ABSTRACT
Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990 ended in a military rout. On 27 February 1991, President George HW Bush addressed the nation, announcing, “Kuwait is liberated. Iraq’s army is defeated. Our military objectives are met.” Three days after the speech, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 686, which set the terms for the ceasefire negotiations. Over the course of the next month, the UN Security Council worked on a subsequent resolution, eventually passing Resolution 687 on 3 April 1991. On 7 April, President Bush declared that no Iraqi aircraft of any kind would be allowed to fly north of the 36th parallel. This declaration was the beginning of what would be a nearly twelve-year enforcement of the northern Iraqi no fly zone. Iraq was the first attempt in history to impose no fly zones, and the two zones created in Iraq are the most straightforward and most easily applied to date.
