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IRAQ-KUWAIT WAR

SBQ

  • Background Information 

  • Causes of the Iraq-Kuwait war 

  • Responses to the invasion 

  • Were there attempts to resolves the problems between Iraq and Kuwait ? 

  • Were the attempts successful ?

  • Why did Iraq invade Kuwait ?

  • Was the use of force the only way to get Iraq out of Kuwait ?

  • Impact of the conflict 

Background Information

Iraq and Kuwait are two neighbouring countries in the Middle East which were once former British Colonies as well as being part of the Ottoman Empire . 

In 1961 , Kuwait was granted independence from the British , but Iraq refused to recognise Kuwait's independence as it claimed Kuwait was historically a part of Iraq.Iraq had tried many times to claim Kuwait since then but failed . After facing pressure on its Arab neighbours and recieving a large sum of money from Kuwait, Iraq finally gave up its claim on Kuwait in 1963. Iraq and Kuwait worked with one another on occasions such as the Iran-Iraq war which Kuwait loaned Iraq US$14Billion. However , Kuwait only helped Iraq because of its own national interest which is the threat posed by Iran as Kuwait was worried of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the region . 

In 1979 , there was Islamic revolution in Iran , and if this movement spreads , the trade with Western countries may be affected . Therefore , some middle East countries saw the need to stop the spread of movement . In the 1980s , USA and other Arab countries supported Iraq to invade Iran , thus helping them meet their aim of curbing the spread of Islamic Revolution to Middle East . Kuwait also loaned US$14 Billion to Iraq to fight Iran .

Causes of the iraq-kuwait war

DISPUTE OVER TERRITORY 

 

Rumaila Oilfield

  • The ill defined borders between Iraq and Kuwait resulted in both sides sharing a profitable oil field , the Rumaila oilfield. The 1990 , Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing oil from Iraq by the use of slant drilling technology . 

  • However Kuwait insisted that they had only taken oil by their side of the oil field . 

  • Iraq demanded that Kuwait stop drilling from the Rumaila oilfield completely and demanded US2.4 Billion in compensation for oil that the Kuwaitis had supposedly taken from the oilfield . 

Bubiyan and Warbah Islands

  • Kuwait had inherited these two islands from the British . 

  • However , Iraq was unhappy as they were strategically located off the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr , which was the only direct outlet for Iraqis oil to world markets .

  • Kawait had the potential of blocking Iraq's's access to the Gulf , which would affect Iraq's oil export and threaten its earning .

  • Iraq tried to claim ownership of these two islands through force in the 1960s and 1970s.

  • Iraq also tried to lease the islands from Kuwait instead , but both countries failed to reach a suitable agreement on the issue

  • Kuwait feared that if they leased the two islands to Iraq , this would open the door to more territorial demands from Iraq.

  • Iraq felt that Kuwait had wrongfully acquired the islands 

 

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN IRAQ

  • Before the Iran-Iraq war , Iraq was prosperous with about US$35billion in reserves , however it suffered tremedously during the war . 

  • Iraq owed about US$80billion to its neighbours , and countries such as US and France supplied it with food and war equipment .

  • Rebuilding the country required US$230 billion , thus this left Iraq with a huge debt . 

  • By invading the oil rich Kuwait , Iraq could take over the revenue earned from its sales and Iraq will be able to clear its debt at a faster rate . 

 

OIL PRODUCTION

  • Iraq had hoped to pay off its debt by earning more revenue from the sale of oil , however with the overproduction of oil by some countries , oil prices were falling . 

  • The OPEC had put quotas on the amount oil that its members could produce to prevent a further decline in oil prices.Kuwait and UAE however ignored the quota set .

  • This caused Iraq to lose a potential revenue as a result  as they lost US$1 billion each time the price of oil fell by US$1.

  • Iraq felt that Kuwait's actions was equivalent to waging an economic war on Iraq as 90% profits income came from the sale of their oil . 

  • By waging a physical war on Kuwait , Iraq may have hoped to prevent the further sliding of oil prices by controlling Kuwait's oilfields directly.

Reactions To The Invasion

Fear of Iraqi dominance 

  • Many countries felt worried and fear , this was because by invading Kuwait , Iraq controlled 20%of the world's oil production . Access to such vast amounts of oil would allow Iraq to set a high price on oil to solve their economic problems but in turn create problems for the world's economy . 

