Kuwait is a relatively small country, an area under 6,000 square miles with a current population of 3.5 million. In 1961 Kuwait gained its independence from Britain, and soon thereafter had enormous economic growth from its oil industry. It was oil that caused Iraq to invade Kuwait.
On this day August 2nd, in 1990, Kuwait is invaded by Iraq for allegedly stealing petroleum via slant drilling. Slant drilling is exactly like it sounds – drilling in a direction other than directly down which allows to access oil and petroleum without being directly above the ground.
After 2 days of war, Kuwait was captured by Iraqi forces and the then ruler of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, annexed Kuwait and proclaimed it the 19th province of Iraq. This invasion was received by the world with criticism and a U.N.-sanctioned military force organized to remove the Iraqi military from Kuwait. This was called the Gulf War, which started January 17, 1991.