    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [January 16, 1991]
    [Pages 42-45]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Address to the Nation Announcing Allied Military Action in the Persian
    Gulf
    January 16, 1991

        Just 2 hours ago, allied air forces began an attack on military
    targets in Iraq and Kuwait. These attacks continue as I speak. Ground
    forces are not engaged.
        This conflict started August 2d when the dictator of Iraq invaded a
    small and helpless

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    neighbor. Kuwait--a member of the Arab League and a member of the United
    Nations--was crushed; its people, brutalized. Five months ago, Saddam
    Hussein started this cruel war against Kuwait. Tonight, the battle has
    been joined.
        This military action, taken in accord with United Nations
    resolutions and with the consent of the United States Congress, follows
    months of constant and virtually endless diplomatic activity on the part
    of the United Nations, the United States, and many, many other
    countries. Arab leaders sought what became known as an Arab solution,
    only to conclude that Saddam Hussein was unwilling to leave Kuwait.
    Others traveled to Baghdad in a variety of efforts to restore peace and
    justice. Our Secretary of State, James Baker, held an historic meeting
    in Geneva, only to be totally rebuffed. This past weekend, in a last-
    ditch effort, the Secretary-General of the United Nations went to the
    Middle East with peace in his heart--his second such mission. And he
    came back from Baghdad with no progress at all in getting Saddam Hussein
    to withdraw from Kuwait.
        Now the 28 countries with forces in the Gulf area have exhausted all
    reasonable efforts to reach a peaceful resolution--have no choice but to
    drive Saddam from Kuwait by force. We will not fail.
        As I report to you, air attacks are underway against military
    targets in Iraq. We are determined to knock out Saddam Hussein's nuclear
    bomb potential. We will also destroy his chemical weapons facilities.
    Much of Saddam's artillery and tanks will be destroyed. Our operations
    are designed to best protect the lives of all the coalition forces by
    targeting Saddam's vast military arsenal. Initial reports from General
    Schwarzkopf are that our operations are proceeding according to plan.
        Our objectives are clear: Saddam Hussein's forces will leave Kuwait.
    The legitimate government of Kuwait will be restored to its rightful
    place, and Kuwait will once again be free. Iraq will eventually comply
    with all relevant United Nations resolutions, and then, when peace is
    restored, it is our hope that Iraq will live as a peaceful and
    cooperative member of the family of nations, thus enhancing the security
    and stability of the Gulf.
        Some may ask: Why act now? Why not wait? The answer is clear: The
    world could wait no longer. Sanctions, though having some effect, showed
    no signs of accomplishing their objective. Sanctions were tried for well
    over 5 months, and we and our allies concluded that sanctions alone
    would not force Saddam from Kuwait.
        While the world waited, Saddam Hussein systematically raped,
    pillaged, and plundered a tiny nation, no threat to his own. He
    subjected the people of Kuwait to unspeakable atrocities--and among
    those maimed and murdered, innocent children.
        While the world waited, Saddam sought to add to the chemical weapons
    arsenal he now possesses, an infinitely more dangerous weapon of mass
    destruction--a nuclear weapon. And while the world waited, while the
    world talked peace and withdrawal, Saddam Hussein dug in and moved
    massive forces into Kuwait.
        While the world waited, while Saddam stalled, more damage was being
    done to the fragile economies of the Third World, emerging democracies
    of Eastern Europe, to the entire world, including to our own economy.
        The United States, together with the United Nations, exhausted every
    means at our disposal to bring this crisis to a peaceful end. However,
    Saddam clearly felt that by stalling and threatening and defying the
    United Nations, he could weaken the forces arrayed against him.
        While the world waited, Saddam Hussein met every overture of peace
    with open contempt. While the world prayed for peace, Saddam prepared
    for war.
        I had hoped that when the United States Congress, in historic
    debate, took its resolute action, Saddam would realize he could not
    prevail and would move out of Kuwait in accord with the United Nation
    resolutions. He did not do that. Instead, he remained intransigent,
    certain that time was on his side.
        Saddam was warned over and over again to comply with the will of the
    United Nations: Leave Kuwait, or be driven out. Saddam has arrogantly
    rejected all warnings. Instead, he tried to make this a dis-

