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
- Hike in expats healthcare fees eyed KD 5 – KD 10 from KD 1 or KD 2
- 3-year maximum validity for work permits – Can be renewed six months before date of expiry
- Social Media game “Blue Whale”, reason of more than 130 suicides across the world
- Transfer of visa for graduates and Transfer of Farm Visa
- Spike in eve-teasing could lead to kidnap, rape, parents says in Kuwait
- 17 new electronic services launched
- Transfer from Government project visa to Private sector visa
- Expat acquitted of raping child
- 80 arrested in Ahmadi
- Agencies are working to changes the salary scale
- 68 arrested – 2 expats to be deported
- MOH has suspended the local recruitment of expatriate nurses
- 32,000 visas in two months
- Amended Labor Law in private sector takes effect
- Dying for love due to refusal from GF’s Father
- Headache and epilepsy issues in Salmiya due to Telecom tower
- Renew family visit visas for all expats
- Rent reduction in Salmiya and Sulaibikhat
- Friendship on Social Media ended on rape and kept her for three days
- PACI to begin prepaid service for Civil ID cards from March 19
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