1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
Federal News Network presents a daily update of important moments in the history of the U.S. government.
On Aug. 7, 1990, President George H.W. Bush ordered the organization of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2. The order prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. To support Operation Desert Shield, Bush authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. troops and resources in the Persian Gulf. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and hard-line Iraqi nationalists had always believed Kuwait should be part of Iraq, but acquiring control of Kuwait’s oil fields was Hussein’s primary interest. It also represented a strategic military objective should Iraq be forced into a war with its western-friendly Arab neighbors. When Iraqi ground forces entered Kuwait, Bush vowed to help Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. On Nov. 29 the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of “all means necessary” to remove Hussein’s forces from Kuwait, giving Iraq the deadline of midnight on Jan. 16, 1991, to leave or risk forcible removal. After negotiations between U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Iraq’s foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, failed, Congress authorized Bush to use American troops in the coming conflict.
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