Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait
DOCUMENT IN CONTEXT
The second of the two wars in the Persian Gulf during the last decades of the twenti-
eth century began unexpectedly on August 2, 1990, when Iraq sent its army across the
border into neighboring Kuwait. Iraq quickly announced that it had annexed Kuwait
as its nineteenth province, citing as justification disputed claims arising from the pre-
World War I era, when the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the Middle East, and Brit-
ain’s subsequent creation of Iraq as an independent nation. The invasion caused great
alarm worldwide because of the potential threat to Persian Gulf oil supplies.
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait grew directly from the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq War,
which ended in 1988 after the combatants had blooded each other into mutual sub-
mission. The earlier war severely damaged the economies of both countries, particu-
larly Iraq, which lost most of its ability to export oil because of Iranian military actions.
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein saw Kuwait’s oil production as a quick economic fix,
making it a primary motivation for invading Kuwait. He also appeared to believe that
by adding Kuwait’s oil production to that of Iraq, he would control enough of the
world’s oil output to enable him to dictate a rise in world oil prices, which had tum-
bled at the conclusion of the Iran-Iraq War. Another factor involved the financing of
the war against Iran. During that conflict, Kuwait (along with Saudi Arabia) had
loaned Iraq billions of dollars and afterward had refused Hussein’s request that the
loans be forgiven; by taking control of Kuwait, Hussein apparently believed that he
could eliminate these debts. Hussein also accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil from the
Rumaila oilfield along the border between the two countries.
Iraq first threatened Kuwait in July 1990, when it began massing troops along the
lightly defended border. The United States responded quickly, first by announcing
“joint maneuvers” in the Persian Gulf with the United Arab Emirates and then dis-
patching Ambassador April Glaspie to meet with Hussein on July 25. The signals con-
veyed at that meeting later became the subject of dispute: The Iraqis claimed that
Glaspie had given them a green light for the invasion, but Glaspie staunchly denied
that she said anything to encourage Iraq’s territorial ambitions.
Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2 was a one-sided affair. An enormous Iraqi
force easily rolled past Kuwait’s weak defenses and by the end of the day had gained
control of almost the entire country. Kuwait’s ruler, Amir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Sabah,
fled to Saudi Arabia, along with tens of thousands of compatriots and foreign work-
ers who had been living in Kuwait. In subsequent days and weeks, Iraqi forces com-
mitted numerous atrocities against Kuwaiti citizens, particularly business and political
leaders.
Hussein offered his most extensive explanation of the invasion in a statement
broadcast on August 12, in which he stated that Iraq had provided “assistance” to the
people of Kuwait, “who have saved themselves from the al Sabah rule.” The Iraqi leader
also sought to link his occupation of Kuwait with Israel’s occupation of Palestinian
IRAQ AND THE GULF WARS 443