Intl Security: Gulf War 1990-1991 - Essay Example

For a long time there had been war between Iran and Iraq which had ended in August 1988 after the United Nations-brokered a ceasefire. However, by mid-1990 the two states (Iran and Iraq) had yet to initiate negotiations on a permanent peace treaty. The foreign ministers of both countries had met in Geneva and prospects for peace then seemed bright. It seemed as though Saddam Hussein was prepared to dissolve the conflict and return the territory his forces had long occupied. However, two weeks later, Hussein accused Kuwait of siphoning crude oil from Iraq’s oil reserves.

This was seen as Hussein’s strategy to arm-strong Kuwait and Saudi Arabia into cancelling Iraq’s $30 billion foreign debt. He also accused them of conspiring to maintain low oil prices in order to attract the Western market. Hussein’s speech was not the only indicator that Iraq was preparing for war. Iraq had already started amassing troops along Kuwait's border and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was alarmed by this and swiftly initiated negotiations between the two countries in a bid to avoid U.

S’s intervention. Two hours into the negotiations, Hussein broke them off and ordered Kuwait’s invasion. Hussein had initiated the war based on the assumption that fellow Arab states would not take sides[1]. This proved to be a miscalculation. Two-thirds (2/3) of the 21 members of the Arab League strongly condemned Iraq's actions. Members of the Arab League turned to the U.S and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for support.

Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait & Allied Response President Bush immediately condemned Iraq’s actions as did Britain and the Soviet Union governments. Calls condemning the invasion and calling for Iraq’s withdrawal continued as the United Nations Security Council joined the band-wagon. The Security Council passed 12 resolutions condemning this invasion and also imposed economic sanctions on Iraq[2]. The 12th resolution passed was an ultimatum.

It approved the use of force by U.N. member states if Iraq refused to withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. Members of the U.S Congress publicly called on the President and the international community to exhaust all means possible in order to peacefully resolve the Gulf crisis. Three days before U.N’s deadline, Congress granted the President authority in what was considered to be the most explicit war-making power ever given to a president in recent history. Hussein after the annexation called Kuwait Iraq’s “19th Province”[3].

In August 8th the first U.S. Air Force fighter planes began arriving as part of a military operation dubbed- Operation Desert Shield. The planes were accompanied by a conglomerate of troops- NATO allies’ troops, Egypt as well as several other Arab nations. It was evident that Iraq was already feeling the pressure from all around as Hussein increased its occupation forces by 300,000 troops. Also, in an effort to garner the Muslim world’s support, Hussein declared a jihad (holy war), against the coalition.

He also attempted to ally himself with the Palestinian cause. For this, he offered to evacuate Kuwait and the Israeli could replace them upon their withdrawal. These efforts failed and Hussein was forced to conclude a hasty peace treaty with Iran in order to beef up his army.