Operation Desert Storm

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Persian Gulf War: burning oil wells

Operation Desert Storm

Middle Eastern history

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June 25, 2026

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Persian Gulf War: burning oil wells — Persian Gulf War: burning oil wells A U.S. F-14 flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells set alight by retreating Iraqi troops during Operation Desert Storm, August 1, 1991.

Operation Desert Storm was the U.S.-led air campaign that began the Persian Gulf War on January 17–18, 1991. The operation's primary objectives were to establish air supremacy, destroy strategic targets, and degrade Iraqi ground forces. This sustained aerial bombardment targeted Iraq's air defenses, communications, government buildings, and military infrastructure.12

Following the air campaign, the ground offensive, known as Operation Desert Sabre, commenced on February 24, 1991. This swift maneuver involved flanking Iraqi forces, leading to their collapse and surrender by February 28, 1991, after just 100 hours. The coalition's superior military technology and strategy resulted in significant Iraqi equipment losses and the effective destruction of many Iraqi divisions.3

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Persian Gulf War
Operation Desert Storm
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander in chief of U.S. Central Command(CENTCOM), directed the coalition military campaign, and his staff had devised a two-part operation that was designed to wear down Iraqi defenses before rapidly enveloping…
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Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander in chief of U.S. Central Command(CENTCOM), directed the coalition military campaign, and his staff had devised a two-part operation that was designed to wear down Iraqi defenses before rapidly enveloping…
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25th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm
…in Iraq, commencing a campaign—code-named Operation Desert Storm—that sought to force Iraq to end its occupation of Kuwait, which it had invaded in August of 1990. The Iraqi military, helpless against the coalition’s superior technology, was only able to mount sporadic resistance. The offensive continued for five weeks, battering Iraq’s…
Read More
…in Iraq, commencing a campaign—code-named Operation Desert Storm—that sought to force Iraq to end its occupation of Kuwait, which it had invaded in August of 1990. The Iraqi military, helpless against the coalition’s superior technology, was only able to mount sporadic resistance. The offensive continued for five weeks, battering Iraq’s…
Read More

CENTCOM
…the United States and Iraq—Operation Desert Storm (1991) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–11)—the Afghanistan War (2001–14), and the Iran conflict (2026).
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…the United States and Iraq—Operation Desert Storm (1991) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–11)—the Afghanistan War (2001–14), and the Iran conflict (2026).
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20th-century international relations
UN coalition and ultimatum
…Operation Desert Shield had become Operation Desert Storm and that the liberation of Kuwait had begun. He was not starting a war—the war, he reminded the world, had been started by Iraq the previous August—but he was launching the counterattack to drive back the aggressor. Hundreds of U.S. bombers, augmented…
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…Operation Desert Shield had become Operation Desert Storm and that the liberation of Kuwait had begun. He was not starting a war—the war, he reminded the world, had been started by Iraq the previous August—but he was launching the counterattack to drive back the aggressor. Hundreds of U.S. bombers, augmented…
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Norman Schwarzkopf
Army officer who commanded Operation Desert Storm, the American-led military action that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation during the Persian Gulf War (1991).
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Army officer who commanded Operation Desert Storm, the American-led military action that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation during the Persian Gulf War (1991).
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Tomahawk
…Gulf War as part of Operation Desert Storm, where they destroyed hardened targets (such as surface-to-air missile sites, command-and-control centres, the Iraqi presidential palace in Baghdad, and electrical power plants). The Persian Gulf War also saw the first coordinated Tomahawk and manned-aircraft strike in history. Tomahawks were subsequently used extensively…
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…Gulf War as part of Operation Desert Storm, where they destroyed hardened targets (such as surface-to-air missile sites, command-and-control centres, the Iraqi presidential palace in Baghdad, and electrical power plants). The Persian Gulf War also saw the first coordinated Tomahawk and manned-aircraft strike in history. Tomahawks were subsequently used extensively…
Read More