After Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait in August 1990, imperiling a vital Western oil source, the UN adopted resolutions endorsing the liberation of Kuwait and protection of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Desert Storm (January–February 1991) saw UN coalition forces, led by the United States, devastate the Iraqi. They suffered 25,000–65,000 casualties compared to the coalition's nearly 200.

As the war restored the balance of power in the Middle East, it marked racial progress for US Armed Forces. Black army generals Colin L. Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Calvin A. H. Waller (1937–96), Deputy Commander-in-Chief, coordinated strategy and tactics. Although 13 percent of the population, with 50 percent opposing Desert Storm, blacks were 25 percent of US combat personnel. Members of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF), which replaced the draft in 1973, their service helped preserve “liberty and justice for all.”