WHEN - WHY - and WHAT HAPPENED - when sadam invaded kuwait ?

Answer 1

The roots of the operation began with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, following Iraqi contentions that Kuwait was illegally slant-drilling petroleum across Iraq’s border.

The decision by the West to fight the Iraqi invasion had as much to do with preventing an attack on Saudi Arabia, a nation of far more importance to the world than Kuwait, as it did with liberating Kuwait itself.

Iraq had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The concern over debts stemming from the Iran-Iraq war was even greater when applied to Saudi Arabia, which Iraq owed some 26 billion dollars. The long desert border was also ill-defined. Soon after his victory over Kuwait, Saddam began verbally attacking the Saudi kingdom. He argued that the American-supported country was an illegitimate guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Saddam combined the language of the Islamist groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis.

Later justifications for the war included Iraq’s history of human rights abuses under President Saddam Hussein. Saddam was also suspected of possessing chemical weapons (which he had previously used against his own people) and biological weapons and was known to be attempting to build atomic bombs, providing further justification beyond his violation of Kuwaiti integrity.

On January 12, 1991 the United States Congress authorized the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

Iraq launched missile attacks on coalition bases in Saudi Arabia and on Israel, in the hopes of drawing Israel into the war and drawing other Arab states out of it. This strategy proved ineffective. Israel did not join the coalition, and all Arab states stayed in the coalition except Jordan, which remained officially neutral throughout.

The Coalition advance was much swifter than U.S. generals had expected. On February 26, Iraqi troops began retreating out of Kuwait, setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they left, although some observers allege that the fires may have been caused by the allied bombing campaign. A long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait highway. This convoy was bombed so extensively by the Allies that it came to be known as the Highway of Death. Critics of the action contend that the column also contained prisoners and other fleeing Iraqi civilians, such as families of Iraqi military units. Forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France continued to pursue retreating Iraqi forces over the border and back into Iraq, moving to within 150 miles (240 km) of Baghdad before withdrawing.

One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, President Bush declared a cease-fire and on February 27 declared that Kuwait had been liberated.

Answer 2

Another little piece or two of the story. During Iraq's war on Iran Saddam had been demanding tribute from Kuwait to financially support his war. Then Kuwait's al-Sabah family quit paying the blackmail.

Saddam was hugely indebted, billions US, to USSR, and a lesser amount to France, for jets, tanks, munitions &c. (get the UNSC picture here? Not USA or Britain)

Sooooo Saddam was simply going to take Kuwait's oilfields - that's what that was about. And if he couldn't have it, neither could they -- after Kuwait was liberated the oilfields were set afire.

Answer 3

Saddam invaded Kuwait Augist of 1990. He invaded it claiming it was a part of Iraq that he was repatirating. Actually Kuwait was a part of Iraq until it became its own country in the 1960's. The Kuwaiti ruling family had had power in Iraq and lost that power so to regain power they had broken off to their own nation. When Saddam invaded they felt very threatened and managed to have the US and UN come in and restore their sovereignty through Operation Desert Storm.