Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012
THEN
On Jan. 12, 1991, after three days of tense debate, the U.S. Congress votes 250 to 183 to authorize the use of military force against Iraq if it does not meet the January 15 United Nations deadline to withdraw from Kuwait. The decision marks the first time Congress approves military action since the start of the Vietnam War in 1964. The vote comes more than five months after Iraq annexes Kuwait in a surprise invasion, which gives Saddam Hussein control over 20 percent of the world’s oil reserves. The day after the U.N. deadline expires, on Jan. 16, Operation Desert Storm is launched—a U.S.-led offensive joined by 32 countries including the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. After six weeks of intensive air strikes, during which Iraq’s meager defenses are pummeled, President George H. W. Bush declares a ceasefire.
NOW
Last month, the second war on Iraq officially ended with the withdrawal of the remaining American troops on Dec. 15, 2011. The invasion of Iraq was launched by President George W. Bush in March 2003 over accusations that Iraq had violated the terms of the 1991 peace by possessing of weapons of mass destruction. About 40 countries join the coalition, dubbed the “coalition of the willing.” However, U.S. and British troops make up the vast majority of the forces. In less than three weeks, Saddam’s regime falls, and the iconic statue of Saddam in Baghdad’s Firdos Square is literally toppled by Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops. Despite the apparent quick victory, an insurgency and sectarian violence force the U.S. into its most prolonged conflict since the Vietnam War.
