The Bush administration backed the UN resolution calling for Saddam Hussein to withdraw from kuwait because the United States feared that Hussein would gain and use influence if he controlled Kuwaiti oil.
Saddam refused to withdraw. In Kuwait, Saddam Hussein's forces were executing people.
On 22 August, Bush signed an order seeking to call up 46,000 reservists to join the military buildup in Saudi Arabia. After that, the United Nations authorized military action in order to enforce a trade embargo in opposition to Iraq. On 29 August, Saddam reacted by announcing that the US could not defeat Iraq.