Home > War in the Persian Gulf > Anonymous Iraqi Army Lieutenant

Excerpt from his diary during the coalition bombing of Operation Desert Storm

January 15–February 17, 1991

Available on Historical Text Archives, Mississippi State University (Web site).

On August 2, 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein launched a military invasion of Kuwait. Iraqi troops occupied the tiny country on the Persian Gulf for the next six months. Most nations around the world condemned Iraq's actions, and more than thirty-five countries joined the U.S.-led coalition that sent military forces to the region. The United Nations (UN) Security Council established a deadline of January 15, 1991, for the Iraqi army to withdraw from Kuwait or risk an attack by coalition forces. When Hussein failed to withdraw his troops by the deadline, the coalition launched a series of intensive air attacks against military targets in Iraq and Kuwait.

The diary excerpt that...