McLeod-Warrick 1

Matthew McLeod-Warrick
Dr. Blase
Pol 152
9/26/16
The First Gulf War
The First Gulf War occurred in 1990-1991. The events that occurred were in the
following. Firstly, Iraq invaded its oil rich neighbor Kuwait. This resulted in the US and the UN
placing a trade embargo upon Iraq. This trade embargo did not have any effect, thus a
international coalition was formed that was spearheaded by the worlds greatest military forcethe US army. The war, at a military perspective was somewhat easy, the coalition drove Iraq out
of Kuwait in a matter of months, However, at a political level, the Gulf War is much more
complex. Why did this event occur? Who were the biggest players in the Gulf War? Was there
anything the US could have done differently? And most importantly, what were the long lasting
effects of the Gulf War.
Too find out why Iraq invaded Kuwait, there are several reasons, one on a history level,
the other on an economic level. On a historical level, it becomes clear that Iraq has always felt
that Kuwait as belonged as a part of Iraq. The reason for the cultural belief that Kuwait was part
of Iraq, traces all the way back to the Ottoman Empire, where Iraq, controlled Kuwait as part of
its empire. This led to the people of Iraq saw Kuwait as part of Iraq. (Khadduri)
Furthermore, there was a large economic incentive for Iraq invading Kuwait. Firstly,
according to Europe plus, the petroleum sector remains the most important contributor to the
countrys GDP.. Thus, Kuwait is well known for its oil reserves, and this is one reason that
Iraqs leader, Saddam Hussain, cited for invading Kuwait, Saddam Hussain of Iraq accused
Kuwait of having stolen Iraqi oil reserves valued at US $2,400m. from a field that straddles the
unresolved border. $2,400 million, is an incredible amount of money, true or not true, it led to a
powerful ineciateive for Iraq to invade Kuwait. Annexing Kuwait, would give Iraqs economy
an incredible boost, since they could add Kuwaits fast oil reserves to their own.
Furthermore, the leaders of the two major countries in the conflict, George H.W Bush and
Saddam Husyan, both played key roles in the conflict. President George H.W Bush was clearly
against the annexation of Kuwait. His counterpart Saddam Husyan was a militarized leader, who
wanted to take over Kuwait for their oil rich fields, thus allowing Iraq to raise the price of oil,
thereby becoming more powerful.
President Bushs thoughts on the invasion of Kuwait can be summed up by his speech.

McLeod-Warrick 2

Less than a week ago, in the early morning hours of August 2d, Iraqi Armed Forces,
without provocation or warning, invaded a peaceful Kuwait. Facing negligible resistance
from its much smaller neighbor, Iraqs tanks stormed in blitzkrieg fashion through
Kuwait in a few short hours . . . If history teaches us anything, it is that we must resist
aggression or it will destroy our freedoms. Appeasement does not work. As was the case
in the 1930s, we see in Saddam Hussein an aggressive dictator threatening his neighbors.
(Page 129)
Malik, Ahmed Ijaz. US Foreign Policy and the Gulf Wars : Decision-making and International
Relations (1).
Notice that President uses such words as blitzkrieg referring to the famous Nazi invasion of
Poland, a fast a devastating war. Using such language, the president makes clear that he is
against Iraq, and supports Kuwait. Furthermore, Bush compares Hussien to Hitler, a comparison
that should not be taken lightly, because when Hitler invaded Poland, and subsequently the rest
of Europe, the result was the most devastating war the world has ever seen.
Thus, the president started implementing polices that would help Iraq leave peaceful
Kuwait. From the start, the Bush administration made it clear that that they did not want to
impose a new regime in Iraq (Page 127 US Foreghn policy), thus making an invasion of Iraq
unlikely, for, it would be hypocrical of the extreme for the US to invade Iraq for invading
Kuwait. Furthermore, this policy would mean that the US would not be stuck in territorial
disputes with Iraq. This is crucial, since the last war the US had fought was Vietnam, and
Vietnam not only cost the US millions of dollars, but also thousands of US soldier deaths. In
what is known as the most unpopular war in American history.
Thus, President Bush imposed plans to help Kuwait, and prevent Iraq from taking a
permanent hold of Kuwait. Firstly, President Bush, felt that working with Arab countries and the
USs best ally, Great Brittan, was imperative to pushing Iraq out of Kuwait. (Khadduri 104) He
also felt that economic sanctions would deter Iraq and force them out of Kuwait; however,
military involvement would be used if necessary. (Khadduri 105).
At the end of the period of economic sanctions, President Bush had become, not doubt
frustrated by the ineffeinceny of the economic sanctions. This is highlighted in this quote.
Economic sanctions mandated by the UN Security Council resolution 661 have had a
measurable impact upon Iraqs economy but have not accomplished the intended
objective of ending Iraqs occupation of Kuwait. There is no persuasive evidence that
they will do so in a timely manner. (Page 134 US)
Thus, president bush felt that the time had ended whereby the US should simply stand by meekly
and wait for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Thus, he pushed congress to enact military action.

McLeod-Warrick 3

In the end, the Bush administration at large got the war that they needed. Thus, the
Administration laid out the mission of this war- it was not open ended like other wars. The
mission was to a. to effect the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi
forces from Kuwait; b. to restore Kuwaits legitimate government; c. to protect the lives of
American citizens abroad; d. to promote the security and stability of the Persian Gulf. Page 134.
Thus, the administration had made it clear, that this was a humanitarian war- not a war of
conquest. The administration, laid out that they would not invade Iraq, nor seek an retribution.
Furthermore, the mission was to promote stability in the Gulf. The last thing the coalition,
especially the Bush administration wanted was more war. This is in part because the US wanted
to protect oil interest, which will be more developed later.

Saddams person beliefs/motives for taking over Kuwait.

IV: There are a plethora of consequences that the first Gulf War had on the Middle East.

ISIS
Sowing discord in the Middle East at large
Chemical warfare used by Saddam against Kurds in the North

V: The UN, as one, tried to use peaceful, economic sanctions on Iraq, this did not work, thus, the
UN used military means to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

Details on military action

What could the UN and US done differently?

VI: Liberalism does the best job of Analyzing the first Gulf War, for several reasons.

Liberalism explains why Iraq invaded Kuwait (Iraq invaded for economic reasons IE
more oil!!!)
Liberalism explains why the UN, as a coalition, kicked Iraq out of Kuwait for no
economic gain.
Liberalisms analysis of the individual allows one to analyze the craziness of Saddam
Husyan and realize that he was a driving force for Iraqs invasion of Kuwait.

Works Cited
Schwab, Orrin. The Gulf Wars and the United States: Shaping the Twenty-first Century.
Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2009. Web.

McLeod-Warrick 4

Khadduri, Majid, Ghareeb, Edmund. War in the Gulf, 1990-91 : The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict and
Its Implications. Oup Oxford: 1997. Web.
Malik, Ahmed Ijaz. US Foreign Policy and the Gulf Wars : Decision-making and International
Relations. I.B.Tauris 2014. Web.
Kamrava, Mehran. The Modern Middle East, Third Edition : A Political History since the First
World War. University of California Press: 2013 Web.