The Gulf War and the role of air power in the Gulf War in 1991

introductionThe disconnectedness fightfare re chief(prenominal)s an important scourt in advanced history for various earths. Firstly, it arse be argued that the disconnectedness state of state of war is hearty as it gives the back backcloth to the over solely recent contendfare known as the Iraq state of war (Coyote, 2013, p.24). Although the perceived reasons for invading capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of capital of Kuwait are still repugn amongst researchers,, the most(prenominal) popular reason given for the aggression is Iraqs allegation that Kuwait was thieving its oil (Freedman & Karsh, 1991, p.52). How far this was a hearty lay down of the war go forth be explored, in addition to the role that evolution ambiance mogul played in this warfare. One of the important questions this shew will attempt to answer is did air effect play a major(ip) role in the bringing the fight to an endFinally, the es recount will discuss the wider usurpation of the disconnect war on the Iraki Government, and how it has affect the solid ground in the modern day.Why did the Iraki Government overflow Kuwait?T present has been unending debate on what the exact reason Iraki invaded Kuwait, with scholars dis equaling on what transpired in the events the preceded the breakout of the war (Flanagan, 1991, p.18). It is fair to dictate that it was a culmination of several circumstanceors that led to Kuwait invasion, and no bingle factor could be seen as the catalyst for multitude action. Firstly, Iraq was heavily obligated(predicate) to both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait due to their pecuniary backing of Iraq in its war against Iran (Khadduri & Ghareeb 1997, p.1). Kuwait did more(prenominal) than bonny pledge the war against Iran financially they also draw outed assistance by effectively be advent Iraqs major port following the closure of Basra at the height of the conflict (Khadduri & Ghareeb 1997, p.3). The sozzle d tie between Iraki and Kuwait during the formers war against Iran later led to Iran targeting the sphere following its financial support to Iraq. Iraq owed Kuwait more than $80billion, which the Iraqi Government could non pay back (Cordesman& Wagner1996, p.45). nonwithstanding pleas from Iraq to Kuwait to write off $14 billion of the debt, Kuwait refused. The fact that Kuwait were not willing to negotiate the debt in favour of Iraq anger Iraqi Government, further increasing tension between the twain countries (Danchev & Keohane, 1993, p.23). another(prenominal) factor widely speculated to force out over increased the tension between the two countries is when Iraq claimed certain break ins of Kuwait were actually Iraqi territory (Khadduri & Ghareeb, 1997, p.4). shortly before the commencement of the war, the Iraqi Government alleged that Kuwait was stealing petroleum from Iraq by way of slant-drilling into Iraqs Rumaila field (Freedman & Karsh, 1991, p.52). This offsprin ged in alter disputes between the two countries, with allegations that Kuwait was stealing oil worth in the region of $2.4 billion (1994, pp.23-30). This, according to Muellor (1994, pp.23-30) arguably put more pinch on a relationship that was already strained. Muellor observe that Kuwait argued that the allegations were ill-founded and fabricate in order to justify Iraqs resolve to take multitude action against Kuwait.Foreign firms working in the area took Kuwaits side, as the common belief built on the belief that the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq was heavily influenced by Iraqs motivation to obtain the countrys material petroleum supplies. Some alleged that the decision to invade Kuwait had been mooted a couple of months before August 1990, as the crisis was coming to a climax (Freedman & Karsh, 1994, pp. 63-65). Linked to this issue is the allegation by Iraq that Kuwait was overproducing petroleum, which caused a revenue decrease for Iraq. It was estimated that during the peri od of 1985-1989, every year Iraq suffered a $14 billion deficit as a direct depart of Kuwaits oil production (Finlan, 2003, p.24). Whilst Iraq did try to negotiate with Kuwait, they did not reduce their production, which must arrive at angered the Iraqi government. Some historians say that Iraq viewed this refusal as an act of defiance, which then became a occasionful trigger for the War (Fisk, 2006, p.18). Therefore, as is often the case with invasion events, politics, money and oil can be shown to be the underlying causes of forces action.An overview of the disconnect WarThe gulf War took place between August 1990 and February 1991. Following Iraqs initial invasion of Kuwait, the main players comprised nu constitute fusion reaction forces, a combination of 34 divergent countries led by the United States of America, against