The Gulf War from the American perspective - Essay Example

In any case, once thing is clear; the publicly stated reasons of Iraq war were not digestible to many people. This paper analyses Gulf War from American perspectives. George Bush thought that Gulf War may help him to win the presidential election once again. He thought that this war might help him and his party (Republicans) to increase the popularity and hence he may get an easy walkover in the coming presidential election. However, Bill Clinton proved that such beliefs were wrong. “Clinton successfully made the economy the issue in the next election and managed to win it”1.

“For years Saddam received US support while committing atrocities. His was not the only government committing atrocities. His atrocities were never publicly discussed until he invaded Kuwait”2. The invasion of Kuwait brought Saddam Hussein into the public lime light. It was difficult for America to justify Saddam further. It should be noted that democracy is prevailing in America and America believes themselves as the saviour of human rights. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for America to stay blind while Iraq was questioning the sovereignty of an independent country.

Moreover, many Americans thought that Saddam is trying to become another Hitler. Increased influence of Saddam in the Middle East was not good for the American interests. “Saddam was repeatedly compared to Hitler. Then he was publicly defied and demeaned. The president said he has "had it" with "Sad'm" Hussein. Under U. S. leadership, the world was mobilized against him”3. America suspected the possibility of another world war unless they prevent Saddam from conquering neighbouring countries.

It should be noted that the military power of other gulf countries were negligible in front of Iraq’s military power at that time. In short, many people believe that America attacked Iraq to save the world from the possibility of another world war. Another argument claims that America attacked Iraq to control the oil resources. However, this argument seems to be far from reality since America’s oil imports from Iraq account only 5% of the total energy needs in America. There are plenty of other countries in this world which rely heavily on Iraqi oil resources for their energy needs.

“So oil is not the whole answer. Other possible aspects of the answer include "a new world order," collective security, interdependence, prevention of regional hegemony, and reversal of American decline”4. Even though Iraqi oil does not cause much direct problems to America, it has the potential to cause indirect economic problems in America. If Saddam Hussein had raised oil prices to $27 a barrel, the increase in our import bill would have been about $20 billion a year, or less than one half of one percent of GNP.

The greater harm comes when sudden rises depress the economy, but this effect is harder to estimate. Some economists believe that a temporary oil price of $40 a barrel, for example, helped to trigger the recession, which represented a loss of several percent of GNP5. “U.S. policy toward the Middle East is characterized by an intention to ultimately control the oil there, and keep other powers--not just the Soviet Union, but also Britain and France--away, if not dependent on the United States6.

It is a fact that oil resources in America are rapidly exhausting even though the demand for oil increases. The oil needs or the energy