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Middle East

Gulf War. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi armed forces invaded Kuwait. Within days the U.S. deployed troops to Southeast Asia for Operations Desert Shield. The air war began on began on January 16, 1991, and opened a phase of the conflict known as Operation Desert Storm. The actual ground war began on began on February 24, and by February 28,1991, the war was over. The last troops to participate in the ground war returned home on June 13, 1991. In all, approximately 697,000 U.S. troops had been deployed to the Persian Gulf area during the conflict.

Operation Desert Fox. On December 16, 1998, United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) military forces launched cruise missile attacks against military targets in Iraq. These strikes were ordered by the President of the United States and were undertaken in response to Iraq's continued failure to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions as well as their interference with United Nations Special Commission inspectors.

Operation Northern Watch. The Combined Task Force of Operation Northern Watch conducted air operations in northern Iraq. The mission entailed enforcing the No-Fly Zone in northern Iraq and monitoring Iraqi compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Operation Southern Watch. Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) performs the Operation Southern Watch mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq. Operation Southern Watch includes forces from the United States, France, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia.