WThe Gulf War was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait arising from oil pricing and production disputes. It was codenamed Operation Desert Shield for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm in its combat phase.
WThe 1991 Iraqi rocket attacks on Israel was a missile strike campaign on Israel from 17 January to 28 February 1991, by Iraq in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation during the Gulf War.
WThe 1991 uprisings in Iraq were a series of popular rebellions in northern and southern Iraq in March and April 1991 during a ceasefire in the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinated insurgency, often referred to as the Sha'aban Intifada among Shi'ite Arabs and as the National Uprising among Kurds, was fueled by the perception that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change. This perception of weakness was largely the result of the outcome of two prior wars: the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, both of which occurred within a single decade and devastated the population and economy of Iraq.
WThe American fiber helmet is a type of sun helmet made of pressed fiber material that has been used as part of the military uniform by various parts of the United States Armed Forces, from 1934 to present. As of 2017, the helmet continues to be worn by US military rifle range cadres, as an icon for marksmanship excellence. The helmet is technically not a pith helmet, insofar as it is not constructed from pith material. However, in the more generic sense of design style, this type of sun helmet is modeled similarly to one and thus often referred to in common use as a pith helmet. Additionally, the helmet is not a combat helmet, insofar as it was not originally designed to protect the head during combat. However, the helmet was nonetheless assigned, at various times in the 1930s and 1940s, as combat gear for use in active theaters.
WThe Amiriyah shelter bombing was an aerial attack that killed at least 408 civilians on 13 February 1991 during the Persian Gulf War, when an air-raid shelter, in the Amiriyah neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, was destroyed by the U.S. Air Force with two laser-guided "smart bombs".
WAustralia was a member of the international coalition which contributed military forces to the 1991 Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm. More than 1,800 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were deployed to the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to September 1991, while contingents from the Royal Australian Navy circulated through the region in support of the sanctions against Iraq until November 2001. In August 1990, two frigates HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin and the replenishment ship HMAS Success left for the Persian Gulf. HMAS Success had no air defences, so the Army 16th Air Defence Regiment was embarked. On 3 December 1990, HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Sydney (IV) relieved HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin. On 26 January 1991, HMAS Westralia replaced HMAS Success. A Navy clearance diving team was also deployed for explosive ordnance disposal and demolition tasks. Australian ships were in danger of sea mines and possible air attacks. In a number of recorded incidents, HMAS Brisbane encountered free floating mines, on one occasion narrowly avoiding a collision. Both HMA Ships Brisbane and Sydney encountered significant air threat warnings from Iran and Iraq throughout the initial period of the commencement of the Desert Storm Campaign. The detection of land based Silkworm anti-ship missiles from Iran throughout the campaign also added to the challenges for both crews as well as the multi-national Naval Forces.
WThe Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution or Joint Resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, was the United States Congress's January 14, 1991 authorization of the use of U.S. military force in the Gulf War.
WBritish Airways Flight 149 was a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, then the international airport for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, via Kuwait and Madras International Airports, operated by British Airways using a Boeing 747-136 jumbo jet in Landor livery on 2 August 1990.
WThe Liberation of Kuwait was a U.S.-led military operation to retake Kuwait from Iraq after the massive air campaign, between 24–28 February 1991. U.S. troops and the Coalition entered to find the Iraqis surrendering en masse; however, pockets of resistance existed, particularly at Kuwait International Airport where Iraqi troops, seemingly unaware that a retreat order had been issued to them, continued to fight, resulting in a fierce battle over the airport itself. The majority of the fighting took place in Iraq, rather than Kuwait. The operation is part of what is commonly known as the Gulf War.
WCzechoslovakia sent a force of 200 to take part in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as part of the Coalition of the Gulf War. This operation was the sole military operation carried out by Czechoslovakia during the democratic period prior to its breakup in 1993. It was also the first armed conflict Czechoslovak troops took part in since World War II. The unit deployed to Saudi Arabia specialized in chemical defense and decontamination, a major concern in the Gulf War due to Saddam Hussein's use of mustard and nerve agents in the Iran–Iraq War. Czechoslovak forces were equipped with UAZ-469 all terrain vehicles equipped with chemical detection gear, Tatra T-815 transporters, and a variety of trucks designed for decontamination. The two platoons were headed by Colonel Ján Való. In the wake of the Gulf War, investigations were carried out by the Czech and Slovak government into claims of Gulf War Syndrome amongst returned veterans. Czechoslovak forces recorded the release of toxins such as sarin in Iraqi territory, that were attributed to as the causes of the syndrome.
