Has Kuwait Prospered with Western Relations - Essay Example

?Kindly write about the US-Kuwait relations prior to the Gulf War and how it became AFTER the Gulf War. For instance, how Kuwait signed the security pact, how the US is protecting Kuwait, etc... Please follow every step given in the attachment I will post once payment goes through as these steps are the most important ones given by the professor. This paper should tell us exactly what happened between the two States and how they were able to have the relations they have today. Thanking you in advance, Best regards, Futouh Time Left: 4 days 23h 53m Style: MLA Language Style: English (U.S.) Grade: n/a Words: 3000 Sources: 10 Student Name Professor Class Date Has Kuwait Prospered with Western Relations? Introduction The country of Kuwait Overview of the Gulf War Why Kuwait Needed Western Aid The Nature of Kuwaiti Alliances The Future of Kuwaiti Relations In Conclusion Has Kuwait Prospered with Western Relations? Introduction After all the bloodshed, strife and horror of the late 1980’s early 1990’s, Kuwait has reemerged as a particularly polished and well-funded nation, especially considering the region. Surrounded by warring neighbors Kuwait is well noted for its wealth and stability (Crystal). Long time a bulwark for the West and the United States against many of the more radical regimes of the day, the United States had very close ties both politically and economically with the affluent rulers in Kuwait (Sharp). It was by using these relations to first put themselves into a position of prosperity, then reclaim their nation from Iraq, followed by the remarkable accomplishment of not only rebuilding but improving their position in the world society, that Kuwait managed to remain intact. Working with the vast resources of the West, the clever rulers of Kuwait have turned tragedy into fortune. By first examining the state of the Kuwaiti – United States/Western relations before the Gulf War and then researching the effects that the war itself had on the country, followed by the method that the Kuwaitis have used these results to its advantage to recover, we will answer the question: Is Kuwait better off because of Western Relations? This paper will seek to prove if indeed sometimes war can be good for a country and that if in the long term, security and economic concerns, for both countries, were and continue to be to this day, the driving factor behind the United States – Kuwaiti relations. The country of Kuwait Kuwait, in a region prone to chaos and unrest is a remarkable example of exactly the opposite. Founded in the eighteenth century, with aid from the British, Kuwait has been ruled continuously by one family, the Sabah clan (Crystal). This style of government has produced a positive and growing economy which easily transitioned to the oil industry with the discovery of large reserves within the country’s borders Continuing after the death of ruler Mubarak the Great, the Sabah family has accomplished a rare feat in holding power and satisfying their population. This has been made substantially easier by the amount of foreign interest money that is consistently pumped in their economy (Bennet). United States foreign policy has long focused on offering assistance and influence in the Middle East in areas that would help produce stability for the United States National Interests (Sharp). Long a top priority, the oil Fields of Kuwait were among the first assets protected by the United States under their defense agreement with the Sabah rulers. Although terrorism in the Kuwaiti area has remained low, the continued threat made by various terrorist organizations, both in the past and today made it imperative that workable defense treaties exist. By allowing other countries to provide a major portion of the defensive forces in the country, Kuwait was able to focus their wealth and influence on other issues. It was the aggression of Saddam and Iraq that tipped the balance of power in the region to one that required a response by the western powers (Hassan). The actions caused by the overreaching arrogance of a despot regime that laid the ground work for a complete reorganization of the Middle Eastern peninsula (Ism). Overview of the Gulf War Before the Gulf War was first thought of, Saddam Hussein held the world in thrall as his troops charged over the Iraqi – Kuwaiti border and began their first massive invasion (Mearsheimer). Much of this ill thought out military campaign rested on Iraq’s mistaken reliance that the United States and their allies would not risk upsetting the balance of power in the region by answering with a full invasion. Kuwait a long-time ally to the United States and the world at large called out frantically for support. The response was overwhelming, and in a very short space Iraq, indeed the world, had been changed forever. Recognizing all was lost, Iraq instituted a scorched earth policy as they withdrew from Kuwait (Khadduri). It was a monumental undertaking putting out all of the oil field fires that Saddams troops left behind them to frustrate the allies. Standing alongside this wanton act of destruction, virtually every standing building, road or public structure had been torn down or marred irrevocably. Behind their rapid retreat in the face of united opposition, Iraqi troops did everything to leave nothing save