16 January 1991
The Mother of All Battles
Gulf Peace Team in action, ca. 1991
BG A59/647
In the evening of 16 January 1991 the American president, Bush, gave a televised speech on the latest news from the Gulf region: 'Just two hours ago, allied forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait. . . . Now the 28 countries with forces in the Gulf area have exhausted all reasonable efforts to reach a peaceful resolution -- they have no choice but to drive Saddam from Kuwait by force.'
The Gulf Peace Team was one of the organizations that did believe in a peaceful solution. It brought together a multinational team, which established a peace camp on the Iraqi border. Only after the air strikes began were they evacuated to Jordan by Iraqi soldiers. The 'mother of all battles', as the Iraqi leader had called the war, lasted only one and half months.
See also:
• Archive Gulf Peace Team
• War Resisters International archive
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Born on 16 January |
Died on 16 January |