Theu.s. Bush Announced Operation Desert Shield - 1242 Words

On August 2nd, 1990, in a dispute over the Rumaila oil field, on the Iraq/Kuwait border, more than 100,000 Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. The United Nations condemned the invasion and called for Iraq’s immediate withdrawal. The following day, President George H. W. Bush announced Operation Desert Shield, a 38-nation coalition which later became Operation Desert Storm – the successful military campaign to liberate Kuwait (Britain and the Americas: Culture, politics, and history. The Gulf War (1991). 2005). These events, together with the deliberate destruction of Kuwait’s oil fields by retreating Iraqi soldiers, brought into focus the need for the United States and other western countries to minimize their reliance on foreign oil. Since then, according to authors John Golden and Hannah Wiseman (2015) writing in the Emory Law Journal, advances in oil and gas extraction technologies, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have significantly increased A merica’s fuel production capability. However, despite our move towards energy independence, these technologies are not without controversy. For example, in his article Hydraulic Fracturing: Critical for Energy Production, Jobs, and Economic Growth, Nicholas Loris (2012) highlights the concerns of several environmental groups who believe that hydraulic fracturing causes earthquakes and chemical contamination of the water supply. Despite these objections, hydraulic fracturing is actually good for the environment, and