When he embarked on this adventure, George Bush the First claimed that the objective was to liberate Kuwait. If true, why the turkey shoot? Why the embargo? Because he refuses to let the UN ensure that he has stopped plotting to invade Kuwait again. All he has to do is let the UN come in and inspect his weapons making facilities, and like magic, the embargo will lift. Simple.
Saddam Hussein doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction. They were all destroyed ten years ago - with Iraqi cooperation. The last western guy to look around the place resigned from his job because the US refused to lift the embargo once the weapons were gone.