In 1991, the Gulf War showed the world a new face of conflict: airpower, precision strikes, satellite intelligence, live television, and fast-moving armored warfare. But behind the images of smart bombs and desert tanks was a deeper story about oil, global power, Saddam Hussein’s miscalculation, and America’s post-Cold War moment.

This episode explores how the Gulf War redefined modern warfare, why Kuwait mattered to the global energy system, how coalition airpower overwhelmed Iraq, and why a fast military victory did not create lasting stability in the Middle East.