Name: Thirty years on, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait still haunts region
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Thirty years on, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait still haunts region

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In the early hours of August 2, 1990, Iraq’s army under President Saddam Hussein launched an attack on neighbouring Kuwait.Within hours, the capital city of the small oil-rich country had fallen, while Kuwait’s head of state, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, had fled to Saudi Arabia.“When I heard the news that morning, I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of pain and despair,” said&nbsp;“It was a dreadful day for both Gulf countries, but definitely the beginning of the end for Iraq,” he said, recalling the events 30 years ago.“Nothing has been the same again.”Although Iraq and Kuwait had decades-old border disputes, the two countries became close allies during the former’s 1980s war against Iran.Kuwait provided Iraq much needed funding in the form of loans for military equipment during the eight-year conflict.But after the Iraq-Iran war ended in 1988, Iraq,&nbsp; needed more financial assistance. It had its eyes on Kuwait’s massive oil resources and expected it to forgive its debt.Soon after Kuwait rejected its request to forgo the loans, Baghdad launched its offensive.&nbsp;“From&nbsp;Kuwait’s perspective, Iraq has always harboured an expansionist agenda towards Kuwait and their invasion fit into that agenda,” said Dania Thafer, director of the Gulf International Forum.“Many in Kuwait also argued that the invasion was largely motivated by Iraq’s desire to control Kuwait’s large oil reserves,” she added.The invasion was met with swift condemnation by the international community which moved to isolate Iraq politically and economically.&nbsp;On August 6, the UN Security Council (UNSC) demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. It also slapped a trade, financial and military embargo on Baghdad.But by late November, Kuwait was still under Iraqi occupation. The UNSC then authorised the use of “all necessary means” to force Iraq out of Kuwait if its troops did not withdraw by January 15, 1991. In the meantime, US President George Bush sent troops to Saudi Arabia and assembled a US-led international coalition with the goal of intervening if the deadline was not met.As the deadline passed with Hussein refusing to retreat, the US-led coalition launched Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991, with the fierce bombardment of targets in both Kuwait and Iraq.The 43-day operation ended on February 27 after aAfter nearly a seven-month occupation, Iraq had finally accepted all UN resolutions – but only after suffering thousands of military and civilian casualties and extensive damage to its infrastructure.In Kuwait, meanwhile, entire neighbourhoods had been destroyed, hundreds of Kuwaitis were killed or tortured and most of its oil wells had been set alight.Still, the small Gulf state eventually regained domestic harmony despite resentment among some Kuwaitis against the US operations and towards those who fled the country during the war.Courtney Freer, an expert on Gulf states and research fellow at the London School of Economics Middle East, adding that he invasion solidified feelings of nationalism and loyalty to the ruling family”.For Iraq, however, the opened the door to decades of devastation.&nbsp;Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was a dreadful day for both Gulf countries, but it was definitely the beginning of the end for Iraq.Instead of gaining access to Kuwait’s oil reserves or becoming a more strategic regional power, Iraq emerged from the war a“Iraq left the war weaker economically, politically, and militarily. Moreover, the neighbouring GCC states and Iran had developed antagonistic relations with Iraq, making Iraq politically isolated in the region,” explained Thafer, using the acronym for the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional bloc comprising of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.continued to suffer under crippling sanctions and years of embargo imposed by the UN.““That invasion destroyed Iraq. Things only got from bad to worse,” he added.A major long-term effect of the Gulf War was that it paved the way for greater US security and military presence in the region.Although US involvement in the war came on the heels of a request from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states for military assistance to curb Iraqi expansionism in the region, Washington had its own clear interests.“Bush was scared that Saudi Arabia and other GCC states could be next which would effectively cause disruption in oil production thereby causing a ripple-effect for economies across the globe,” said Thafer.“Additionally, the Gulf War provided a geostrategic opportunity to expand US military presence in the Gulf region and solidify its position as a superpower,” she added.The Gulf War provided a geostrategic opportunity to expand US military presence in the Gulf region and solidify its position as a superpower.Freer agreed: “The war arguably justified a larger US military footprint on the Arabian Peninsula, with large bases in Kuwait, Qatar and a naval base in Bahrain, since the invasion had revealed vulnerability of the smaller states in the region.”It also set the stage for the US-led invasion of Iraq more than 10 years later. Unsurprisingly to many, tens of thousands of US troops assembled in Kuwait before the start of the operations, with Kuwait serving as a bridgehead for the US military occupation of Iraq.According to Freer, the US’s successful involvement in the first Gulf War emboldened its decision to invade Iraq in 2003.“There was a sense of unfinished business, since US involvement did not lead to regime change in Iraq – something that the first Bush administration wanted but did not impose,” said Freer.Since the end of the first Gulf War, there have been major signs of mending regional and global relations with Iraq. Several global powers supported Iraq in a military operation against the ISIL until Baghdad’s victory against the armed group in 2017.Furthermore, several Gulf states provided financial support for the post-ISIL rebuilding efforts and have since shown growing interest in boosting bilateral relations.Notably, Kuwait also dedicated $30bn aid in 2018 to help Iraq – but 30 years on, the memory of the devastating war still haunts many in both Kuwait and Iraq.Source: Al Jazeera

In the early hours of August 2, 1990, Iraq’s army under President Saddam Hussein launched an attack on neighbouring Kuwait.Within hours, the capital city of the small oil-rich country had fallen, while Kuwait’s head of state, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, had fled to Saudi Arabia.“When I heard the news that morning, I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of pain and despair,” said&nbsp;“It was a dreadful day for both Gulf countries, but definitely the beginning of the end for Iraq,” he said, recalling the events 30 years ago.“Nothing has been the same again.”Although Iraq and Kuwait had...

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Arwa Ibrahim

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Thirty years on, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait still haunts region

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