Tanks Preparing

By the end of September, there were nearly 200, 000 American forces in Saudi Arabia - enough to successfully defend any Iraqi attack. The question remained, however, how to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The initial plan called for a direct offensive aimed at Kuwait City; but Schwarzkopf and other American commanders thought that too risky against heavily-armed, well-entrenched Iraqis. Instead, they called for additional troops to prepare for an offensive. President Bush, with Saudi approval, ordered additional 140, 000 troops, including the 3rd Armored Division with its Abrams M1A tanks. During this period, troops from many other nations arrived, including British, French, Egyptian and even Syrian forces. On November 29, the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of force if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15.