The First Gulf War revealed the vast technological gap that had opened up between the US military capability and that of other states. The highly publicised use of socalled ‘smart bombs’ by the US led some observers to call this a ‘computer war’. Widespread television coverage also made it a ‘video game war’, with viewers around the world watching the destruction of Iraqi forces live on TV in the comfort of their living rooms. Incredibly, the US may actually have made a profit from the war. According to many reports, the US received more money from countries like Germany, Japan and Saudi Arabia than it had spent on the war.

Who led the UN coalition in The First Gulf War?

General Norman Schwarzkopf

An American general, Norman Schwarzkopf, led the UN coalition and nearly 75 per cent of the coalition forces were from the US.