Thirty-one years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait on a hot August morning. A few months later on January 16, 1991, the United States military launched its first major war in the Middle East: Operation Desert Storm.

This is the first episode in a three-part series telling the story of that war from the perspective of the people who were there, on the ground. They are people you probably haven’t heard from before: an Iraqi General, a Kuwaiti Naval Commander and the highest ranking US Navy Seal involved in Desert Storm, just to name a few. This war was the start of something — the story of the United States in the Middle East today.

In this episode:

Salah Nasrawi, former Baghdad correspondent for Associated Press ; Nasser Al Hussainan, Retired Vice Admiral of the Kuwaiti Navy; Abdulwahab Al Qassab, Retired Major General, Iraqi Armed Forces; Eric T Olson, Retired Admiral, US Special Operations Command; Kate Adie, former BBC chief correspondent

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