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Maria Rojas

November 18, 2010

Dr. Salih and Professor Payne

Honors Program: Research Project

Kuwait Invasion

The decline of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and the rise of British and

French mandates in the Middle East and North Africa shaped the region's politics, social

changes, and economics in the twentieth century. Although there has been few positive

outcomes of British and French dominance in the region, the aftermath has been predominately

characterized with adverse affects. One of the problems that has emerged is the boundary

disputes over land, of which the most serious one in the Arabian Gulf region has been between

Iraq and Kuwait.

Ever since Kuwait obtained its independency in 1961, Iraq has attempted to invade it on

several occasions, the most notable one in 1990. Explanations for Iraq's invasion in 1990 could

be simply be attributed to Saddam Hussein's aggressive dictatorship and his attempt for the

acquisition of more land, but the reality if far more complex (Klein). It is due to the history of

both nations under the Ottoman Empire, Western influence in the region, oil prices, and the

Iranian-Iraqi War in the 1980's.

History

In the eighteenth century, modern Kuwait was beginning to emerge as a small village

on the Persian Gulf. Although the Ottoman Empire had claimed the Persian Gulf since the

seventeenth century, it was in the 19th century when Shaykh Adballah II formally accepted the

Ottoman title of providential governor, thus becoming "responsible to the Ottoman governor of

Basra for the administration of Kuwait" (Lust 514). In other words, Kuwait became part of the

Basra Providence, which was shared among other modern day countries including Iraq. Hence,

Kuwait was part of Iraq until World War I and Britain's intervention.

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Western Domination

Britain's close bonds with Kuwait date back in 1899, when King Mubarak the Great

established a secret alliance with Britain after overthrowing his brothers' regime (Lust 514).

Nevertheless, it was not until after World War I when Britain, as one of the victors of the war,

took a more prominent role in the region and Kuwait's affairs. During the 1920's Iraq was

undergoing the rise of Arab nationalism, thus, in order to weaken the movement, Britain

blocked Iraq from the Persian Gulf by creating the British colony of Kuwait in 1921. Later on

in 1938, the discovery of oil in Kuwait increased its importance to Britain and Western allies.

In Iraq, domestic conflicts continued to exist as General Abdel Karim Qassim took

control in 1958. British tensions and unfriendly relations with Qassim further escalated when

Britain declared Kuwait's independency in 1961. Within a week after Britain withdrew from

Kuwait, Iraq's first attempt to invade Kuwait took place (Lust 515). The attempt was short

lived, however, as British and Arab forces compelled Iraq to back away, ending with Qassim's

death in 1963 and the rise of the Baath Party. It was not until 1973 that Iraq invaded again, by

penetrating three kilometers into Kuwait, but soon waned after international pressures.

Iran-Iraq War

With rise of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the eight year war between Iran and Iraq

began. Ayatollah Khomeini expressed his desire over spreading his revolutionary ideas in the

region while Saddam Hussein tried to "take advantage of Iran's internal instability and military

weakness... [and become] the hegemon of the Persian Gulf" (Lust 450). Saddam Hussein

launched the invasion of Iran in 1980 after accusing Iran from attempting to assassinate top

Baathist officials while Iran accused of Iraq of being anti-religious and a Western puppet. No

one in the war, however, emerged as victorious, only leaving weak nations and destruction

behind.

The 1990 Invasion

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 should, to some extend, "be viewed as an extension of

the Iran-Iraq War" (Lust 450). During the war, Kuwait supported Iraq by giving substantial

economic aid in the form of loans due to its oil production peak in the 1970's. The war with

Iran, however, left Iraq's infrastructure and economy in ruins, thus it was unable to repay its

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$13 billion debt to Kuwait (Lust 516). Kuwait refused to waive Iraq's debt, angering Saddam

Hussein, which according to him, one of the reasons why Iraq fought he war was to liberate

Kuwait from Iranian interference. Furthermore, Kuwait raised it oils productivity in 1988,

undermining OPEC quotas, "driving down global prices and preventing Iraq from rebuilding its

infrastructure and economy" (Lust 450). Saddam Hussein frustration escalated as he saw his

inability to maintain Iraq's prosperity prior to the war with Iran. In August 2, 1990, Hussein

ordered the occupation of Kuwait under four proclaimed reasons:

(1) Kuwait was historically part of Iraq; (2) Kuwait was stealing $2,400 million

worth of oil from Iraq by "slant drilling"---that is, by deliberately building oil

wells that angled down across the Kuwait border with Iraq to pump oil from

Iraqi territory; (3) Kuwait was overproducing oil in violation of OPEC's

mandate to lower oil prices, and was, therefore, hurting the Iraqi economy; and

(4) Kuwait refused to waive the repayment of funds given to Iraq for its was

with Iran.

Despite Iraqis' warnings of the invasion, Kuwaiti regime failed to take the threat

seriously. Thus, when the attack came in August, three-fourths of Kuwait's armed forces were

away from their posts. The invasion by approximately 120,000 Iraqi troops with 2,00 tanks and

armored vehicles took hold of Kuwait's capital in less than three hours. The occupation, as a

whole, lasted seven months (Lust 516).

Nonetheless, the United States and Western allies "could not tolerate such an open

challenge to their own security interest," namely oil, and formed a coalition of thirty countries

to retaliated against Iraq (Lust 353). With the decline of the Soviet Union, the Iraq invasion in

Kuwait was the first test for the United Nations after the cold war. Saddam Hussein could not

longer manipulate the bipolarity that characterized the cold war, and could not get international

acceptance for his invasion. Hence, Iraq was vulnerable against facing the sole power of the

New World Order. Most of the Arab states had jump on the bandwagon with the United States

forces with a total of 600,000 troops and in January 17, 1991, the Operation Desert Storm took

place. The Unites States launched a massive air strike on Iraq, destroying Iraq 80% of

weaponry (Klein). Furthermore, the Allies launched the ground offensive in February 24 and

three days later Kuwait obtained its full liberation (Lust 516).

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Conclusion

After the liberation of Kuwait, the United Nations established the boundaries between

Kuwait and Iraq. Despite Iraq's reluctance to accept the legitimacy of the border given, on

November 17, 1994, it recognized Kuwait as an independent nation (Karam). The aftermath of

the invasion demonstrated the changing international politics in the Middle East and North

Africa region. Iraq's devastated infrastructure, economy, and military confirmed the rising

power of the New World Order and served to "teach a lesson to those defying the rules" (Lust

353).

However, the origins of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait cannot be simply explained by

relatively recent events and Western negative attitudes against Saddam Hussein. The causes or

reason for the invasion date back to the history of the Ottoman Empire, Western influence in

the region after WWI, discovery of oil reserves, and the Iran-Iraq War that began in 1980.

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Works Cited

Karam, Jasem. "The Boundary Dispute between Kuwait and Iraq: An Endless Dilemma."

DOMES: Digest of Middle East Studies 14.4 (2005): 1-11. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.

Klein, David. "Mechanisms of Western Domination: A Short History of Iraq and Kuwait".

California State University, Jan 2003. Web. 19 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/iraqkuwait.html>

Lust, Ellen ed. The Middle East. Washington D.C.: CQ Press, 2011. Print.