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    pute between Iraq and the United States of America.
        Well, he failed. Tonight, 28 nations--countries from 5 continents,
    Europe and Asia, Africa, and the Arab League--have forces in the Gulf
    area standing shoulder to shoulder against Saddam Hussein. These
    countries had hoped the use of force could be avoided. Regrettably, we
    now believe that only force will make him leave.
        Prior to ordering our forces into battle, I instructed our military
    commanders to take every necessary step to prevail as quickly as
    possible, and with the greatest degree of protection possible for
    American and allied service men and women. I've told the American people
    before that this will not be another Vietnam, and I repeat this here
    tonight. Our troops will have the best possible support in the entire
    world, and they will not be asked to fight with one hand tied behind
    their back. I'm hopeful that this fighting will not go on for long and
    that casualties will be held to an absolute minimum.
        This is an historic moment. We have in this past year made great
    progress in ending the long era of conflict and cold war. We have before
    us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a
    new world order--a world where the rule of law, not the law of the
    jungle, governs the conduct of nations. When we are successful--and we
    will be--we have a real chance at this new world order, an order in
    which a credible United Nations can use its peacekeeping role to fulfill
    the promise and vision of the U.N.'s founders.
        We have no argument with the people of Iraq. Indeed, for the
    innocents caught in this conflict, I pray for their safety. Our goal is
    not the conquest of Iraq. It is the liberation of Kuwait. It is my hope
    that somehow the Iraqi people can, even now, convince their dictator
    that he must lay down his arms, leave Kuwait, and let Iraq itself rejoin
    the family of peace-loving nations.
        Thomas Paine wrote many years ago: ``These are the times that try
    men's souls.'' Those well-known words are so very true today. But even
    as planes of the multinational forces attack Iraq, I prefer to think of
    peace, not war. I am convinced not only that we will prevail but that
    out of the horror of combat will come the recognition that no nation can
    stand against a world united, no nation will be permitted to brutally
    assault its neighbor.
        No President can easily commit our sons and daughters to war. They
    are the Nation's finest. Ours is an all-volunteer force, magnificently
    trained, highly motivated. The troops know why they're there. And listen
    to what they say, for they've said it better than any President or Prime
    Minister ever could.
        Listen to Hollywood Huddleston, Marine lance corporal. He says,
    ``Let's free these people, so we can go home and be free again.'' And
    he's right. The terrible crimes and tortures committed by Saddam's
    henchmen against the innocent people of Kuwait are an affront to mankind
    and a challenge to the freedom of all.
        Listen to one of our great officers out there, Marine Lieutenant
    General Walter Boomer. He said: ``There are things worth fighting for. A
    world in which brutality and lawlessness are allowed to go unchecked
    isn't the kind of world we're going to want to live in.''
        Listen to Master Sergeant J.P. Kendall of the 82d Airborne: ``We're
    here for more than just the price of a gallon of gas. What we're doing
    is going to chart the future of the world for the next 100 years. It's
    better to deal with this guy now than 5 years from now.''
        And finally, we should all sit up and listen to Jackie Jones, an
    Army lieutenant, when she says, ``If we let him get away with this, who
    knows what's going to be next?''
        I have called upon Hollywood and Walter and J.P. and Jackie and all
    their courageous comrades-in-arms to do what must be done. Tonight,
    America and the world are deeply grateful to them and to their families.
    And let me say to everyone listening or watching tonight: When the
    troops we've sent in finish their work, I am determined to bring them
    home as soon as possible.
        Tonight, as our forces fight, they and their families are in our
    prayers. May God bless each and every one of them, and the coalition
    forces at our side in the Gulf, and may He continue to bless our nation,
    the United States of America.

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                        Note: President Bush spoke at 9:01 p.m. from the
                            Oval Office at the White House. In his address,
                            he referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq;
                            Secretary of State James A. Baker III; United
                            Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de
                            Cuellar de la Guerra; and Gen. H. Norman
                            Schwarzkopf, commander of the U.S. forces in the
                            Persian Gulf. The address was broadcast live on
                            nationwide radio and television.