military operation, operation - activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign); "it was a joint operation of the navy and air force"

Gulf War, Persian Gulf War - a war fought between a coalition led by the United States and Iraq to free Kuwait from Iraqi invaders; 1990-1991

Middle East, Mideast, Near East - the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century; "the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization"