25 Years ago – 16th January 1991 – Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait
Twenty-five years ago, former President George H.W. Bush took to the airwaves to announce the launch of what is now known as Operation Desert Storm.
US-led military operation to drive Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait. “Just two hours ago, allied air forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait,” Bush said on the evening of January 16, 1991. “These attacks continue as I speak.” For five weeks, coalition forces bombarded Iraqi positions from the air and sea. When a ground invasion followed in February, it took only 100 hours to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
Operation Desert Storm marked a shift in how Americans experience combat when the US military deploys in far-flung countries.
For the first time, the beginning of a conflict played out on live TV, and viewers could “watch the war” from the comfort of home as it unfolded.
It was billed as a smashing success: an “accurate” bombing campaign, followed up by a swift, four-day ground assault that led to Iraq’s expulsion from Kuwait and a ceasefire.
Then again, how does one define success in Iraq? Coalition losses reached the hundreds, while Iraqi troop deaths reached into the tens of thousands, and another 2,000-plus civilians were killed.
The anniversary of Operation Desert Storm is a reminder of the unfinished history of the United States at war in Iraq. After all, here we are 25 years later, still dropping bombs there.
Kuwait News
- Events in Kuwait
- List of visitors, wanted by law to prevent entering Kuwait
- 1,800 Illegals Caught
- The process to leave the country in amnesty
- Panel rejects imposition of expat remittance tax
- New Parks and Sports fields in Ahmadi
- 5 Millions fake US Dollars found in Farwaniya
- 7 articles issued for the dismissal of foreigners to leave the country
- 12-hour water supply shortage in 8 areas
- Kuwait announced amnesty
- Deadlines end to expatriate hiring of ‘under-30’ college grads
- One million packs of tobacco and betel leaves found
- Kidnapping and attempting to rape a 12-year old boy
- Three arab men dressed as women
- Illegal lottery in Kuwait
- 22 Divorce cases per day in 2017
- Philippine banned from travelling to Kuwait for work
- Man died while praying in Mosque
- Three died on their way from Kuwait
- 300,000 illegally obtained Kuwaiti citizenship
- 17,000 jobs for Kuwaitis in place of expats
Filed in: All
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