  • With the Iraqi army camped at near the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border , there was also fear which Iraq would want the riches of Saudi Kingdom.

  • Arab countries did not want western response to this crisis as they did not want a return of western imperialism in the Middle East .

  • The Arab League thus responded by organising a joint force to counter the Iraqi invasion as well as to comdemn its actions and demanding Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait .

  • However it was clear that they would not effectively solve the crisis as members were divided on their response to the invasion . 

 

American Response

  • Saudis invited US to defend the Kingdom against any potential Iraqi threat . 

  • The US responded by deploying soliders , navy , ships and planes . 

  • The operation was named Operation Desert Shield .

  • France , Britain and members of the Arab League also sent troops to help defend Saudi Arabia .

  • The US was willing to help defend Saudi Arabia because , Iraq itself already controls 10% of the world's oil reserves . Together with the control of Kuwait's oil reserves , Iraq would control 20% of the world's oil reserves . This would mean that vital economic interests are at risk .

 

International Response

  • US took the lead in condemning Iraq's actions and formed a coalition of countries to defend Saudi Arabia . 

  • The UN security council also passed a resolution unanimously , demanding an immediate Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait . 

  • Both Iraq and Kuwait's assets worldwide were also frozen to prevent Iraq from using the funds . 

  • Economic and military sanctions were imposed upon Iraq . 

  • The economic sanctions were meant to inflict a heavy toll on Iraq as Iraq could not earn money from its sale of oil . 

  • No country was allowed to sell goods to Iraq with the exception of food and medical supplies . 

  • The sanctions were significant as Iraq imported more than 90% of its good from overseas , including food products . 

 

Attempts to solve the problems

Mediation By the Arab League 

  • The Arab League , is also known as the League of Arab States . 

  • Not only Iraq has made complaints about Kuwait to the Arab League , Iraq has also made the Arab League as a platform to reiterate that Kuwait and other Arab countries to pardon the war-time loans as the war between Iraq and Iran benefitted the entire region . Saudi Arabia had already canceled Iraq's debt as it already knew it was almost impossible for Iraq to repay the loan . 

  • The Arab League organised a dialogue between Iraq and Kuwait to discuss their territorial issues . 

Were the attempts successful?

  • OPEC ministers agreed to raise oil prices from US$18 to US$21 per barrel , thus ensuring the Iraq would be able to earn more revenue from the sale of their oil for its reconstruction efforts . 

  • On 1 August 1990 , Kuwait agreed to write off Iraq's wartime debts and provide an additional US$500 million as loan to Iraq at a meeting . However when Kuwait refused to give in to Iraq's demands for compensation for drilling oil from their side of the oilfield using slant drilling technology , Iraq qalked out of these talks . 

  • And on 2 August , Iraq invaded Kuwait . 

  • The invasion was a success and Kuwait fell to Iraq within 12 hours of the invasion as the 16 000 strong Kuwaiti army was caught by surprise and did not have time to be fully mobilised .

  • Kuwait did not expect the Iraq invasion as it always saw the development of Iraqi troops along its borders as merely an Iraqi attempt to pressurize Kuwait to give in to its demands . 

  • The Iraqi army then moved to Saudi Arabian borders and stationed themselves there . 

 

Why Did Iraq Invade Kuwait ?

Official Reason 

  • The Iraqi government claimed that they invaded Kuwait at the request of the revolutionaries to free Kuwait from the ruling government . Iraq also warned other countries not to intervene , threatening to kill Kuwaitis if foreign powers are invloved . 

  • The revolutionaries wants to overthrow the ruling government because they are not contented with the way the country is being governed . So Iraq uses this as a reason to invade Kuwait . 

 

Saddam Hussein's Leadership 

  • He saw himself as the leader of Arab world , the refusal of Kuwait to comply with Iraq's demands was seen as defiance and a personal attack against him . 

  • Saddam Hussein was also worried that there would be an uprising against him in Iraq . The war with Iran from 1980 to 1988 had shattered Iraq's economy and left the dountry devasted . To the people , the war with Iran was not a success because of their plight . Prices of basic necessities were high and this made Saddam Hussien very popular among Iraqis . 

  • In addition , the Iraq govcernment have a army of a million personnel to deal with the Iranian threat . This made Saddam Hussien worried as he was afraid that the army will turn against him if the situation in Iraq failed to improve . 

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