<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Gulf War (2 August 1990--28 February 1991), codenamed Operation Desert Shield (2 August 1990--17 January 1991) for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm (17 January 1991--28 February 1991) in its combat phase, was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait . </P> <P> The war is also known under other names, such as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, First Iraq War or Iraq War, before the term "Iraq War" became identified instead with the 2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the US as "Operation Iraqi Freedom"). The Iraqi Army's occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council . Together with the UK's prime minister Margaret Thatcher--who had resisted the invasion by Argentina of the Falkland Islands a decade earlier--George Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene . An array of nations joined the coalition, forming the largest military alliance since World War II . The great majority of the coalition's military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order . Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US $32 billion of the US $60 billion cost . </P>

What event started the beginning of the persian gulf war