death and destruction. All of these acts show what truly vindictive acts of a small and continually isolated regime can look like. Kuwait was rocked and irretrievable altered over the course of the Gulf War. However short the actual physical altercation, the long term effects have lasted far beyond and in fact have affected a much larger population than the actual action itself did (Bennet). This initial invasion by Iraq clearly set the stage for the amicable use by the Western powers, when the Gulf War invasion of Iraq began in earnest. Long a real lynch pin in the United States attempts to keep Iraq in check, Kuwait is a vital piece of the Middle Eastern defense plan (Katzman 2005). Following the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq, the country has become indispensable in dealing with many of the other issues that the United States must constantly focus on. Ideal for the staging area the United States used to contain Iraq’s advancing forces, the tradition for the West to call upon their stalwart allies continues. Kuwait was also a major player in the invasion of Iraq by George Bush and the United States in 2003, by hosting the major portion of the invading troops within its confines (Katzman 2011). It was only with the timely assistance of the Sabah ruling regime in Kuwait that the United States led coalition of the willing was indeed able to accomplish all that they did. Even today Kuwait still feels the lingering effects of the Gulf war, both negative and positive. By accepting the aid from the Western countries they have opened themselves up to the Arab world for criticism. This delicate stance is only reinforced as they attempt to retain good relations with the competing Middle Eastern countries that vie for prominence around them every moment of every day (Cameron). Why Kuwait Needed Western Aid Why did Kuwait accept foreign aid? A question long hurled at them by their angry neighbors, why did Kuwait first enter into foreign relations with the West in the manner that they did? In many respects the Sabah clan are odd in that the long-time family of rulers have held a pro-western sentiment that is widely out of step with several of their adjacent nations. Was it the military might, the economic aid or the basic desire to find a balance to the other warring nations that surrounded them that caused Kuwait to sign the security pact and thereby firmly throw their influence behind the western nations? As much of the Middle East is mired in the oil industry, it was oil and national debt that began the deterioration in relations between Iraq and Kuwait in the beginning. Although already a long standing western ally, this tension served to only push the Sabah regime ever closer into the arms of the United States and the western powers in general. Alongside this simmering dispute was the fact that Iraq considered Kuwait to be a historical part of their country already and the British withdrawal from the region paved the way for the moral prerogative to spark the invasion. All these factors and more faced the rulers of Kuwait following the establishment of the country by Mubarak. Kuwait found themselves adrift on the sea of international politics at a time that the oil industry was truly beginning to show that their region was going to be extremely rich. With nearly all of their exports dealing with oil the need to provide a constant measure of security and operating comfort for the industry needed to be created. Kuwait needed a powerful ally (Khadduri). The end of the cold war occurring alongside the Iraqi- Kuwaiti situation, with Russia finally capitulating and realizing that the communist model of government was no long a sustainable model and therefore had to be radically modified, there was a vacuum in foreign funds and military assistance that many of the emerging Arab regimes relied on heavily (Crystal). This assistance is vital for these government to remain free from the influence of others like Iran, that were keen to annex not only their land and population but their oil reserves as well. This all drove the Kuwaiti government to seek help from the best ally available, the United States and their western allies. Before 1990, European and Western intervention in the Middle East had been largely limited to two fields of interest: Trade and pacts of cooperation with several of the countries that populate the area (Ism). It was the aggression by Iraq that first caused this paradigm to shift. It was this change in perception, that there were driving interests in the region that could not be simply left to the ruling monarchs that caused the Western countries to intensify their efforts to reach out to the receptive countries, those that would welcome them (Ism). At the time, United States President George Bush firmly put aside the notion that the United States should be the policemen of the world (Cameron), yet in this same vein it was his position that the with the collapse of the old dynamics that surrounded the Cold War, the opportunity to accomplish many of the long stalled goals of the world at large was at hand. Without the constant block of Russia, President Bush went on to visualize a world that encompassed the hope to make the Middle East as a whole a freedom loving region, as opposed to the long simmering pot of dispute and oppression that so very often marks the