This encyclopedia provides a rich historical account of the Persian Gulf War, examining the conflict from a holistic perspective that addresses the details of the military operations as well as the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of the war.

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Preface
• Overview of the Persian Gulf War
• A–Z Entries
• A
• A-10 Thunderbolt II
• Abrams Main Battle Tanks
• AGM-65 Maverick Missile
• AGM-88 High Speed Antiradiation Missile
• AGM-114A Hellfire Missile
• AH-1W SuperCobra Attack Helicopter
• AH-64A Apache Helicopter
• Ahmad al-Jabburi al-Tai, Hashim (1944–)
• AIM-7 Sparrow Missile
• AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile
• AIM-54 Phoenix Missile
• Airborne Warning and Control System
• Aircraft Carriers, Coalition
• Aircraft Carriers, U.S.
• AirLand Battle Doctrine
• Amariyah Bunker or Shelter Bombing (February 13, 1991)
• Amphibious Assault Ships, U.S.
• Amphibious Command Ships, U.S.
• Amphibious Transport Docks, U.S.
• Antiaircraft Artillery
• Antiaircraft Missiles, Iraqi
• Antiradiation Missiles, U.S. and Coalition
• Antitank Weapons
• Antiwar Movements, Persian Gulf War
• Apache Helicopter
• Arab League
• Armored Warfare, Doctrine and Practice
• Arthur, Stanley (1935–)
• Artillery
• Artillery, Antiaircraft
• artimon, Operation
• Assad, Hafez al- (1930–2000)
• Australia
• AV-8B Harrier II
• Aziz, Tariq (1936–)
• Aziz-Baker Meeting
• B
• B-52 Stratofortress
• Baath Party
• Bahrain
• Baker, James Addison, III (1930–)
• Baker-Aziz Meeting (January 9, 1991)
• Bakr, Ahmad Hassan al- (1914–1982)
• Bandar bin Sultan, Prince (1949–)
• Battleships, U.S.
• Bazoft, Farzad (1958–1990)
• Bell AH-1 Cobra and AH-1W SuperCobra Attack Helicopters
• Billière, Sir Peter Edgar de la Cour de la
• Biological Weapons Program, Iraqi
• Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B Light Bomber
• BLU-82/B “Daisy Cutter” Bomb
• Blue-on-Blue Incidents
• BMP-1 and BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles
• Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
• Boeing E-3 Sentry
• Bombs, Precision-Guided
• Bombs, Unguided
• Boomer, Walter (1938–)
• Bradley Infantry Fighting and Cavalry Fighting Vehicles
• Britain
• British Army
• BTR-50 and BTR-60 Armored Personnel Carriers
• Būbiyān Island, Battle of (January 29–30, 1991)
• Burqan, Battle of (February 25, 1991)
• Busayyah, Battle of (February 26, 1991)
• Bush, George Herbert Walker (1924–)
• C
• C-5A/B Galaxy
• C-130 Hercules
• C-141 Starlifter
• Canada
• Casualties, Operation desert storm
• Cease-Fire Agreement, First (March 3, 1991)
• Cease-Fire Agreement, Second (April 6, 1991)
• Challenger I Main Battle Tank
• Chemical Ali
• Chemical Weapons and Warfare
• Cheney, Richard Bruce (1941–)
• Cluster Bombs
• Coalition Air Forces
• Coalition Ground Forces
• Coalition Nations
• Coalition Naval Forces
• Combined-Effects Munitions
• Cornum, Rhonda (1954–)
• Cruise Missiles, U.S.
• Cruisers, U.S.
• Czechoslovakia
• D
• daguet, Operation
• “Daisy Cutter” Bomb
• Dassault Mirage 2000
• Dassault Mirage F1EQ
• de la Billière, Sir Peter Edgar de la Cour (1934–)
• Dellums et al. v. Bush
• Denmark
• Department of Defense Reform Act of 1986
• desert shield, Operation (August 7, 1990–January 16, 1991)
• desert storm, Operation, Air Campaign (January 17, 1991–February 28, 1991)
• desert storm, Operation, Ground Campaign (February 24–28, 1991)
• desert storm, Operation, Naval Campaign (January 17–February 28, 1991)
• desert storm, Operation, Planning for
• Destroyers, Coalition
• Destroyers, U.S.
• Destroyer Tenders, U.S.
• Dhahran, Scud Missile Attack on (February 25, 1991)
• Dock Landing Ships, U.S. and Coalition
• Downing, Wayne Allan (1940–2007)
• Dumb Bombs
• E
• E-3 Sentry
• EA-6A Intruder and EA-6B Prowler
• Eberly, David William (1947–)
• Egypt
• Environmental Effects of the Persian Gulf War
• Europe and the Persian Gulf War
• Exocet Antiship Missile
• F
• F-4G Wild Weasel
• F-14 Tomcat
• F-15 Eagle
• F-16 Fighting Falcon
• F-111 Aardvark
• F-117 Nighthawk
• F/A-18 Hornet
• Fahd, King of Saudi Arabia (1922–2005)
• Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II
• Fast Combat Support Ships
• Faylaka Island Raid
• Field Army Ballistic Missile Defense System
• Flogger Fighter
• Fox M93 NBC Vehicle
• France
• Franks, Frederick Melvin, Jr. (1936–)
• Friendly Fire
• Frigates, Coalition
• Frigates, U.S.
