To War or Not To War

In Unit 2, Execute, of Policy we learned all about the Executive Branch, from the people involved to the powers it holds. We also learned about the Vietnam War and the policies the United States had made that caused this war to be unjust. Leading us to our FE to the Veteran's Art Museum which showcased "The Things They Carried" exhibit which is based off of the book Tim O'Brien wrote. For our action project we needed to research a war the United States was apart of and a policy involved with it, then we had to decide if that war was just or unjust. I chose the first Persian Gulf War because it is an interesting war that one of my family members took part in as a United States Marine. I definitely enjoyed learning more about the war and how quick it was. Though it had been very difficult finding a policy that was involved with the war considering it did not last long and involved 39 nations. Please enjoy my essay on the Persian Gulf War below.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Staff Sgt. Vance. "Marines In The Persian Gulf War." (1991)

The first Persian Gulf War was fought in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia starting in August of 1990 and ending in February of 1991. This war was between Iraq and 39 allied countries, the largest being the United States, Great Britain, Egypt, France, and Saudi Arabia. This was one of the first wars that used pre guided missiles (PGM’s) which were “smart-bombs” that had laser guided targeting systems to help them hit their target. This war also had the appearance of the F-117 stealth fighter-bombers that were made to be undetectable by Iraqi radar, and Tomahawk cruise missiles that were made to launch farther than conventional missiles. This war was started by Iraq invading Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Saddam Hussein aimed to take over Kuwait’s large oil reserves and cancel Iraq’s debt to Kuwait. Not only did Iraq want to get their hands on the oil in Kuwait, but Kuwait had also refused to cancel Iraq’s war debts to them. This war was just because nations involved tried to solve the conflict peacefully and it could have had large economic effects.

On August 7, 1990, President George H. W. Bush ordered operation Desert Shield to start. This also signifies the beginning of the United State’s involvement in the first Persian Gulf war. The U.S. got involved because we believed that there was an immediate threat to Saudi Arabia which was, not only the world's largest producer and exporter of oil, but also an ally to the U.S. Operation Desert Shield placed 500,000 Americans in Saudi Arabia to ensure that Iraq did not end up controlling one fifth of the world’s oil supply. Democrats first brought the sanctions resolution to congress, suggesting that the U.S. to rely on economic sanctions instead of using force. This resolution was rejected in both the senate with a vote of 53 to 46 and in the house with a vote of 250 to 183. When the idea of the U.S. going to war was brought to congress, the senate adopted it 52 to 47 and the house agreed voting 250 to 183. This was congress's most explicit authorization of war since the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in 1964. This decision also stood out because it was the narrowest margin in the Senate’s votes since the War of 1812. Congress encouraged the President to start with a massive airstrike against Iraq and use everything short of nuclear weapons.

During this war, Resolutions 660-678 were put into place. The main ones were 660, 661, and 678. Resolution 660 demanded that Iraq immediately withdraw from Kuwait. Resolution 661 imposed economic sanctions. Resolution 678 established the United Nations Special Commision (UNSCOM) to inspect Iraq’s suspected chemical and biological weapons capabilities. The U.S. mainly used these resolutions to remove Iraq from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia without necessarily starting a war. Resolution 661 made it so that America could prevent imports from, the sale of weapons and military weapons to, and the availability of funds and financial resources to either Iraq or Kuwait.

The governments of the world interpreted these resolutions exactly as they were meant to be interpreted. They were a way to remove Iraq from Kuwait. To the U.S. however, they were somewhat of an excuse to retrieve the chemical weapons that they gave to Iraq during the Cold War. The way it was applied to the situation was justified. The multiple resolutions were warnings being sent to Iraq to let them know that if they didn’t remove themselves from Kuwait, we’d have no choice but to do it forcefully. Iraq, however, ignored the resolutions for the most part, so a war did break out in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The resolutions did manage to remove some of the chemical weapons and advanced war machines from Iraq, as well as cut off military funding from other countries.

The United State’s involvement in this war was justified. America did what needed to be done to prevent Iraq from gaining control over one fifth of the world’s oil supply. Iraq’s intentions once in possession of the oil was unknown, so the economical effects were also unknown and possibly very problematic. Iraq received many warnings in the form of the resolutions and even attended the vote for Resolution 661 but chose to ignore them anyway. One unjust part of this war was the number of Iraqi civilians that were killed during the war, but civilian deaths are an unavoidable part of any war. All in all, the methods used were effective. The real fighting only lasted a month before Iraq agreed to a cease-fire after losing large numbers of their troops.

References:

Citino, Robert. "Technology in the Persian Gulf War of 1991." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2016.

Fritz, Sara, and Wiiliam J. Eaton. "Congress Authorizes Gulf War : Historic Act: The Vote in Both Houses, Supporting Bush and Freeing Troops to Attack Iraq, Is Decisive and Bipartisan. It Is the Strongest Move since Tonkin Gulf." Congress Authorizes Gulf War. Los Angeles Times, 1991. Web. 14 May 2016.
United States. Resolution 660 (1990). New York: UN, 1990. Print.

"The Gulf War, 1991." Milestones: 1989–1992. United States Department of State, n.d. Web. 14 May 2016.

United Nations. Resolution 660 (1990). New York: UN, 1990. Prin

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. "Persian Gulf Wars." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Persian Gulf War." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.

"Operation Desert Storm." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.