The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

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Desert Storm,
Feb. 24 – March 2,
1991
French
U.S.
British
Arab
Army Units
French
U.S.
British
Arab
Iraqui retreat
Allied bombing
Airbase
Allied advance
0 40 km
0 40 miles Hafar al Batin Khafji
Kuwait
City
Basra
Samawah
Nasiriyah
Salman
Rafah
Iran American hostages held
in Tehran since Nov. 4, 1979;
released Jan. 20, 1981 (noon EST).
Lebanon Terrorist bomb kills 239
marines, Oct. 23, 1983; Shiite
extremists hold American hostages,
1984–1990.
Afghanistan Soviet invasion,
Dec. 1979; Soviet withdrawal,
1989.
Iran-Iraq War 1980–1988. Persian Gulf U.S. escorts
reflagged Kuwaiti tankers,
1987–1988.
Kuwait Invaded and occupied
by Iraq, Aug. 2, 1990.
Iraq Operation Desert Storm
(Persian Gulf War),
Jan.–Feb. 1991.
816 Chapter 30 Running on Empty, 1975–1991
The Saudis and the Kuwaitis turned to the
United States and other nations for help, and it was
quickly given. In a matter of days the UN applied
trade sanctions against Iraq, and at the invitation of
Saudi Arabia, the United States (along with Great
Britain, France, Italy, Egypt, and Syria) moved troops
to Saudi bases. Islamist fundamentalists opposed the
presence of non-Muslim troops on Saudi soil; but
the Saudi ruling family overruled them, fearing an
Iraqi invasion.
By November, Bush had increased the American
troops in the area from 180,000 to more than 500,000,
part of a larger UN operation. On January 17, the
Americans unleashed an enormous air attack, directed
by General Norman Schwarzkopf. This air assault went
on for nearly a month, and it reduced much of Iraq to
The Middle EastIn February 1991, combined U.S., British, French, and Arab armies drove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait and invaded Iraq.