On this day in 1990: Iraq moves Western hostages to military installations (human shields)

Start:	Aug 20, '09
Location:	Iraq

Iraq announces it has carried out a plan to move Western hostages to vital military installations to use as human shields to deter any U.S. attack and warned its people not to try to hide any of the thousands of foreigners trapped in the country.

BACKGROUND: On August 1, 1990, Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein pulled his negotiators from talks on oil pricing and repayment of loans made by Kuwait to Iraq. Just before dawn on August 2, 1990, Iraq crossed over into Kuwait , quickly overruning the tiny country and forcing the government of Kuwait to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Within hours, Kuwait asked for assistance from the U.S. per a self defense treaty. The U.S. mounted Operation Desert Shield, a mission to airlift and sealift some 400,000 U.S. troops into the region to defend against further Iraqi aggression (Saudi Arabia, worried about their oil fields close to Iraq and Kuwait requested the U.S. to help ensure no further movement of Iraqi troops out of Kuwait).

For more on what led up to the Gulf War: http://www.milnet.com/gulfwar.htm