1991: Congress gave the green light for military action against Iraq a few months after Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait. Read "Persian Gulf War: U.S. Marines' Minefield Assault," a short account of the first few hours of the Persian Gulf War, on HistoryNet.com.
A U.S F-16 fighter plane taxis past cheering ground crewmen who wave in support for a safe mission at U.S Air Force base somewhere in the southern Arabian Peninsula on Monday, Feb. 18, 1991.
Photo Credit: Gill Allen/AP
Also today in history:
1849: The British defeat the Sikhs at the Battle of Chilianwallah in India, leading to the end of the Second Sikh War and to the British annexation of the Punjab region.
1916: A British attempt to relieve its besieged force at Kut-al-Amarna is defeated in the Battle of Wadi by the Ottoman Sixth Army jointly commanded by Halil Pasha and Feldmarschall Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz.
