"The U.S. Military Has Been Engaged In Iraq For 30 Years Now" Topic

"August 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of Iraq's infamous invasion of Kuwait. It also marks 30 years since the U.S. military begun its involvement in Iraq. That involvement has lasted, in one form or another, almost continuously to this day.

On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein launched his invasion of Kuwait and conquered the tiny oil-rich sheikdom in a highly effective two-day operation. By doing so, he rapidly turned the United States and most of the world against him.

The George H.W. Bush administration promptly established a multinational coalition consisting of 35 countries. It launched Operation Desert Shield, a military build-up in Saudi Arabia primarily aimed at protecting that kingdom from any potential Iraqi attack…"

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Amicalement
Armand

And a good time has been had by all.

Wow. I didn't realize it's been that long.

On August 2, 1990 I was brand new 2nd Lieutenant just starting pilot training. Someone mentioned that Kuwait had been invaded and most of us thought, ‘where's that?'. By the time we finished our training the war was over.

It's a real shame, because just prior to that date, the world was celebrating the end of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall had come down and there was a real feeling of an optimistic future.

USAFPilot, what birds did you fly?

C-141 Starlifter, flew it all over the world. Even had a mission to Australia, supported the NASA station in Alice Springs.

Flew the T-38 Talon in training; which was a real joy to fly especially in formation.

Very cool! So you never transitioned to C-17s?

No. I had the opportunity to do so but decided to leave active duty and pursue a civilian flying career. A few years later I returned to the service on a part time status in the reserve component working in command & control.

Time to pull the plug on the sand box!

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Picture no Desert Storm, picture Saddam still in control. Gassing anyone he didn't like. Picture Gaddaffi still the main man in Libya, Picture the Taliban still Top Dog in A-Stan. Picture Israel being invaded again by a resilient and empowered coalition of Arab nations.

Had the US not kicked ass in '91 and even in '03 it's defininely not guaranteed we woulda seen a better version of the middle east or the world.

'91 was necessary. I'd argue that had the coalition concentrated on Afghanistan, there might have been a better result.

"picture Saddam still in control. Gassing anyone he didn't like"

The US wars in Iraq caused (directly/indirectly) the death of around 400'000-700'000 human being in Iraq (and the annihilation of the remaining christian there)… not sure that's a total positive for the people of the area

BTW Israel has nuclear weapon since mid 70s, so we can safely assume that no country will go over a conventional war with them.

Hussein in power = better than broken country with a large chunk under Iranian influence.

Gaddafhi in power = better than failed state torn apart by civil war.

Afghanistan – Sucks regardless of who is on power.

Also without pointless invasion of Iraq we wouldn't have had rise of Sarah, destruction of Syria, empowerment of Iran, expansion of Russian power on region etc etc.

Basically Uncle Sam made a huge mistake in 2003.

US and UK made mistakes back in 1953 with coup of Iran's democratically elected president. Cause and effect in the M.E. has been playing out ever since.

Agree about Gaddafhi, he was no longer a threat to the world, should have left Libya alone.

Hussein was a thug, but he was contained after GW1. Probably should have left him alone in Iraq which served as a counterbalance to Iran.

A-Stan appears to be a black hole.

Hindsight, its a wonderful thing!