Iraq. The Iraqi Republican Guard invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 with over 100,000 members of the Iraqi armament support by 700 tanks in the early hours of the morning. This was met fastly by a UN security system Council sanction, which created a ban on all trade with Iraq and the freezing of all its assets (Khadduri & Ghareeb, 1997, p.73). By 4 August 1990, most Kuwaiti troops every had been over plyed or had fled to Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. Hundreds of thousands of civilians fled the country and m whatsoever continued to breathe thither even after the end of the conflict (Flanagan, 1991, pp.18-26). The initial invasion consisted of intense soldiers action as Iraq looked to show their intention to work its neighbor. This action was internationally condemned, and the UN was strongly encouraged to act and find a way forward (Fulghium, 1991). Countries worldwide called for Iraqs withdrawal from Kuwait, including countries who were previously its allies, much(prenominal) as France and India. This international pressure against the invasion was seen quickly through immediate economic sanctions being placed against Iraq by the UN .Alongside the period of sanctions, there were efforts to negotiate with Iraq. However, these negotiations broke down, leading the optical fusion forces to advance their force against the invasion. The coalescency forces were epicly comprised of US military, in addition to troops from the UK, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The main aim of the confederation troops was to expel the Iraqi military from Kuwait (Fisk, 2006 xvii). This commenced with an aerial trespass on 17 January 1991 (Fisk, 2006 xvii). Some alleged that the alignment forces joined the US, for more than a Wilsonian ideal they did so to harbor their own respective national touch ons, not the least of which included oil, the animateness blood of the world economy ( wholeison, 2012 vii). Nevertheless, the rising subject of casualties, especially amongst children sick many people. Lesley Stahl said, We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, thats more children than died in Hiroshimais the price wor th it? (Leigh & Wilson, 2001). secretary of State Madeleine Albright responded with, I think this is a very hard choice, except the price we think the price is worth it (Leigh & Wilson, 2001). An attack on the ground followed on 24 February, which brought a victory for the conjunction forces, freeing Kuwait from seven months of Iraqi military occupation (Sulton, 1995, pp.195-200). Following this liberation the coalition entered Iraq and after four days ( scarcely 100 hours) after the ground assault on Iraq) a ceasefire was declared (Dinackus, 2000, pp. 225-230). origin Power in the disconnectedness WarGiven the major use of air power in this war, some refer to the disconnect War as the 1991 Bombing of Iraq, as Iraq military was enthusiastic to show off their airpower in the region. The bombard try began on 17 January 1991 and from that time until the end of the conflict, the coalition forces were involved in flying over 100,000 sorties in the region. Air power dominated the m edia images of the Gulf War. Video footage of precision-guided munitions hitting their targets with pinpoint accuracy remains embedded in popular memory (Finlan, 2003, p.30). It is arguable that one of the main factors forcing the retreat of Iraqi troops was the dropping of 88,500 tons of bombs across the country, which destroyed many areas at bottom cities. The dodging in the air was to target not only Iraqi military sites, but also to destroy structural landmarks. This appears to have do the Iraqi military embark on a defensive strategy in response to the air feat (Finlan, 2003, p. 33). Hallion (1992) shares this view, and argues that strategy was evolving, seen in how the coalition air forces targeted places and structures rather than citizens. These air tactics, Hallion argues, allowed coalition forces to meet Iraq without causing large fatalities. He maintains that, the air commanders of the Allied coalition could approach the prospect of war with Iraq with such confidence in the air (Hallion, 1992 4). It is this confidence that stopped the Iraqi air force from being able to fence with the strength and woodland of the coalition forces.Posen (2003) agrees with the assertion that air power played a significant role in the Gulf War. He took the view that, air power alone may not be able to determine the exit of all wars, but is a significant asset. Moreover, US air power has proven potentially devastating to mechanized ground forces operating objectionablyas was discovered in the only Iraqi mechanized offending (Posen, 2003 16) This shows that, whilst air power was not on its own sufficient for the coalition forces to be outright successfully, it did contribute greatly to the overall result. In contrast, however, iron out disagrees with this argument and puts forward the view that, even after 5 weeks of outpouring, the go around Iraqi unitswere willing to maneuver into the path of US forces. (Press, 2001 37). Although Press does agree with Hallion that the coalition forces were more select when military supplies and availability of resources were compared. The press argues that superior military resources were the main factor why US-led assort team won the war, rather than the much publicised air power.However, there is ample support among historians for the idea that air power played a significant part in Iraqs defeat. This includes Schultz and Phaftzgraff who argue that the strategy in the air campaign was an overarching reason why the ground assault brought rapid, total success All major government, military, and party headquarters were wrecked both civil and military telecommunications were totally silenced Iraqi air defences were largely incapacitated. (Schultz & Phaftzgraff, 2001 19). This strategy of destroying main services greatly helped the coalition forces and because of this, many scholars argue that air power played a valuable and significant role in their victory.It was true, however, that Iraqi forces had a ir power of their own too, and this was evident when they started off their intensive military invasion of Kuwait (Fulghum, 1991 71-73). One of the reasons for the relatively quick takeover of Kuwait by the Iraqi military was that the former was taken by surprise, and was not able to offer much resistance, curiously in the air (Sayenga, 1991). Therefore, even at the outset of the war, air played a part, by assisting Iraq to take over Kuwait in a very speedy manner. However, when the competing allied forces confronted the Iraqi forces with similar airpower, the latter soon realised that their airpower were less superior. contempt the use of ground-to-air missiles by the Iraqi military, they were no accord to the allied forces military ability (Morrocco, 1991 40-43). USAF Lieutenant General Chuck Horner led the coalition forces and the overall military air strategy included the deployment of Tomahawk canvas missiles from warships. As part of the air campaign, A-10 Thunderbolts bom bing large sections of Iraq, causing considerable military and civilian deaths. It can be safely argued that the air campaign led to the destruction of much of the Iraqi armed forces, and that without this air campaign, the result might have affected the outcome, such is its importance in the Gulf War.When the coalition forces were combined, their artillery total was 2,250 combat aircraft, which was significant under any circumstances, but was particularly damaging when compared to the 500 members of the Iraqi air force (Hallion, 1992). The air campaign is often referred to by its code-name, Operation Desert act and more than 1,000 sorties were sent on a daily basis (Finlan, 2003 30-32). Iraqi defence forces were not able to stand up to this military assault, particularly when the first night of operations over Iraq witnessed the longest bombing sacking in history(Finlan, 2003 35). This puts into perspective how significant the role of air power was, as it had never before been s een on this scale in any war in the history. The casualty numbers were kept to a negligible for the coalition forces who only suffered 75 aircraft losses out of 100,000 sorties. Faced with this air bombing onslaught, many of the Iraqi air forces fled to Iran. This was unexpected, as coalition military had assumed that the escape might be towards Jordan and had adapted their strategy for this action. later just a few weeks, the air power assault had for the most part stopped by 24 February, with the successful entry into Kuwait by coalition troops. It is arguably not a coincidence that the end of the bombing campaign and the end of the War came close together.The impact of the Gulf War on the Iraqi GovernmentFollowing the passing of the United Nations gage Council Resolution 687 in 1991, the UN deployed several other controversial measures against Iraq, (Cortright& Lopez, 2000). As in the aftermath of any War, the Iraqi Government continued to experience financial difficulties a s the rising costs of the war impacted across the country (Alnaswari 200089-119). Following the extensive bombing campaign by the coalition forces, the Iraqi Government had to start the process of reconstructing major towns and cities that had been severely destroyed by the bombs. It was reported that Iraqi planners believedthe coalitions intention had been to destroy or damage valuable facilities that Baghdad could not repair without foreign assistance. The shell civilian suffering, senior officers say, has resulted not from bombs that went astray but from precision-guided weapons