and the American-led Iraq War that began in 2003.
The direct cause of Desert Storm was Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The United Nations responded by establishing economic sanctions, while US President George HW Bush deployed troops to Saudi Arabia in an operation known as Desert Shield. Desert Shield’s goal was to provide a military force capable of creating stability in the area, possibly by invading Iraq or driving troops back from Kuwait. The United States also attempted to assemble a coalition force and eventually gained UN support for a military conflict with the express goal of expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The US Congress has also authorized the use of force in the Persian Gulf.
On January 17, 1991, the air phase of Desert Storm began. Numerous strategic bombs were dropped to pave the way for the ground invasion which began on 24 February 1991. An end to hostilities was declared on 28 February. Coalition forces attributed the quick victory to the coordination of troops from around the world and suggested that the quick response to the Iraqi incursion into Kuwait also played a role in the success of the operation.
There were 358 coalition casualties during Operation Desert Storm, with estimates of the number of Iraqi dead a little harder to come by. Requests range from 30,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians and soldiers. In the wake of the war, the decision was made to leave dictator Saddam Hussein in power in Iraq, rather than attempting to take over the country and establish a democratic government. The United States faced some criticism for this decision, although given the difficulties it encountered when it invaded the country and toppled Hussein 12 years later, the reluctance to take over Iraq in 1991 is perhaps understandable.
Several controversies are associated with Operation Desert Storm. The use of depleted uranium rounds by some coalition forces has been criticized as a source of environmental pollution in Iraq, with some people saying that these rounds later contributed to the development of birth defects and significant health problems among the Iraqi people. Some members of coalition forces have also developed a constellation of symptoms known as Gulf War Syndrome that have been variously attributed to chemical weapons exposure, depleted uranium exposure, biological attacks or “unknown causes.”
People who lived through the Gulf War may also remember the extensive live television coverage, including coverage of Iraqi forces burning oil fields and causing widespread pollution. Desert Storm has also been associated with several major oil spills in the Persian Gulf that have contributed to significant environmental degradation in the region.
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