In the pre-dawn hours of August 2, 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered his army to invade the neighboring, oil-rich state of Kuwait; within two days, Iraq had largely overcome organized military resistance and occupied its neighbor. A near-total financial and trade embargo imposed on Iraq failed to persuade it to leave Kuwait and in January 1991, U.S.-led coalition forces launched "Operation Desert Storm" with an air offensive against Iraq. On the night of January 18, Iraq fired ten Scud missiles at two of Israel's major cities-the first air attack on an Israeli city since 1948. Israel withheld from responding publicly but secretly began crafting and testing a plan to assassinate Saddam Hussein. This case details the planning process, the trial run, and the massive failure that led the assassination plan to be aborted.

Case Supplement for Case OM39A