Australian contribution to the 1991 Gulf War of Operation Provide Comfort. While there were proposals to deploy other units (including an apparent US request for RF-111 reconnaissance aircraft) these proposals came to nothing and no Australian Army or Royal Australian Air Force combat units were deployed. The Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) did not take part in the war. In 1993, a book was published on a British SAS patrol Bravo Two Zero with an Australian member using the pseudonym of Stan. Subsequent media reports stated that SASR soldiers on exchange took part in the war, however, in 2005 it was disclosed that Stan was a
Aftermath of the Gulf War diversion tactics. On 23 January, Iraq dumped of crude oil into the Persian Gulf , causing the largest offshore oil spill in history at that time. It was reported as a deliberate natural resources attack to keep U.S. Marines from coming ashore ("Missouri" and "Wisconsin" had shelled Failaka Island during the war to reinforce the idea that there would be an amphibious assault attempt). About 30–40% of this came from allied raids on Iraqi coastal targets. The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by the Iraqi military setting fire to 700 oil wells as part of a scorched earth policy while