Editing Gulf War (section)

==Invasion of Kuwait==
[[File:Iraqi T-72 tanks.jpg|thumb|[[Lion of Babylon (tank)|Lion of Babylon]] main battle tanks, common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War by the [[Iraqi Armed Forces|Iraqi Army]].]]
{{Main|Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|Timeline of the Gulf War (1990–1991)}}

The result of the Jeddah talks was an Iraqi demand for $10&nbsp;billion<ref name="AFPS Timeline" /> to cover the lost revenues from Rumaila; Kuwait offered $500&nbsp;million.<ref name="AFPS Timeline" /> The Iraqi response was to immediately order an invasion,{{sfnp|Finlan|2003|p=26}} which started on 2 August 1990<ref name="s21423">{{cite news |last1=Abulhasan |first1=Mohammad A. |date=2 August 1990 |title=Letter dated 2 August 1990 from the Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council |work=S/21423 |publisher=United Nations OFFICIAL DOCUMENT SYSTEM |url=https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N90/178/84/img/N9017884.pdf?OpenElement |access-date=7 March 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307153614/https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N90/178/84/img/N9017884.pdf?OpenElement |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the bombing of Kuwait's capital, [[Kuwait City]].

Before the invasion, the [[Military of Kuwait|Kuwaiti military]] was believed to have numbered 16,000 men, arranged into three armored, one mechanized infantry and one under-strength artillery brigade.<ref name="loccs">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kw0058) |title=Kuwait: Organization and Mission of the Forces |publisher=Library of Congress Country Studies |access-date=14 April 2012}}</ref> The pre-war strength of the [[Kuwait Air Force]] was around 2,200 Kuwaiti personnel, with 80 fixed-wing aircraft and 40 helicopters.<ref name="loccs" /> In spite of Iraqi [[saber rattling]], Kuwait did not mobilize its force; the army had been stood-down on 19 July,{{sfnp|Finlan|2003|p=25}} and during the Iraqi invasion many Kuwaiti military personnel were on leave.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

By 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq war, the Iraqi Army was the world's fourth largest army, consisting of 955,000 standing soldiers and 650,000 paramilitary forces in the Popular Army. According to John Childs and André Corvisier, a low estimate shows the Iraqi Army capable of fielding 4,500 tanks, 484 combat aircraft and 232 combat helicopters.<ref name="MilSize">{{cite book |author1=Childs, John |author2=Corvisier, André |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nEQ7FUAdmc8C&pg=PA403 403] |title=A Dictionary of Military History and the Art of War |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-631-16848-5}}</ref> According to Michael Knights, a high estimate shows the Iraqi Army capable of fielding one million troops and 850,000 reservists, 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces, 700 combat aircraft and helicopters; it held 53 divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several regional militias, and had a strong air defense.<ref name="Knights-2005"/>

[[File:Kuwaiti main battle tanks.JPEG|thumb|left|Kuwaiti Armed Forces [[M-84]] [[main battle tank]]s]]
Iraqi commandos infiltrated the Kuwaiti border first to prepare for the major units, which began the attack at midnight. The Iraqi attack had two prongs, with the primary attack force driving south straight for Kuwait City down the main highway, and a supporting attack force entering Kuwait farther west, but then turning and driving east, cutting off Kuwait City from the country's southern half. The commander of a Kuwaiti armored battalion, 35th Armoured [[Brigade]], deployed them against the Iraqi attack and conducted a robust defense at the [[Battle of the Bridges]] near [[Al Jahra]], west of Kuwait City.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dan Vaught |url=http://users.lighthouse.net/danvaught/eyewitness01.html |title=Eyewitness, Col. Fred Hart 1 |publisher=Users.lighthouse.net |access-date=1 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818141800/http://users.lighthouse.net/danvaught/eyewitness01.html |archive-date=18 August 2009 }}</ref>

Kuwaiti aircraft [[scrambling (military)|scrambled]] to meet the invading force, but approximately 20% were lost or captured. A few combat sorties were flown against Iraqi ground forces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Tom |last2=Sadik |first2=Ahmad |title=Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait; 1990 |date=16 September 2003 |journal=Air Combat Information Group |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_213.shtml |access-date=17 April 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006231817/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_213.shtml |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref>

