Civics question 114 of 128
Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?
Official answer
- To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
The United States entered the Persian Gulf War to force the Iraqi military out of Kuwait. Iraq invaded and annexed its small neighbor in August 1990, and the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of force after sanctions failed to move it. What followed was unusual in two ways: a coalition of some thirty-five countries, several of them Arab states, and a very short campaign. Five weeks of air attacks beginning in January 1991 were followed by a ground offensive that ended in about a hundred hours. Kuwait was restored and the coalition stopped there rather than advancing on Baghdad, a decision argued over ever since. American deaths numbered under four hundred, far fewer than in Korea or Vietnam.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information, inside the American History section of the test.
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