Desert Storm Facts

You may have come across plenty of information relating to Desert Storm that is a matter of opinion. That is common with any such event as you always have may sides of the story. Not everyone supports war efforts and not everyone is completely opposed to it. There are some facts though about Desert Storm that can help you decide for yourself if it was something worth investing military efforts in.

Many people still aren’t sure what Desert Storm was all about. It was due to the efforts of Iraq invading Kuwait. This was under the direct orders of Saddam Hussein. The United States along with other countries under the direction of the United Nations came in to give Kuwait their freedom from Iraq.

The war was over in about six months due to the advanced weapons and tactics of the United States and their allies. Many have wondered why the United States took such an interest in this particular battle. It is due to the fact that they were worried about Saudi Arabia being next. Since this is the main place we get our oil supply from it was necessary to show Iraq that this was not going to be allowed.

As with any war there is always questions about the number of casualties. For the United States, there were very few lives lost. Yet many would argue that even one life lost in such a war is too many. 280 United States soldiers were killed during the short span of time for the Desert Storm war. More than 450 of them were injured with many making a full recovery with the right medical care. Still, it is believed that thousands of these soldiers suffered from mental changes due to their efforts in Desert Storm.

The numbers for Iraq are far more devastating. Depending on which side of the war efforts you are on you may not have given that much thought. While the exact number of Iraq soldiers killed is not known, it is estimated at more than 100,000. Another 300,000 were believed to be injured. Due to poor medical care available there though it isn’t known how many of these soldiers ended up succumbing to death from their injuries.