The Gulf War oil spill was one of the largest oil spills in history, resulting from the Gulf War in 1991. The apparent strategic goal was to foil a potential landing by US Marines. It also made commandeering oil reserves difficult for US forces. The immediate reports from Baghdad said that American air strikes had caused a discharge of oil from two tankers. Coalition forces determined the main source of oil to be the Sea Island terminal in Kuwait. On January 26, three US F-117 fighter bombers destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Persian Gulf. Several other sources of oil were found to be active: tankers and a damaged Kuwaiti oil refinery near Mina Al Ahmadi, tankers near Bubiyan Island, and Iraq's Mina Al Bakr terminal.
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Famous quotes containing the words gulf, war, oil and/or spill:
“His father watched him across the gulf of years and pathos which always must divide a father from his son.”
—J.P. (John Phillips)
“O I know they make war because they want peace; they hate so that they may live; and they destroy the present to make the world safe for the future. When have they not done and said they did it for that?”
—Elizabeth Smart (1913–1986)
“Courage, determination, and hard work are all very nice, but not so nice as an oil well in the back yard.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“If you want to catch a sparrow, you have to spill a little rice.”
—Chinese proverb.