Iraqi Wars

Saddam Hussein became leader of Iraq and he invaded Iran in 1980. Iran - Iraq War Iran and Iraq had argued over the land for a long time. This land had lots of oil and both countries wanted it. Saddam Hussein became leader of Iraq and he invaded Iran in 1980.

Iran - Iraq War The war lasted 8 years. As many as 1 million people died. Child soldiers as young as 11 and 12. Neither side could gain a clear victory. In 1988, both sides signed a cease-fire agreement created by the UN.

Iran - Iraq War Support for the war. To Iraq To Iran To both

Persian Gulf War Still wanting to gain more land and oil, two years after the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq invaded another country in 1990. They invaded the small country of Kuwait. UN imposed a trade embargo to prevent Iraq from importing goods or exporting oil. The embargo took away most of Iraq’s income, but Saddam kept fighting.

Operation Desert Shield Persian Gulf War Operation Desert Shield International armed forces gathered in Persian Gulf, hoping their presence would convince Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. He still refused to leave. On Jan. 15, 1991, the armed forces began an air strike on Iraq, thus Operation Desert Shield now became Operation Desert Storm. This air attack lasted for 40 days and 40 nights. On Feb. 23, 1991, the ground attack began after Hussein again refused to leave Kuwait. This ground attack lasted 100 hours. Finally, Saddam surrendered. Iraq pulled troops out of Kuwait, but Saddam remained in power. As the Iraqi forces pulled out, they set on fire 600 of Kuwait’s oil fields, fires which burned for 8 months!

Fighting continues in Iraq After the September 11 attacks on the US, President Bush decided to begin a military campaign called the “War on Terror”. His intentions were to stop all forms of terrorist attacks and the people that were responsible. Information led the US to believe that Iraq had dangerous weapons and the US decided to invade Iraq to get rid of these weapons. The UN was not involved in this attack, but the US gained support mainly from Britain and Australia. Saddam Hussein was captured, put on trial, found guilty and sentenced to death. Today, US military is still in Iraq to help the country transition from a dictatorship to a democracy.