Summary

On August 7, 1990, 5 days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the President ordered the deployment of U.S. forces to the Persian Gulf area. This deployment, Operation Desert Shield, and the follow-on military action to liberate Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, constituted the largest U.S. military action since the Vietnam War. The two operations provided an environment for testing U.S. modern military capabilities and served as indicators of the military forces and equipment that would be needed for future contingencies. To assist policymakers, government administrators, and legislators in making decisions for the future, GAO planned a body of work on military, domestic, and international issues that emanated from the two operations. For the last 3 years, at the request of numerous committees and members of Congress as well as on its own initiative, GAO has reported on the financial aspects of the conflict, mobilization and deployment, logistics and maintenance operations, military weapons and related systems, and foreign relations and international trade.

This bibliography summarized 72 unclassified reports and testimonies GAO issued concerning the Persian Gulf War. While many of these were intended to provide information, various reports contained a total of 76 recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and others aimed at correcting problems that could arise in similar future conflicts.