Persian Gulf War

Persian Gulf War

Introduction:

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. Alarmed by these actions, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991 and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28; by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled.

Contents:

Consequences of the Persian Gulf War

People

The Gulf War caused a lot of physical and emotional distress to the war veterans. The soldiers, who participated in the Gulf War, display some unique characteristics, which are commonly referred to as "Gulf War illness". Chronic fatigue, moodiness, depression, sleeping problems, muscle and joint pains; these are some of the symptoms of the "Gulf illness" which according to researches, approximately 2, 63,000 soldiers have displayed till date.

The war had a huge impact on the common people too. Thousands of people were killed, thousands were injured and many were taken as war prisoners. Women were raped in the midst of the war and had to bear many atrocities.

Environment

During the war, approximately eleven million barrels of oil was released into the Arabian Gulf. It is estimated that as many as eighty ships carrying oil and weapons were sunk into the Arabian Gulf. This disturbed the entire ecosystem, destroying marine life to a large extent. Migratory birds were killed and many marine turtles lost their lives or developed lesions. The land where the war took place became infertile, as the desert vegetation was trampled upon by heavy artillery. Due to accumulation of solid wastes, groundwater contamination took place on a large scale.

The atmosphere was the worst affected. There was huge air pollution caused by the fire and smoke, produced by explosives and chemical weapons. Moreover, when Iraqis were evicted from Kuwait, they burned approximately six hundred oil wells. The pollution caused due to this barbarous act has left a huge impact on the environment and weather of the entire planet.

Economy

As for the economic effects, Iraq was the major sufferer. It not only suffered losses in military equipment but in its infrastructure as well, which will take years and billions of dollars to rebuild. Similarly, both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia suffered some infrastructural losses,

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