peninsula (Cameron). The attitude of the United States combined with the pressing needs of the nation of Kuwait practically made the continuing evolution of the two counties relations impossible to deny. Even though Europe and America actively work together in the region, there are many historical points of interest that have dove tailed through the decades to bring Kuwaiti – United States relations to the point that they are today. The Nature of Kuwaiti Alliances Before the modern Kuwait was founded, it was of great interest to the British as well as members of the Ottoman Empire during the turn of the century confrontations between the two European, colonizing nations (Kadduri). When Shaykh Mubarak, the first and original founder of the Sabah ruling family, ascended to the Kuwaiti throne, he was surrounded by enemies on virtually every front. This forced the man, a master politician, to seek outside the normal channels of help and he was forced to reach out to the British. In return Shaykh Mubarak was given a promise of independence by the Europeans and thereby, in one motion, set himself up to be one of the most powerful rulers in the Middle East (Khadduri). Shaykh Mubarak laid the ground work for the influence of the western nations to truly take root in the heart of the Middle East. By proving that there were definable and definitive interests and advantages to keeping Kuwait a sovereign nation, their rulers have been successful in defending their national interest alongside a mountain of turmoil and continuous states of unrest (Katzman 2011). It has been to the benefit of the ruling family that from that beginning, European assistance has evolved into the very substantial backing of the United States government alongside that of the entire United Nations. To the present day, the need to find themselves a retaining wall against the oppressive regimes of Iran and their allies makes the need for these sorts of alliances all the more imperative (Katzman 2011). The one defining factor behind each of the foreign policy moves of the Kuwaiti family has been necessity (Sharp). The United States foreign policy is driven largely by economic interests, and therefore the oil capacity of a nation such as Kuwait will consistently attract the attention of such an entity. The need to secure a constant supply of petroleum could very well be the cause to the entire state of unrest in the Middle East region (Khadduri). That being said the obvious attraction of the wealth, prosperity and advanced technology prove to very valuable incentives in the race to secure allies in the Middle East. The Future of Kuwaiti Relations In the past, the rulers of Kuwait have pitched their fortunes and forged alliances with many outside the mainstream of the Arab community. This trend does not appear to be in any danger of changing in the immediate future. Kuwait finds itself in the delicate position of needing the foreign aid and the continued good will of the Western nations, yet at the same time, social and economic changes at home cause many with-in the ruling party to continually question the direction and role of Kuwait in the various combat roles that the United States in currently involved in (Crystal). With the dissolution of the Iraqi regime and the fall of Afghanistan, Kuwait is largely free to pursue the resolution of long standing issues concerning leadership, political and economic reform (Katzman, 2005). It has become the continual disappointment to the Kuwaiti rulers that the remaining unrest and the inability to accurately predict the final direction of their neighbor, Iraq, stands in the way of many substantial improvements or changes in their own region (Cameron). It goes on to show the complex and intensive way that each tribe interacts with each other across the breadth of the Middle East. Lately, as political deadlock and the general instability of the Middle East have reached their society, Kuwait has found itself in the middle of a social and potential political quagmire of its own creation as its own stance on human rights has begun to be questioned (Katzman 2005). By suppressing members of its population with brutal method, Kuwait had been increasingly resorting to physical violence to accomplish its goals. That tide was turned after the resignation of key political figures, in advance of complete revamp of the Kuwait image (Katzman 2011). It seems to be the long standing tradition of stability in the region that has lent itself to the ability to recover peacefully, unlike many of their modern neighbors that are currently experiencing revolution. Notably, in a region marked with the overturning of longstanding regimes, Kuwait and the Sabah family, is successfully weathering yet another political upheaval. This lack of general leadership at home has projected a version of Kuwait as a weakened portrait of itself. Often deferring to Saudi Arabia in modern debate, the ability for Kuwait to take the lead in any of the regions confrontations and play any sort of pivotal role in resolving many key stumbling blocks around the Middle East, has been radically reduced (Katzman 2011). Once thought of as a potential ally in many Arabic consultations, the role of Kuwait as a median influence has also began to fade, along with their leadership. Still a strong ally of the United States and very much considered a stable country in the region, the relations between the Kuwaitis and the rest of the world will hinge on the future development of policies that affect not only oil production, but human and social rights. Having successfully navigated the treacherous waters of war fought for oil around them for decades and generations, they have surfaced as a country with continued potential for positive interaction and continual inclination to make treaties with those around them that can provide the largest benefit. In Conclusion The state of relations between the United Nations and the country of Kuwait, while not always on the same page, have managed to produce many positive results in the Middle East region as a whole. The use of the United States, Europe and the Western Allies has allowed Kuwait to not only initially form a national entity, but has protected it from the very inception. Followed by the lucrative trade agreements formed over the length of British involvement, Kuwait flourished as a trade partner for decades. These facts alone would denote a favorable pitch to future relations, but add in the need for military stability, not to mention the amount of oil in the region and Kuwait has several very compelling reasons to remain a steadfast, if not conservative, Western Ally. However, it is not only Kuwait that the Alliances in the region have given benefit. Both, Britain and the United States, indeed many European countries and much of the rest of the world consume Kuwaiti Oil. Kuwait offers a very strategic military access to the surrounding countries that the United Nations frequently seems to have a reason to occupy. This alone would make the region invaluable to many western nations. With an existing structure in place, the need to capitalize on the location only makes sense. Kuwait, by simply being in the right place at the correct moment, with amenable leadership, has turned the tide of destruction into a wave of rebuilding and hopeful expansion using the resources of the Western nations to help develop and protect them. This protection has allowed them to be far more stable, innovative and progressive in their accomplishments, than many of their neighbors. Today, although hopeful for the future Kuwait, the twin setback of death in the ruling family and the constant friction in the Middle East continue to drive unrest and uncertainty, (Katzman 2011), it is with small steps that the country of Kuwait will continue to thrive in this increasingly diverse world. By using their ties to the United States and the world at large, Kuwait has managed to not only rebuild their once devastated country, but they have managed to become all the more influential around the world. By examining the evidence, the argument that Kuwait is better off for associating with the West, both in military terms and economic terms shines forth in no uncertain terms. Trading assets for protection and large marketplaces, the government of Kuwait has been successful in their endeavor to take the best from the world around them and bring back profit to their own investment. Recognizing that the long time regional limits were no good, the ability to forge new paths with willing allies played, and continues to play, and vital role in not only Kuwaiti relations, but in the balance of power around the world. Work cited Bennett, Lance W. Taken by Storm: the media, public opinion, and U.S. foreign policy in the Gulf War. United States: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Blanchard, Christopher M. "Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations." Congressional Research Service (2010): n.pag. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Cameron, Fraser . US foreign policy after the cold war: Global hegemon or reluctant sheriff?. 1st ed. United States: Taylor and Francis Group, 2005. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Crystal, Jill. Oil and politics in the Gulf: rulers and merchants in Kuwait and Qatar. 1st ed. Melbourne , Australia: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Hassan, Hamdi A. "The Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait: religion, identity, and otherness in the analysis of war and conflict." 1999. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Katzman, Kenneth . "Kuwait: Security, Reform, and U.S. Policy." Congressional Research Service, 8 Feb. 2011. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Katzman, Kenneth. "Kuwait: Post-Saddam Issues and U.S. Policy." CRS Report for Congress. CRS, 18 May 2005. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Khadduri, Majid, and Edmund Ghareeb. War in the Gulf 1990-01: The Iraq Kuwait conflict and its implications. United States: Oxford University Press, 1997. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Mearsheimer, John J., and Stephen M. Walt. "An Unnecessary War." University of Chicago, 2001. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Sharp, Jeremy M. "U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2011 Request." Congressional Research Service. Congressional Research Service, 15 June 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Tareq, Ismael Y., and Jacqueline S. Ismael. The Gulf War and the new world order: International relations of the Middle East. United States: University Press of Florida, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. Read More