Here are the latest developments in the Persian Gulf war:

The United States launched air attacks early Thursday against Iraq and occupied Kuwait from Saudi Arabia.

“Operation Desert Shield” was renamed “Operation Desert Storm,” which U.S. officials said included hundreds of U.S.-allied forces and began at 6 p.m.

President Bush addressed the nation. “Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started this cruel war against Kuwait; tonight the battle has been joined. … Our goal is not the conquest of Iraq. It is the liberation of Kuwait.”

The pre-dawn strikes focused on the “destruction of Saddam Hussein’s offensive military capabilities,” Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said.

Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the allied offensive met “no air resistance,” and that the “operation appears to have gone very, very well.”

U.S. lawmakers said they hoped the conflict would end quickly with few American casualties. House Speaker Thomas Foley said: “We must now stand united in support of our armed forces in the gulf who have embraced the duty and burden of conducting the war.”