that hit exactly where they were aimed at electrical plants, oil refineries and transportation networks. (Gellman1991). However, it is in economic damage that the real impact of the Gulf War was felt. Alnasrawi has argued that oil was Iraqs capital dust, forming the bedrock of their economy and therefore the UN sanctions virtually destroyed this industry with the closure of 90% ports and 97% of exports (Alnasrawi, 200089-119). As long after the war as 1996, Iraq was in a dire situation, with a humanitarian crisis, and the UN agreed to offer temporary oil-for-food (OFF) program where Iraq was permitted to sell oil under very mingy conditions. Historians disagree and argue about the exact effect of this on the Iraqi Government one report stated that, Even under the most benign conditions, OFF only allows Iraq to be run as a relatively efficient refugee camp in which people get just about enough food to eat (Gazdar, 2002). Although it has also been suggested that Between the springs of 2000 and 2002, US and UK holds on humanitarian goods tripled (Gordon, 2002), the financial ruin that the Iraqi Government found itself in, was as a direct result of the Gulf War.ConclusionWith its many casualties and skillful effect on global politics, the Gulf War remains a crucial landscape when considering modern politics, particularly in the Middle east region. During its occupation by the Iraqi military, more than 1000 Kuwaiti civilians died, and thousands more fled the country never to return. As it has been shown here, there are a number of factors put forward as contributing to the invasion of Kuwait, and it has been this essays aim to argue that the allegation that Kuwait was stealing oil from abominable sources was the ultimate catalyst for the war, rather than the main reason. There were many contrastive forces at play as relations between the two countries had reached inconstant to say the least. Nevertheless, what is also interesting in this debate is the suggestion that interest in the conflict from coalition forces came out of an attraction to Kuwaits oil production. Oil is in increasing demand within the western sandwich World and it is not surprising that many see it as a strong underlying motive for or at least, a significant factor in the Coalitions engagement. This is summed up very well by Finlan, who states,The critical issue that transformed the si tuation in the Gulf from a regional dispute into a full-blown international crisis was, higher up all, the substantial oil reserves in that area and the worlds dependence on this black gold. If left to his own devices, Saddam ibn Talal Hussein possessed the ability to have influence over, or outright control of, 40 per cent of the known oil supplies on the planet by combining his own reserves with Kuwait and possibly, that of Saudi Arabia. (Finlan, 2003 9).In addition, it has been proposed here shown that air power had a significant role to play in the war and its eventual conclusion. The Iraqi Air Force were no match for the advanced technology at the disposal of the Coalition military, made clear during the extensive bombing campaign and also from the defensive strategy which the Iraqi army were forced to take. It has been this essays objective to provide evidence for the contention that the role of air power was considerable. Without the serious impact the bombing campaign had on the Iraqi forces and the Iraq infrastructure, no one knows how the Gulf War would have developed, how long it would have lasted, and what other consequences there might have been.Many lives were lost and it was clear that the Iraqi Government could not compete with the sheer scale of its opponents or stop the devastating impact on its civilians. The aftermath of the Gulf War therefore had a considerable impact upon the Iraqi Government. Arguably, the most significant effect of the war was on the economy, asthe war produced serious hardships to the people and set the economy back to 19th carbon status (Alnasrawi, 2000 89-119). Many academics working in this field believe that, the Gulf War laid the foundations for the more recent Iraq War in 2003, which extends its significance even further to say the least.ReferencesAllison, W. (2012) The Gulf War, 1990-91 Hampshire Palgrave MacMillanAlnasrawi, A. (2000) Iraq Economic Embargo and marauding Rule Oxford OUPCordesman, A. & Wagner , (1996) A.The Lessons of Modern War, Vol IV The Gulf War Oxford OUPCortright, David, And George A. Lopez. (2000) The Sanctions Decade Assessing UN Strategies in the 1990s. Boulder Lynne RiennerCoyote, C. (2013) Iraq War 2013 What Really Happened Behind the Scenes, US Charles Edmond Coyote.Danchev, A. &Keohane, D. (1993) International Perspectives on the Gulf Conflict 1990-91 capital of the United Kingdom Palgrave MacmillanDinackus, T. 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