Conflicted: A History Podcast
Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
The Gulf War 1991 – Part 3: Land of Darkness
On January 17th, 1991, Operation Desert Storm begins. As President Bush braces for high casualties, Saddam Hussein desperately seeks a path to survival. In Baghdad, Coalition air forces rain hell on Iraqi soldiers and civilians alike, while American diplomats scramble to defuse a potential crisis in Israel. US infantrymen come face-to-face with the fourth largest army in the world…with surprising results. As oil wells burn and journalists jockey for access, the war reaches a bloody climax at the “Highway of Death”.
SOURCES:
Aburish, Said K. Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge. 2000.
Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Gulf War. 1993.
Al-Radi, Nuha. Baghdad Diaries. 1998.
Baudrillard, Jean. The Gulf War Did Not Take Place. 1991.
Bergen, Peter L. The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden. 2021.
Charles Rivers Editors. The Gulf War. 2018.
Coll, Steve. Ghost Wars. 2004.
Coll, Steve. Branigin, William. “US scrambled to shape view of ‘Highway of Death’”. 3.11.1991.
Corrigan, Jim. Desert Storm Air War. 2017.
Coughlin, Con. Saddam: His Rise and Fall. 2005.
DeGhett, Torie Rose. “The War Photo No One Would Publish”. 8.8.2014.
Dunnigan, James F. Macedonia, Raymond M. Getting It Right. 1995.
Engel, Jeffrey A. When the World Seemed New.
Finlan, Alastair. The Gulf War 1991. 2003.
Gordon, Michael R. Trainer, Bernard E. The General’s War. 1995.
“The Gulf War” / FRONTLINE. PBS. Jan 9, 1996.
Hallion, Richard P. Desert Storm 1991. 2022.
Hiro, Dilip. Desert Shield to Desert Storm: The Second Gulf War. 1991.
Hiro, Dilip. Cold War in the Islamic World. 2018.
Karsh, Efraim. The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988. 1989.
Karsh, Efraim. Rautsi, Inari. Saddam Hussein. A Political Biography. 1991.
Khadduri, Majid. Ghareeb, Edmund. War in the Gulf, 1990-1991. 1999.
Jarecke, Kenneth. Cervenka, Exene. Just Another War. 1991.
Lockwood, Stuart. 2015 June 5. “That’s Me In The Picture”. The Guardian.
MacArthur, John R. Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War. 1992.
Mufson, Steven. 1990 Aug 6. “Kuwait Assets Form Vast, Frozen Empire”. The Washington Post.
Murray, Williamson. Woods, Kevin M. The Iran-Iraq War. 2014.
Meacham, Jon. Destiny and Power. 2015.
Morris, David J. Storm on the Horizon. 2004.
Riedel, Bruce. Kings and Presidents: Saudi Arabia and the United States. 2019.
Swofford, Anthony. Jarhead. 2003.
Woodward, Bob. 1991, May 4. “Regal Audience for a Forceful Presence”. The Washington Post
Wyndham, Buck. Hogs in the Sand. 2020.
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