WThe draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes occurred in Iraq and to a smaller degree in Iran between the 1950s and 1990s to clear large areas of the marshes in the Tigris-Euphrates river system. Formerly covering an area of around 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi), the main sub-marshes, the Hawizeh, Central, and Hammar marshes and all three were drained at different times for different reasons.
WNote: Various sources name these wars differently. For more information please read Gulf War (disambiguation).
WGeneral Order No. 1 was a general order issued by General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. to United States Central Command in the Middle East during the Gulf War. The order contains provisions restricting the behavior of troops and was intended to show respect to the laws of Saudi Arabia where many US troops were deployed. The order, for the first time in the US Army, prohibited the possession, manufacture, sale or consumption of any alcoholic beverage. It also restricted the possession of "sexually explicit" material, which was broadly defined and led to relatively innocuous documents such as underwear catalogues and bodybuilding magazines being banned. A ban on the taking of war trophies from Iraqi prisoners was later amended to permit US troops to retain captured bayonets as souvenirs. The order influenced those issued in later campaigns, many of which also include bans on alcohol consumption even where US troops are not deployed in Muslim countries.
WHelicopter Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadron 12 (HS-12) the Wyverns was a former ASW helicopter Squadron of the U.S. Navy between 1977 and 1994.
WThe invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 was a two-day operation conducted by Iraq against the neighboring State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month-long Iraqi occupation of the country. This invasion and Iraq's subsequent refusal to withdraw from Kuwait by a deadline mandated by the United Nations led to military intervention by a United Nations-authorized coalition of forces led by the United States. These events came to be known as the first Gulf War and resulted in the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait and the Iraqis setting 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire during their retreat.
WThe Kuwait Governorate was the 19th governorate of Iraq established in the aftermath of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990. It was preceded by the brief puppet state of the Republic of Kuwait. The Kuwait Governorate consisted of most of the occupied Kuwaiti territory, with the exclusion of the northern areas which became the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District. Saddam Hussein's relative, Ali Hassan al-Majid became the governor of this province.
WThe 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait was carried out from August 13, 1990 to October 20, 1990 after the Invasion of Kuwait. Air India helped evacuate 170,000 people by civil airline. The operation was carried out before the Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait. Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral was instrumental in getting Iraq to co-operate on these efforts. Following this operation Air India, the flag carrier Indian airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by a civil airliner. Mathunny Mathews, Harbajan Singh Vedi, Abey Varicad, V.K. Warrier, Ali Hussain and few others based in Kuwait helped immensely in the evacuation efforts of fellow Indians.
WThe Liberation Tower is a 372-meter-high telecommunications tower in Kuwait City, Kuwait, the second-tallest structure in the country and the 39th tallest building in the world. The tower is not publicly accessible to tourists. However, the complex building attached to the tower houses government offices such as the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority and a government service center that offer civil services related to Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Public Authority For Civil Information, Ministry of Justice, Public Institution for Social Security, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Fire Service Directorate, and Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour.
WMathunny Mathews was an Indian, a resident in Kuwait and was one of the people credited with the safe airlift evacuation of about 170,000 Indians from Kuwait during the 1990 Invasion of Kuwait, which is hailed as the world's largest civilian evacuation in history.
WList of Gulf War Military Equipment is a summary of the various military weapons and vehicles used by the different nations during the Gulf War of 1990–1991.
WThe Mutla Ridge is located in Jahra Governorate. It is the highest point in Kuwait, standing at 1,004 feet high.
WThe National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial is under planning to be constructed in Washington, D.C. near the Lincoln Memorial. It will honor members of the armed forces who participated in Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield.
WThe Nayirah testimony was a false testimony given before the United States Congressional Human Rights Caucus on October 10, 1990 by a 15-year-old girl who provided only her first name, Nayirah. The testimony was widely publicized, and was cited numerous times by United States senators and President George H. W. Bush in their rationale to back Kuwait in the Gulf War. In 1992, it was revealed that Nayirah's last name was al-Ṣabaḥ and that she was the daughter of Saud Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. Furthermore, it was revealed that her testimony was organized as part of the Citizens for a Free Kuwait public relations campaign, which was run by the American public relations firm Hill & Knowlton for the Kuwaiti government. Following this, al-Sabah's testimony has come to be regarded as a classic example of modern atrocity propaganda.
WOperazione Locusta is the code name given to the contribution of the Italian Air Force in the Gulf War.
WThe Palestinian exodus from Kuwait took place during and after the Gulf War. There were 400,000 Palestinians in Kuwait before the Gulf War. During the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, 200,000 Palestinians left Kuwait due to various reasons. After the Gulf War of 1991, nearly 200,000 Palestinians fled Kuwait, partly due to economic burdens, regulations on residence and fear of abuse by Kuwaiti security forces. The policy which partly led to this exodus was a response to the alignment of PLO leader Yasser Arafat with Saddam Hussein.
WThe Persian Gulf Veterans National Medal is an honorific military medal authorized by United States Congress presented to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in a combat zone during the Persian Gulf War.
WAir-to-air combat is the engagement of flying machines in warfare in which one or more aircraft tries to destroy one or more other aircraft. The Korean War saw the greatest amount of air-to-air combat since World War II. During the war the United States claimed to have shot down around 700 fighters. After the war the USAF reviewed its figures in an investigation code-named Sabre Measure Charlie and downgraded the kill ratio of the North American F-86 Sabre against the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 by half from 14:1 to 7:1. One of the factors inflating US numbers was that most dogfights took place over enemy-controlled area. The only way to confirm kills was through gun camera photography. USAF pilots were credited with a kill if the gun camera showed their guns striking the enemy aircraft even if no one actually saw it go down. However, Soviet kill claims were also highly exaggerated, based upon inherent flaws in their film grading procedures. For instance, the S-13 gun camera was not aligned with either the gunsight or either cannons' ballistics. It ran only while the firing buttons were depressed. Film graders commonly included unit commanders and political commisars who would confirm a "kill"—sometimes even if one had not been claimed by a pilot—when the camera's crosshairs touched the target for two movie frames. During the first 16 months of combat Soviet V-VS units claimed 218 F-86s destroyed when only 36 had been lost. This results in a 600 per cent inflation rate in victory credits over actual Sabres destroyed. However, these figures are complicated by the fact that the Americans routinely attributed combat losses to landing accidents and other causes.
WThe Battle for Qurah and Umm al Maradim, were several naval and land battles for control over the islands off the coast of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf, mainly the islands of Qurah and Umm al Maradim.
WThe Republic of Kuwait was a short-lived and self-styled republic formed in the aftermath of the invasion of Kuwait by Ba'athist Iraq during the early stages of the Gulf War. During the invasion, the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council stated that it had sent troops into the State of Kuwait to assist an internal coup d'état initiated by "Kuwaiti revolutionaries." A Provisional Government of Free Kuwait was set up on 4 August by the Iraqi authorities under the leadership of nine allegedly-Kuwaiti military officers led by Alaa Hussein Ali, who was given the posts of prime minister, commander-in-chief, minister of defense and minister of the interior.
WThe Safwan Airfield standoff was a post-ceasefire standoff between the Iraqi and U.S. forces at the end of the 1991 Gulf War.
WRadio 4 News FM was the BBC radio rolling news service that was on air during the first Gulf War from 16 January until 2 March 1991. It used BBC Radio 4's FM frequencies, whilst their regular scheduled service continued on longwave. This service was also broadcast on BBC World Service. Some journalists gave it the nickname Scud FM from the Scud missiles used by Iraqi forces in the war.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 660, adopted on 2 August 1990, after noting its alarm of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the Council condemned the invasion and demanded Iraq withdraw immediately and unconditionally to positions as they were on 1 August 1990.
