After eight years of war with Iran , Iraq was still powerful but broke . Its oil revenues fell as did oil prices . Saddam blamed the problem on Kuwait and the UAE for exceeding their oil quotas . From July 17 through August 1 Iraq made accusations of injustice and threats of retribution . On August 2 Iraqi infantry stormed into Kuwait . Kuwaiti Emir Sheik Jabir fled by helicopter . He made an urgent plea for U.S. military assistance . President Bush condemned Iraq 's aggression and then imposed a United Nations- imposed embargo of oil . Bush then committed a massive American force to protect
After eight years of war with Iran, Iraq was still powerful but broke. Its oil revenues fell as did oil prices. Saddam blamed the problem on Kuwait and the UAE for exceeding their oil quotas. From July 17 through August 1 Iraq made accusations of injustice and threats of retribution. On August 2 Iraqi infantry stormed into Kuwait. Kuwaiti Emir Sheik Jabir fled by helicopter. He made an urgent plea for U.S. military assistance. President Bush condemned Iraq's aggression and then engineered a United Nations- sanctioned embargo of Iraq. Bush then committed a massive American force to protect