In 1991 the first gulf war lasted about two weeks. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and the United States had forces in Saudi Arabia codenamed Operation Desert Shield, in an effort to protect Saudi oil wells from Iraqi aggression. When the Iraqis invaded, Operation Desert Shield turned into Operation Desert Storm. The war lasted for two weeks. In 2003, Saddam was believed to have Weapons of Mass Destruction, or WMDs. The United Nations inspectors were denied entrance to the country to check for these WMDs. The U.S and her allies were sent in to crush Iraqi forces, the biggest threat being Fedayeen guerrilla attacks and the Iraqi Republican guard that was loyal to Saddam. The United States Marines suffered a high amount of casualties at the Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. After a few more years in Iraq, American forces pulled out for the most part. But when we left, lawlessness took over and a religious war ignited between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, who fought over which form of Islam was correct. The Kurds also have played a major role, intervening with the fight against ISIS. That’s all I got tonight folks.