WIn United Nations Security Council resolution 661, adopted on 6 August 1990, reaffirming Resolution 660 (1990) and noting Iraq's refusal to comply with it and Kuwait's right of self-defence, the Council took steps to implement international sanctions on Iraq under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. This was the second resolution by the Security Council over the invasion of Kuwait.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 662, adopted unanimously on 9 August 1990, recalling resolutions 660 (1990) and 661 (1990), the Council decided that the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq under any form was illegal.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 664, adopted unanimously on 18 August 1990, reaffirming resolutions 660 (1990), 661 (1990) and 662 (1990), the Council recalled Iraq's obligations under international law and acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, demanded that Iraq permit and facilitate the departure of nationals from third countries from within Iraq and Kuwait, calling for consular and diplomatic access to the third state nationals.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 665, adopted on 25 August 1990, after demanding the full and immediate implementation of resolutions 660, 661, 662 and 664, the Council authorised a naval blockade to enforce the embargo against Iraq, in the aftermath of its invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990.
WIn United Nations Security Council Resolution 666, adopted on September 13, 1990, after recalling resolutions 661 (1990) and 664 (1990) which discussed the humanitarian situation in Iraq and Kuwait and the detention of nationals from foreign countries, the Council decided to ask the 661 Committee to determine if humanitarian needs have arisen and to keep the situation under review. At the same time, it expected Iraq to comply with its obligations under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, relating to the safety and detainment of third-state nationals in Iraq and occupied Kuwait.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 667, adopted unanimously on 16 September 1990, after recalling resolutions 660 (1990), 661 (1990), 664 (1990), 665 (1990) and 666 (1990), the Council expressed its outrage and condemned "aggressive acts" by Iraq against diplomatic missions and personnel in occupied Kuwait, including the abduction of some, in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Consular Relations.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 669, adopted unanimously on 24 September 1990, after recalling Resolution 661 (1990) and Article 50 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council was conscious of the increasing number of requests for assistance have been received under Article 50, relating to international sanctions against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 670, adopted on 25 September 1990, after recalling resolutions 660 (1990), 661 (1990), 662 (1990), 664 (1990), 665 (1990), 666 (1990) and 667 (1990) on the topic of Iraq, the Council condemned the continued Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, the violence against Kuwaiti citizens and its defiance of Security Council resolutions. It also noted the expulsion of Iraqi diplomats from several countries. As a consequence, the Council decided to impose further sanctions on Iraq, relating to civil aviation.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 674, adopted on 29 October 1990, after recalling resolutions 660 (1990), 661 (1990), 662 (1990), 664 (1990), 665 (1990), 666 (1990), 667 (1990) and 670 (1990) on the topic of Iraq, the Council condemned the continuing situation in occupied Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion on 2 August 1990, reaffirming the goal of the international community of maintaining international peace and security.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 677, adopted unanimously on 28 November 1990, after recalling resolutions 660 (1990), 662 (1990) and 674 (1990), the Council condemned attempts by Iraq to alter the demographic information of Kuwait and the restrictions on the movement of its citizens.
WUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 678, adopted on 29 November 1990, after reaffirming resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674 and 677, the Council noted that despite all the United Nations efforts, Iraq continued to defy the Security Council.
WUnited Nations Security Council resolution 686, adopted on 2 March 1991, after reaffirming resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, 677 and 678, the Council noted the suspension of military activities against Iraq and that all twelve resolutions continue to have full force and effect.
WUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 687, adopted on 3 April 1991, after reaffirming resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, 677, 678 and 686 (1991), the Council set the terms, in a comprehensive resolution, with which Iraq was to comply after losing the Gulf War. Resolution 687 was passed by 12 votes to one against (Cuba) with two abstentions from Ecuador and Yemen after a very extended meeting. Iraq accepted the provisions of the resolution on 6 April 1991.
WThe Yeşilova incident was a reported armed stand off that took place at a refugee camp in Yeşilova, a small Turkish town near the border between Iraq and Turkey, between British Royal Marines and the Turkish Armed Forces. Local Turkish soldiers have been accused of stealing essential goods and preventing medical care from deprived refugees in dire conditions, with a cholera outbreak ongoing.