The Time of Desert Storm

When did Desert Storm take place?

Desert Storm lasted 8 months, from August to March, of 1990-1991. It all started on the 17th of July, 1990, when Sadam Hussein accused Kuwait of stealing from Iraq's oil fields. On August 2nd, war was declared when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, later that day, Hussein was ordered to withdraw by the United Nations; he did not. six days later on the 8th, Iraq annexed Kuwait, it was declared an invalid annex by the UN the next day. On January 16th, 1991, the U.S. government made the first statement about Operation Desert Storm. January 17th, at 2:38 a.m., the air war began with U.S. planes attaking Baghdad, Kuwait, and other military targets in Iraq. January 30th, U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf exceeded 500,000 which included troops, planes, and ships. February 23th, the Army, Marines, and Arab ground forces advanced on Iraq and Kuwait. February 26th, Kuwaiti resistance leaders announced they had control over Kuwait City, the next day President Bush issued a ceasefire on Iraq. March 3rd, Iraqi leaders formally accepted the terms of the ceasefire, 10 allied POW's were realeased the next day. U.S. forces came home March 8th, the war was over. On January 16th, when the government first made a statement about Operation Desert Storm, Marlin Fitzwater announced "The liberation of Kuwait has begun..."