Operation Desert Storm: 25 Years Since the First Gulf War

On January 16, 1991, President George H. W. Bush announced the start of what would be called Operation Desert Storm—a military operation to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait, which Iraq had invaded and annexed months earlier. For weeks, a U.S.-led coalition of two dozen nations had positioned more than 900,000 troops in the region, most stationed on the Saudi-Iraq border. A U.N.-declared deadline for withdrawal passed on January 15, with no action from Iraq, so coalition forces began a five-week bombardment of Iraqi command and control targets from air and sea. Despite widespread fears that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might order the use of chemical weapons, a ground invasion followed in February. Coalition forces swiftly drove Iraq from Kuwait, advancing into Iraq, and reaching a cease-fire within 100 hours—controversially leaving Saddam Hussein in power. While coalition casualties were in the hundreds, Iraqi losses numbered in the tens of thousands.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • AFP / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Burning Bull, Blue Forest, Olympic Flame

    Eid al-Fitr prayers in India, trophy winners at the Boston Marathon, the burning of a historic building in Denmark, a joyous water festival in Thailand, and much more

  • Adem Altan / Agence France-Presse

    Winners of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest

    Some of the winning and honored entries in this year’s annual photo competition

  • Hulton Archive / Getty

    The Bicycles of World War II

    Images of some of the many ways people put bicycles to use during the Second World War

  • Emma McIntyre / Getty for Coachella

    Scenes From Coachella 2024

    Images of this year’s performances and concertgoers during the first weekend of Coachella 2024