Persian Gulf Conflict (1990-1991)
The Persian Gulf Conflict was also called Operation Desert Storm. This conflict was started when Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, accused Kuwait of not following OPEC’s limits to producing oil, saying that they were producing more oil than they were allowed to. Also, he accused Kuwait of stealing oil from Iraq’s oil fields. Because of the accusations that Iraq believed, Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2nd 1990. The U.S.’s president at the time, George W. H. Bush, sent of U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi Arabia’s oil fields. We did this because we were afraid Iraq might invade Saudi Arabia too (our other oil rich friend). The U.S. gave Iraq a deadline to which they could remove their troops without getting hurt. This deadline was January 15, 1991. Saddam Hussein did not remove his troops from Kuwait, thus a coalition of forces happened. February 28, 1991 was the end of the war. In the end Kuwait was freed and Saddam Hussein was still in power as the leader of Iraq. Invasion of Afghanistan (2001-Present) The Afghanistan War (also called the Operation Enduring Freedom) started in 2001 and is still going on today. This war is now the longest war the U.S. has ever fought in. The war was triggered by the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. which killed 3,000 innocent citizens in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania by a group called Al-Qaeda. Their leader was Osama bin Laden.
The Taliban, government of Afghanistan, were keeping Osama bin Laden safe after the attacks on September 11, so the U.S. tried to get the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden by force. October of 2001, The Taliban still wouldn’t turn in Osama bin Laden even after the British had launched air strikes. More recently, Osama bin Laden was captured and killed by the U.S. on May 2, 2011. The Taliban government was replaced with a democratic government and U.S. Troops are still in Afghanistan to this day. The purpose of still being there is to make sure that Al-Qaeda doesn't become strong again and to make sure the Taliban doesn't rise to power.
Invasion of Iraq (2003-Present)
This war started in 2003, and was also referred to as the Operation of Iraqi Freedom. This conflict started because the U.S. accused Saddam Hussein (Dictator of Iraq) for building weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The U.S. invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003 after the 48 hour warning President Bush gave to Saddam Hussein and his sons on March 17 to leave Iraq. But in the end, no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) were found.
 April 9, 2003 the Saddam Hussein statue was torn down by the Iraqi people (shown in the picture to the left). December 14, 2003 we captured Saddam Hussein, who was later tried in court and then executed after the ruling. Iraq’s government changed over from a dictatorship to a democratic government and many countries did not like this invasion. Today we are still in Iraq training their soldiers and also to make sure that their government will be alright on its own.
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Eunice
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D. U.S. Presence in SW Asia |
