Persian Gulf War

Why did Saddam Hussein order his army to invade Kuwait?

• Kuwait was pumping oil that belonged to Iraq he complained that Kuwait was holding down oil prices.

• He wanted to upset the Americans to start a war and was hoping the Soviet Union would help.

How did Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev react when Iraq invaded Kuwait?

• By the end of the week, the Soviet Union had joined Iraq to fight against the United States.

• Within hours of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Gorbachev stopped arms shipments to Saddam and joined the United States in supporting a UN Security Council resolution demanding Iraq’s

  immediate withdrawal from Kuwait.

What was George H. W. Bush’s “new world order?”

• the world’s leading powers would work together to prevent aggression and enforce the rule of law internationally

• Bush thought the U.S. was in charge of the world and ever nation had to listen to him.

Why did President George H. W. Bush immediately send troops to Saudi Arabia after Iraq invaded Kuwait?

• Bush's top priority was to prevent Saddam Hussein’s military from seizing the oil fields of northeastern Saudi Arabia.

• He want to make sure that Iraq did not attack the Soviet Union and Mexico.

Why were some U.S. military leaders opposed to using force?

• U.S. military leaders concerned about possible

  causalities (dead or wounded soldiers). Many warned that Iraq would use chemical weapons if attacked. There were worries that Iraq might even possess nuclear bombs.

• Some thought they this would restart the Vietnam War and Ho Chi Minh would attack the U.S.

Why did President Bush decide to allow Saddam to stay in power?

• He was fearful that the Iraqi people to come back and fight the Americans.

• Bush thought that a weakened and contained Saddam was

  better than an Islamic government in Iraq like the one in Iran.

What did the Iraqi troops do as they retreated from Kuwait?

• Iraqi troops set 700 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire and to spill millions of gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf creating the world’s largest

  environmental disaster.

• They continued to fight the Americans up to the very end.

Why does the presence of American troops in the Persian Gulf create tensions?

• the Americans and the Arabs of the Persian Gulf do

  not share common values and culture.

• The American troops were very violent to the Iraqis.

How do Arab nations regard the U.S. military presence?

• Arab nations really enjoyed the protection that they gave against the Soviet enemy.

• It was a painful reminder of the Arab world’s weaknesses and divisions in the Middle East.

Why was Osama bin Laden upset over the presence of U.S. troops?

• Foreigners do not belong in Islamic countries. Bin Laden was especially upset over the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, the country where the prophet Muhammad (the founder of Islam) was born.

• Bin Laden wanted to take over the oil fields and control Iraq.