The Persian Gulf War and Its Effects

The Persian Gulf War began when Iraq invade its neighbor Kuwait in 1990. Arab powers like Egypt and Saudi Arabia were alarmed by this action, and feared that Iraq would attack them as well. The invasion of Kuwait was alarming to the United States as well, because if Iraq succeeded in its campaign it could have potentially had control of a large majority of the oil supply, and the US had not forgotten the economic crisis it suffered in the 1970s from middle-eastern oil embargoes. Saudi Arabia allowed the US to use it as a staging ground, and in 1991 the US began a massive air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. After 100 hours of ground fighting, the US and its allies had won, and much of the Iraqi forces in Kuwait had fled, surrendered, or been killed. The Persian Gulf War was important to the American people because it restored confidence in the military. In Kuwait the US did not have to worry about cold war repercussions like it had in Vietnam, so it was able to utilize its full potential. In addition, the technology of war had improved greatly since Vietnam. Smart bombs and stealth aircraft were widely used allowing the US military to be terrifyingly precise with its bombings. Also, unlike in Vietnam the press was only allowed to see what the military wanted it to see, which was simply smart bombs hitting targets and not the suffering of the victims of the war. Overall, the Persian Gulf War was a much needed victory for the US, boosting confidence in the US military, as well as restoring American pride.