[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.