Question

gulf war 1990
saddam hussein’s invasion of kuwait in 1990 led to the gulf war in 1991. this is known as the first war between the us and iraq. iraq’s move was seen as a threat to oil fields in saudi arabia, and a severe threat to u.s. oil supplies. for several months, the united states worked to form a large international coalition to liberate kuwait from iraqi control. on january 16, 1991, the us and its allies launched a massive air strike known as operation desert storm. after a six weeks of fighting, kuwait was liberated, but hussein remained in power in iraq. the united states then asked the un to impose economic sanctions against iraq in order to prevent the country from rearming or building nuclear weapons.

1. which goal from above did the gulf war help to accomplish? _______________
2. do you think this policy met the goal? why or why not? _______________

Explanation:

1.

From the text, the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) was launched to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi control (due to Iraq's invasion threatening oil fields/Saudi Arabia and U.S. oil supplies) and later the US asked the UN to impose economic sanctions to prevent Iraq from rearming or building nuclear weapons. The war itself (military action) helped liberate Kuwait. So the goal accomplished by the Gulf War (military phase) was liberating Kuwait from Iraqi control (and protecting U.S. oil interests by addressing the threat to Saudi oil fields).

The policy here can refer to the economic sanctions. To determine if it met the goal (prevent Iraq from rearming/building nuclear weapons), we analyze: Sanctions restricted Iraq's access to resources, but Iraq still tried to circumvent them (e.g., oil - for - food program issues, later developments showed Iraq had limited WMD capabilities but the sanctions' effectiveness was debated. Or, if considering the war's goal of liberating Kuwait, the war did liberate Kuwait. For the sanctions: While they limited Iraq's ability to freely rearm initially, over time, Iraq found ways to bypass some sanctions, and later events (like the 2003 Iraq War) suggested the sanctions didn't fully prevent Iraq from attempting to develop WMD - related capabilities (though actual WMD stockpiles were limited).

Answer:

Liberating Kuwait from Iraqi control (and addressing the threat to U.S. oil supplies by countering Iraq's invasion that threatened Saudi Arabia's oil fields).

2.