Desert Storm Begins: Gulf War Air Campaign Launches
Saddam Hussein had a brutal calculation: drag Israel into the conflict and fracture the international coalition against Iraq. But Israel, despite being hit by eight Scud missiles, didn't take the bait. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir ordered restraint, knowing that Israeli retaliation would splinter the Arab-American alliance. Instead, U.S. Patriot missile batteries defended Israeli airspace while coalition forces continued their systematic dismantling of Iraq's military infrastructure. A geopolitical chess move, stopped cold by discipline.
January 17, 1991
35 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 17
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