U.S. INVASION ON IRAQ

Introduction

The 1990-91 confrontation between Iraq and an American-led international coalition coordinated under UN auspices, which ostensibly resolved the topic of the Iraqi seizure of Kuwait on August 2, 1991. The Gulf War inaugurated the permanent introduction of U.S. ground and air forces in a region frequented only by naval forces. Thus, U.S. foreign policy became more entangled with the relations and difficulties of Islamic states than ever before. (Korb 12)

History Of The Conflict

Iraq and Kuwait have a long-standing boundary argument that has initiated tension between the two countries for decades; Iraq has accused Kuwait of drawing oil from areas on the Iraqi edge of the border. Following the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988; furthermore called the First Persian Gulf War), Iraq was very powerfully in liability and desperate to boost its oil revenue.

At this time, the cost of oil declined, and Iraq accused Kuwait of deliberately manipulating world oil markets to Iraq's disadvantage. Experts now accept as factual that President Saddam Hussein of Iraq acted against Kuwait in the wish of annexing the country and its oil areas, thereby making up Iraq's shortfall in oil revenues. Anti-Kuwaiti rhetoric became more and more evident and shrill in the Iraqi press and in official statements in months leading up to Iraq's August 2, 1990, invasion of Kuwait. (U .S. Executive Office of the President 11)

Foreign policy experts in the U.S. government were preoccupied in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the fall of communism in Europe and the geo-political implications of the end of the Cold War; in evaluation, the Iraq-Kuwait boundary argument appeared minor. Following the hardships of the Iran-Iraq War, most analysts anticipated Iraq to start to rebuild its economy and society. That the U.S. government would not countenance an Iraqi invasion in the volatile Gulf region was advised self-evident, and the anti-Kuwaiti rhetoric was perceived as blustering.

Taken by shock, the U.S. government now questioned assumptions it had made about the Iraqi regime. If Hussein had been so foolish as to invade Kuwait, he might furthermore try to invade Iraq's other neighbors— in specific, oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Such instability in the region could propel up world oil charges and be a grave risk to the U.S. economy. The United States started to gather a coalition to prevent farther invasion and put pressure on Iraq to remove from Kuwait. (George 125)

The United States was not alone; the United Nations passed a resolution condemning the invasion and calling for an direct departure, and inside a week it had passed a resolution calling for an economic embargo against Iraq. Both resolutions passed nearly unanimously. At the identical time, the United States-led coalition—including some Arab nations— started sending armies to Saudi Arabia. Eventually, more than 300,000 armies would take part in Operation Desert Shield, with the United States supplying most of the military personnel and other coalition constituents the funds. Over the next couple of months, as diplomatic efforts and an embargo failed to compel an Iraqi departure, former ...