ABSTRACT
Introduction In August 1990, Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait, leading to immediate international condemnation and the rapid formation of an international coalition. This was sufficient to be capable of taking military action to evict the Iraqi forces from Kuwait should diplomatic negotiations fail. Some forces were moved into Saudi Arabia and other western Gulf states almost at once, partly to forestall any Iraqi moves into Saudi Arabia, and US naval forces began to gather in force in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea within a month. Between early September and late December 1990, a force of nearly 600,000 troops and over 1,000 aircraft was amassed, mostly in Saudi Arabia but also on ships at sea.