The main Iraqi thrust into Kuwait City was conducted by [[commando]]s deployed by helicopters and boats to attack the city from the sea, while other divisions seized the airports and two [[airbase]]s. The Iraqis [[Battle of Dasman Palace|attacked the Dasman Palace]], the Royal Residence of [[List of emirs of Kuwait|Kuwait's Emir]], [[Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]], which was defended by the Emiri Guard supported with [[M-84]] tanks. In the process, the Iraqis killed [[Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah]], the Emir's youngest brother.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Within 12 hours, most resistance had ended within Kuwait, and the royal family had fled, allowing Iraq to control most of Kuwait.{{sfnp|Finlan|2003|p=26}} After two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti military were either overrun by the [[Iraqi Republican Guard]], or had escaped to Saudi Arabia. The Emir and key ministers fled south along the highway for refuge in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi ground forces consolidated their control of Kuwait City, then headed south and redeployed along the Saudi border. After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam initially installed a puppet regime known as the "[[Republic of Kuwait|Provisional Government of Free Kuwait]]" before installing his cousin [[Ali Hassan al-Majid]] as Kuwait's governor on 8 August.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

[[File:Iraqi Model 214ST SuperTransport helicopter, 1991.JPEG|thumb|An [[Iraqi Air Force]] [[Bell 214ST]] [[Military transport aircraft|transport helicopter]], after being captured by a US Marine Corps unit at the start of the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm]]
After the invasion, the Iraqi military looted over $1 billion in banknotes from Kuwait's Central Bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/09/07/Iraqis-loot-Kuwaits-central-bank-of-gold-cash/4632652680000/|title=Iraqis loot Kuwait's central bank of gold, cash|website=UPI}}</ref> At the same time, Saddam Hussein made the Kuwaiti dinar equal to the Iraqi dinar, thereby lowering the Kuwaiti currency to one-twelfth of its original value. In response, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah ruled the banknotes as invalid and refused to reimburse stolen notes, which became worthless because of a UN embargo. After the conflict ended, many of the stolen banknotes made their way back into circulation. The stolen banknotes are a collectible for [[numismatist]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pmgnotes.com/news/article/6160/The-Stolen-Dinars-of-Kuwait/#fn1|title=The Stolen Dinars of Kuwait – PMG|website=www.pmgnotes.com}}</ref>

===Kuwaiti resistance movement===
Kuwaitis founded a local armed resistance movement following the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.<ref name=sh>{{cite web|url=http://www.netanya.ac.il/ResearchCen/StrategicDialogue/AcademicPub/Documents/IRAN%20STUDY%20book-full.pdf|title=Iran, Israel and the Shi'ite Crescent|work=S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue|pages=14–15|access-date=5 March 2014|archive-date=6 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106055548/http://www.netanya.ac.il/ResearchCen/StrategicDialogue/AcademicPub/Documents/IRAN%20STUDY%20book-full.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/1022103 |title=Saddam's Security Apparatus During the Invasion of Kuwait and the Kuwaiti Resistance |journal=The Journal of Intelligence History |date=Winter 2003 |pages=74–75|last1=Al-Marashi |first1=Ibrahim |volume=3 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/16161262.2003.10555087 |s2cid=157844796 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |title=Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait |work=Newcastle University |year=2010 |access-date=5 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019130212/https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2013 }}</ref> The {{ill|Kuwaiti Resistance|lt=Kuwaiti resistance's|ar|المقاومة الكويتية}} casualty rate far exceeded that of the coalition military forces and Western hostages.<ref name=resist/> The resistance predominantly consisted of ordinary citizens who lacked any form of training and supervision.<ref name=resist>{{cite journal |url=http://www.meforum.org/238/the-kuwaiti-resistance |title=The Kuwaiti Resistance |journal=[[Middle East Forum]] |date=March 1995|last1=Levins |first1=John M. }}</ref>