Editing Gulf War (section)

===Military means===
{{Anchor|Operation Desert Shield}}
{{Redirect|Operation Desert Shield|the 2006 operation by the Iraqi insurgency|Operation Desert Shield (2006)}}
[[File:Multiple F-15E parked during Operation Desert Shield.jpg|thumb|American F-15Es parked in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield]]

One of the main concerns in the Western world was the significant threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia. Following Kuwait's conquest, the Iraqi Army was within easy striking distance of Saudi [[oil field]]s. Control of these fields, along with Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves, would have given Saddam control over the majority of the world's oil reserves. Iraq also had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had lent Iraq 26&nbsp;billion dollars during its war with Iran. The Saudis had backed Iraq in that war, as they feared the influence of [[Shia Islam|Shia]] Iran's [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic revolution]] on its own Shia minority. After the war, Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by fighting Iran.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, Saddam began verbally attacking the Saudis. He argued that the US-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]. He combined the language of the [[Islamism|Islamist]] groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis.<ref>[[Gilles Kepel]] ''Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam.''</ref>

Acting on the [[Carter Doctrine]] policy, and out of fear the Iraqi Army could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia, US President George H. W. Bush quickly announced that the US would launch a "wholly defensive" mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia, under the codename Operation Desert Shield. The operation began on 7 August 1990, when US troops were sent to Saudi Arabia, due also to the request of its monarch, [[King Fahd]], who had earlier called for US military assistance.<ref name="AFPS Timeline">{{cite web|title=The Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm Timeline |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2000/n08082000_20008088.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526135240/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=45404 |archive-date=26 May 2008 |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref> This "wholly defensive" doctrine was quickly abandoned when, on 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait to be Iraq's 19th province and Saddam named his cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, as its military-governor.<ref name=AFPS15years>{{cite web|title=15 Years After Desert Storm, U.S. Commitment to Region Continues |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=14792 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608084842/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=14792|archive-date=2011-06-08|access-date=29 March 2007}}</ref>

[[File:M3 Bradley Operation Desert Shield.JPEG|thumb|right|M3 Bradleys of L Troop, 3rd ACR, stand in line at a holding area during the build-up to Operation Desert Shield.]]
The [[United States Navy|US Navy]] dispatched two naval battle groups built around the [[aircraft carriers]] [[USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)|USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower'']] and [[USS Independence (CV-62)|USS ''Independence'']] to the Persian Gulf, where they were ready by 8 August. The US also sent the battleships [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']] and [[USS Wisconsin (BB-64)|USS ''Wisconsin'']] to the region. A total of 48 US Air Force F-15s from the [[1st Fighter Wing]] at [[Langley Air Force Base]], Virginia, landed in Saudi Arabia and immediately commenced round-the-clock air patrols of the Saudi–Kuwait–Iraq border to discourage further Iraqi military advances. They were joined by 36 F-15 A-Ds from the [[36th Wing|36th Tactical Fighter Wing]] at [[Bitburg, Germany]]. The Bitburg contingent was based at [[Al Kharj Air Base]], approximately an hour south east of Riyadh. The 36th TFW would be responsible for 11 confirmed Iraqi Air Force aircraft shot down during the war. Two Air National Guard units were stationed at Al Kharj Air Base, the [[South Carolina Air National Guard]]'s 169th Fighter Wing flew bombing missions with 24 F-16s flying 2,000 combat missions and dropping {{convert|4000000|lb|kg t|spell=in|abbr=off|sp=us}} of munitions, and the [[New York Air National Guard]]'s 174th Fighter Wing from [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] flew 24 F-16s on bombing missions. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching 543,000 troops, twice the number used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via [[Fast Sealift Ship|fast sealift ships]], allowing a quick buildup. As part of the buildup, amphibious exercises were carried out in the Gulf, including Operation Imminent Thunder, which involved the [[USS&nbsp;Midway&nbsp;(CV-41)|USS ''Midway'']] and 15 other ships, 1,100 aircraft, and a thousand Marines.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S., Saudi Forces Start 'Imminent Thunder' Exercise in Gulf|url=https://apnews.com/article/b725461875b6227b7757a809c1ed4a3e|access-date=2021-05-20|website=AP NEWS}}</ref> In a press conference, General Schwarzkopf stated that these exercises were intended to deceive the Iraqi forces, forcing them to continue their defense of the Kuwaiti coastline.<ref>{{Cite AV media|title=Gen. Schwarzkopf's Famed News Conference| date=29 December 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKi3NwLFkX4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901232144/https://youtube.com/watch?v=wKi3NwLFkX4 | archive-date=2021-09-01 | via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2021-05-20}}</ref>