War in the Gulf: Iraq, Kuwait, and the US- Led coalition

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait ► August 2, 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait ► Saddam wanted Kuwait's huge oil reserves and access to the gulf

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait ► Saddam expected no opposition ► It was suspected he wanted to also invade Saudi Arabia

UN imposes a trade embargo ► the UN Security Council condemned the invasion and issued embargo ► An embargo by the SC meant no member nation could sell to Iraq or buy from Iraq

What would be the goal of issuing the embargo?

Military build up ► Pres. Bush organized a coalition to send to Saudi Arabia ► 29 countries sent military aide ► The coalition forces greatly outnumbered Iraqi forces

Arab reaction ► Many Arab nations sided with the us b/c Iraq invaded a fellow Arab nation (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE) ► Some Arab nations supported saddam (Yemen, Algeria, PLo) ► The plo supported saddam b/c he promised to destroy Israel and create an Arab nation

The War ► Attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully failed ► The coalition defeated Iraq in 100 hours ► Iraq attempted to draw Israel into the war by launching missiles at Israel

Why would Iraq try to draw Israel into the war?

War’s aftermath ► us encouraged Kurds and Shiites to overthrow saddam ► They made gains in their areas, but were quickly crushed by saddam’s remaining forces ► The coalition provided no assistance to the Kurds or Shiites

Why would the us- led coalition not help the Kurds and Shiites defeat saddam Hussein?

"Trying to eliminate Saddam.. would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq...there was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land." This is taken from A World Transformed, by George H.W. Bush, the presidents father.

Un weapons inspection ► After the war, saddam was forced to comply with inspections ► Periodically he would comply, then throw inspectors out ► In 1998 the us and great Britain bombed Iraq again and claimed to have severely limited Iraq's military capability

How does the Gulf war relate to the current war in Iraq?