The Gulf War was fought to liberate Kuwait from Iraq. Iraq had invaded Kuwait to get control of 10 percent of the world's oil. With that, Saddam was in the position to invade the oil rich nation of Saudi Arabia, and get control of 20% of the world's oil. The human rights violations and the economic threat he posed in Kuwait were in direct violation of both "the Atlantic Charter", and "the Carter Doctrine" (20th Century Battlefields - Gulf).
Saddam looked towards Kuwait's oil as a way to pay Iraq's debt
(20th Century Battlefields - Gulf)
August 2nd 1990- Iraq Invades Kuwait
"At about 2 a.m. local time, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait, Iraq's tiny, oil-rich neighbor. Kuwait's defense forces were rapidly overwhelmed, and those that were not destroyed retreated to Saudi Arabia. The emir of Kuwait, his family, and other government leaders fled to Saudi Arabia, and within hours Kuwait City had been captured and the Iraqis had established a provincial government. By annexing Kuwait, Iraq gained control of 20 percent of the world's oil reserves and, for the first time, a substantial coastline on the Persian Gulf. The same day, the United Nations Security Council unanimously denounced the invasion and demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal from Kuwait."
("This Day in History-Iraq").
Foreign Leaders decided to stop Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, to protect the human rights of Kuwaiti citizens and the economic rights of the world.
(20th Century Battlefields - Gulf)
"Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28; by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled. Though the Persian Gulf War was initially considered an unqualified success for the international coalition, simmering conflict in the troubled region led to a second Gulf War–known as the Iraq War–that began in 2003."
("Persian Gulf War").
