1991: the war before the war: the Persian Gulf War, launched 20 years ago next month, helped shape America's involvement in the Middle East today.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: Times Past

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The war that first introduced Americans to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein--and may have given Osama bin Laden a reason to attack the United States--began on Jan. 17, 1991.

American and coalition forces, responding to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, bombed Iraqi targets and troops for a month. By the time the ground war began on Feb. 24, Saddam Hussein's forces were so decimated that it took just 100 hours to oust them from Kuwait and trounce the remnants of Iraq's once-mighty military.

The Persian Gulf War, fought 20 years ago next month, turned out to be one of the swiftest wars in U.S. history.

But its effects still linger: Because Saddam Hussein remained in power, the Gulf War is now seen as a prelude to the second Iraq War, which began in 2003--and is still winding down more than seven years later.

The Gulf War also set the stage for the current war in Afghanistan and America's broader battle against Islamic terrorism: The presence of "infidel" U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia during the 1990s helped radicalize Osama bin Laden and the other leaders of A1 Qaeda, who vowed to target America at home and abroad.

"The Gulf War's aftermath planted the seeds for Al Qaeda, since bin Laden's main grievance grows out of the Gulf War," says Robert Jervis, a political science professor at Columbia University.

'This Will Not Stand'

Most Americans weren't paying much attention when Saddam Hussein maneuvered his way to power in Iraq in 1979. After a bloody eight-year-long war with Iran ended in 1988 without a victory, Hussein set his sights on Kuwait, a small country on Iraq's southern border with huge oil reserves. Claiming Kuwait was actually part of Iraq, Hussein ordered Iraqi forces to invade on Aug. 1, 1990 (see timeline). They quickly occupied the country.

The United Nations immediately condemned the invasion and demanded that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait. Within a few days it imposed sanctions on Iraq to try to force its withdrawal.

The administration of President George H.W. Bush was caught by surprise. The U.S. had no treaty obligations to defend Kuwait. But Saudi Arabia, which suddenly had Iraqi troops on its border, was a longtime key U.S. ally--and the world's largest oil producer.

A few days later, President Bush told reporters: "This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait." The U.S. calculation was that any threat to Saudi Arabia was too dangerous to contemplate.

At first, the U.S. priority was to send enough troops and air power to defend Saudi Arabia against a possible Iraqi invasion, leaving undecided the issue of whether the U.S. should also seek to liberate Kuwait.

By October 31, the U.S. had enough forces in Saudi Arabia--about 250,000--to defend that country. But at a White House meeting, General Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the President that if he decided to go ahead with the liberation of Kuwait, U.S. forces would need to be doubled. This call for the use of overwhelming force became known as the "Powell doctrine."

Bush decided if sanctions did not work and the Iraqis were still in Kuwait in three months, the U.S. would go to war.

The Bush...