Desert Storm for Peace

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The slogan “Desert Storm for Peace” is sarcastic but prescient. In the 1991 Gulf War, the U.S. led the air campaign, dubbed Operation Desert Storm, to destroy Iraq’s air defenses and attack crucial infrastructure. The U.S.-NATO coalition retook Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s forces. Iraq was forced to recognize Kuwait’s sovereignty and get rid of all weapons of mass destruction, or face economic sanctions. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers died in the conflict, though the exact number is unclear, and unrest persisted in the aftermath of the conflict. Saddam Hussein repeatedly failed to comply with U.N. inspectors. In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush presented Hussein with an ultimatum: step down and leave Iraq, or go to war. Hussein refused the terms, and the U.S. and its allies began the Iraq War.