1991-1996 - Iraq (Operation Provide Comfort)
![330-CFD-DA-ST-91-01191: Operation Provide Comfort. Lieutenant General John M. Shalikashvili, Commander, Joint Task Force, greets Kurdish citizens at Iskiveren, June 6, 1991. Official U.S. Army photograph, now in the collections of the National Ar... 330-CFD-DA-ST-91-01191: Operation Provide Comfort. Lieutenant General John M. Shalikashvili, Commander, Joint Task Force, greets Kurdish citizens at Iskiveren, June 6, 1991. Official U.S. Army photograph, now in the collections of the National Ar...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1990-1999/1991-1996-iraq-operation-provide-comfort/_jcr_content/body/media_asset/image.img.jpg/1677782799165.jpg)
In April 1991, following Operation Desert Storm a few months earlier, the Kurds of northern Iraq revolted against Saddam Hussein. The revolt was suppressed, and almost a half a million Kurdish men, women, and children sought to flee the country into Turkey across the mountanious border. Trapped, a joint and multinational task force of a dozen countries began to stop the suffering and dying of the refugees. By mid-July, the task force pulled out, but a small force remained left behind, and a no-fly zone was established against Iraqi aircraft. The UN assumed responsibility for the refugee camps. The no-fly zone remained in effect until 1996 when President William J. Clinton transitioned the operation to Operation North Watch as the mission became more of a no-fly mission than providing humanitarian relief.
![330-CFD-DN-SN-91-10181: Operation Provide Comfort. A U.S. Marine cleans his XM-249E1 squad automatic weapon (SAW) aboard a U.S. Navy ship as he prepares for relocation to an outlying camp for the operation. Photographed by PH3 James Klein, April ... 330-CFD-DN-SN-91-10181: Operation Provide Comfort. A U.S. Marine cleans his XM-249E1 squad automatic weapon (SAW) aboard a U.S. Navy ship as he prepares for relocation to an outlying camp for the operation. Photographed by PH3 James Klein, April ...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1990-1999/1991-1996-iraq-operation-provide-comfort/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_624879434/image.img.jpg/1677782690231.jpg)
![330-CFD-DN-ST-92-02280: Operation Provide Comfort. Kurdish refugees watch a U.S. Navy Photographer’s Mate as she prepares to set up for her next shot in the camp. Public Affairs personnel were coving the camps. Photographed by Lieutenant Junior G... 330-CFD-DN-ST-92-02280: Operation Provide Comfort. Kurdish refugees watch a U.S. Navy Photographer’s Mate as she prepares to set up for her next shot in the camp. Public Affairs personnel were coving the camps. Photographed by Lieutenant Junior G...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1990-1999/1991-1996-iraq-operation-provide-comfort/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_303270618/image.img.jpg/1677782715473.jpg)
![330-CFD-DN-ST-92-00319: Operation Provide Comfort. Ground crewmembers at Incirlik, Air Base, Adana, Turkey, provide a preflight check of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 4 (HC-4) CH-53E “Super Stallion” prior to a supply delivery. Photographed ... 330-CFD-DN-ST-92-00319: Operation Provide Comfort. Ground crewmembers at Incirlik, Air Base, Adana, Turkey, provide a preflight check of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 4 (HC-4) CH-53E “Super Stallion” prior to a supply delivery. Photographed ...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1990-1999/1991-1996-iraq-operation-provide-comfort/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_1090740784/image.img.jpg/1677782772124.jpg)
![330-CFD-DN-ST-91-09848: Operation Provide Comfort. Hospital Corpsman First Class Charlie Alva, left, holds a child as Lieutenant Ronald Buckley listens to the child’s heart in a medical tent set up on the outskirts of the city. Alva and Buckley a... 330-CFD-DN-ST-91-09848: Operation Provide Comfort. Hospital Corpsman First Class Charlie Alva, left, holds a child as Lieutenant Ronald Buckley listens to the child’s heart in a medical tent set up on the outskirts of the city. Alva and Buckley a...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1990-1999/1991-1996-iraq-operation-provide-comfort/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_1589157709/image.img.jpg/1677782749106.jpg)