• Fuchs M93 NBC Vehicle
• Fulcrum Fighter
• G
• GBU-10 Paveway II Laser-Guided Bomb
• GBU-28 Bunker-Buster Bomb
• General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
• General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
• Glaspie, April (1942–)
• Global Positioning System
• Glosson, Buster C. (1942–)
• Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986
• Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich (1931–)
• granby, Operation (August 9, 1990–March 1991)
• Gray, Alfred M., Jr. (1928–)
• Great Britain
• Greece
• Grumman A-6 Intruder, EA-6A Intruder, and EA-6B Prowler
• Grumman F-14 Tomcat
• Gulf Act of 1991
• Gulf Cooperation Council
• Gulf War Syndrome
• H
• Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck
• High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
• Honduras
• Horner, Charles (1936–)
• Hospital Ships
• Howell, Wilson Nathaniel (1939–)
• Hughes AH-64A Apache Helicopter
• Human Shields
• Hungary
• Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, Saddam (1937–2006)
• Hussein ibn Talal, King of Jordan (1935–1999)
• I
• imminent thunder, Operation (November 15–21, 1990)
• instant thunder, Plan (August 1990)
• International Emergency Economic Powers Act
• Iran
• Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988)
• Iraq
• Iraqi Air Defense System
• Iraqi Air Force
• Iraqi Army
• Iraqi Claims on Kuwait
• Iraqi Navy
• Iraq-Kuwait Diplomacy
• Iraq Sanctions Act of 1990
• Israel
• Italy
• ivory justice, Operation (July 24–August 1990)
• J
• Jaguar Aircraft
• Japan
• Jordan
• K
• KA-6D Tanker
• Kari Air Defense System
• Khafji, Battle of (January 29–February 1, 1991)
• Khalid ibn Sultan ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Saud, Prince (1949–)
• Korea, Republic of
• Kurds
• Kuwait
• Kuwait, Armed Forces
• Kuwait, Iraqi Claims on
• Kuwait, Iraqi Invasion and Conquest of (August 2–4, 1990)
• Kuwait, Iraqi Occupation of (August 2, 1990–February 27, 1991)
• Kuwait, Liberation of (February 27, 1991)
• Kuwait, Provisional Free Government of
• Kuwait-Iraq Diplomacy (July– August 1990)
• L
• Landing Craft Air Cushion Craft
• Land Remote-Sensing Satellite
• LCC Amphibious Command Ships, U.S.
• League of Arab States
• LHA Amphibious Assault Ships, U.S.
• Lockheed C-5A/B Galaxy
• Lockheed C-130 Hercules
• Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
• Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
• Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady
• Logistics
• Coalition
• Iraq
• LPD Amphibious Transport Docks, U.S.
• LPH Amphibious Assault Ships, U.S.
• Luck, Gary Edward (1937–)
• M
• M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks
• M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
• M60 Patton Main Battle Tank
• M61 Vulcan 20mm Auto Cannon
• M93 NBC Vehicle
• M109 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
• M113 Armored Personnel Carrier
• M117 General-Purpose Bomb
• M198 155mm Towed Howitzer
• M270 Multiple-Launch Rocket System
• M551 Sheridan Light Tank/Reconnaissance Vehicle
• M998 High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
• Mahmoud, Salah Aboud (c. 1950–)
• Majid al Tikriti, Ali Hassan al- (1941–2010)
• Major, Sir John Roy (1943–)
• Maritime Interception Operations
• Marsh Arabs
• Marshes
• Mauz, Henry H., Jr. (1936–)
• McCaffrey, Barry Richard (1942–)
• McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
• McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64A Apache Helicopter
• McDonnell Douglas F-4G Wild Weasel and RF-4C Phantom II
• McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
• McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
• Meals, Ready to Eat
• Media
• Medina Ridge, Battle of (February 27, 1991)
• Mi-24 Hind Helicopter
• MiG-21 Fishbed Fighter
• MiG-23 Fighter
• MiG-29 Fighter
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed Fighter
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Fighter
• Mikoyan MiG-29 Fighter
• Military Sealift Command
• Mil Mi-24 Hind Helicopter
• MIM-104 Patriot
• Minehunters
• Mines, Sea and Naval Mine Warfare
• Mines and Mine Warfare, Land
• Minesweepers and Minehunters
• Mirage 2000
• Mirage F1EQ
• Missiles, Antiaircraft, Iraqi
• Missiles, Antiradiation, U.S. and Coalition
• Missiles, Iraqi
• Mitterrand, François (1916–1996)
• Mk 80 General-Purpose Bomb Series
• Mk 117 Bomb
• “Mother of All Battles”
• Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni Said (1928–)
• Mutla Ridge
• N
• Napalm
• National Media Pool
• Naval Interdiction Campaign
• Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System
• New Zealand
• Night-Vision Imaging Systems
• Norfolk, Battle of (February 26–27, 1991)
• Norway
• O
• Oil Well Fires
• Oman
• Özal, Turgut (1927–1993)
• P
• Pagonis, William Gus (1942–)
• Panavia Tornado Fighter and Light Bomber
• Patton Main Battle Tank
• Paveway II Laser-Guided Bomb
• Pérez de Cuéllar, Javier (1920–)
• Persian Gulf
• Persian Gulf Conflict Supplemental Authorization and Personnel Benefits Act of 1991
• Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry
• Phalanx Close-In Weapon System
• Phase Line Bullet, Battle of (February 26, 1991)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Powell, Colin Luther (1937–)
• Prepositioning Program, Military Sealift Command
• Primakov, Yevgeni Maksimovich (1929–)
• Provisional Free Government of Kuwait
• Q
• Qasim, Abd al-Karim (1914–1963)
• Qatar
• R
• Reconnaissance Satellites
• Repair Ships, U.S.
• Republican Guard
• Revolutionary Command Council
• RF-4C Phantom II
• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy
• Rumaila Oil Field
• S
• Sabah, Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al- (1926–2006)
• Sabkhas
• Saddam Line
• Samitah Incident (December 1972–April 1973)
• San Remo Conference (April 19–26, 1920)
• Satellites, Use of by Coalition Forces
• Saudi Arabia
• Sazonov-Paléologue Agreement
• scathe mean, Operation (January 17, 1991)
• Schwarzkopf, H. Norman, Jr. (1934–2012)
• scorpion, Operation
• Scowcroft, Brent (1925–)
• Scud Short-Range Ballistic Missile System
• Sealift Ships
• SEAL Teams
• SEPECAT Jaguar Aircraft
• 73 Easting, Battle of (February 26, 1991)
• Sèvres, Treaty of
• Shamir, Yitzhak (1915–2012)
• Shatt al-Arab Waterway
• Sheridan Light Tank/Reconnaissance Vehicle
• Sidewinder Air-to-Air Missile
• Singapore
• Smart Bombs
• South Korea
• Soviet Union
• Spain
• Sparrow Air-to-Air Missile
• Special Air Service, British
• Special Boat Service, British
• SS-1 Scud Short-Range Ballistic Missile System
• Strategic Support and Supply Ships
• Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 Fitter
• Submarines
• Sukhoi Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 Fitter
• Support and Supply Ships, Strategic
• Surface-to-Air Missiles
• Sykes-Picot Agreement
• Syria
• T
• T-54 Main Battle Tank
• T-55 Main Battle Tank
• T-62 Main Battle Tank
• T-72 Main Battle Tank
• Tactical Air-Launched Decoys
• Taji Bunkers, Attacks on (January 17–February 27, 1991)
• Tank Landing Ships, U.S.
• task force normandy, Operation (January 17, 1991)
• Task Group 323.2
• tiger, Operation (December 1990)
• Tornado Fighter and Light Bomber
• Turkey
• Tuwaitha Nuclear Facility
• U
• U-2 Dragon Lady
• Unarmored Vehicles
• Underway Replenishment Ships
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United Kingdom, Air Force
• United Kingdom, Army
• United Kingdom, Navy
• United Nations Charter, Articles 41 and 42
• United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Commission
• United Nations Sanctions on Iraq
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 660
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 661
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 678
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 687
• United States Air Force
• United States Army
• United States Army Reserve
• United States Central Command
• United States Coast Guard
• United States Congress
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Marine Corps Reserve
• United States Middle East Policy
• United States National Guard
• United States Naval Reserve
• United States Navy
• United States Navy SEAL Teams
• United States Special Forces
• United States Transportation Command
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
• V
• Vehicles, Unarmored
• Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 1994
• Veterans Health Care Act of 1992
• Vietnam War Syndrome
• Vulcan 20mm Auto Cannon
• W
• Wadi al-Batin, Battle of (February 26, 1991)
• Waller, Calvin Augustine Hoffman (1936–1996)
• Warden, John Ashley, III (1943–)
• War Powers Act
• Warthog
• Women in the U.S. Military, Role in the Persian Gulf War
• Y
• Yeosock, John J. (1937–2012)
• Yuhanna, Michael
• Documents
• 1. President George H. W. Bush, Announcement of the Deployment of U.S. Armed Forces to Saudi Arabia for Operation desert shield, August 8, 1990 [Excerpt]
• 2. United Nations Resolutions on the Persian Gulf Crisis, Nos. 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, 677, 678, August–November 1990
• 3. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, “The Mother of All Battles” Speech, January 20, 1991
• 4. President George H. W. Bush, Address to the Nation on the Suspension of Allied Offensive Combat Operations in the Persian Gulf, February 27, 1991
• 5. Iraqi Letters of Capitulation to the United Nations, February 27, 1991
• 6. Cease-Fire Order to Iraqi Troops, February 28, 1991
• 7. Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, Letter to the United Nations Secretary-General and Security Council President, March 3, 1991
• Glossary
• Chronology
• Bibliography
• Contributor List
• Categorical Index