On August 2nd, 1990 Iraqi Military Forces Invaded And Occupied Essay Example For Students

On August 2nd, 1990 Iraqi Military Forces Invaded And Occupied Essay the small Arab state of Kuwait. The order was given by Iraqidictatorial president Saddam Hussein. His aim was apparently to takecontrol Kuwait’s oil reserves (despite its small size Kuwait is a hugeoil producer; it has about 10 per cent of the world’s oil reserves ). Iraq accused Kuwait, and also the United Arab Emirates, of breakingagreements that limit oil production in the Middle East. Accordingto Saddam Hussein, this brought down world oil prices severely andcaused financial loss of billions of dollars in Iraq’s annual revenue. Saddam Hussein had the nearly hopeless task of justifying theinvasion. He plead the fact that Kuwait had been part of the Ottomanprovince of Basra, a city in the south of Iraq. However, the Ottomanprovince collapsed after World War I and today’s Iraqi borders werenot created until then. There was also a further and more obviousblunder in a bid to justify this illegal invasion. Baghdad, thecapital of Iraq, had namely recognized Kuwaiti independence in 1963. Furthermore, Hussein claimed that Kuwait had illegally pumped oil fromthe Iraqi oil field of Rumaila and otherwise conspired to reduceIraq’s essential oil income. By invading Kuwait, Iraq succeeded in surprising the entireworld. The USA ended her policy of accommodating Saddam Hussein, whichhad existed since the Iran-Iraq war. Negative attitude toward Iraq wassoon a worldwide phenomenon. The United Nations Security Councilpassed 12 resolutions condemning the invasion. The ultimate decisionwas to use military force if Iraq did not withdraw unconditionallyby January 15, 1991. Then, when the deadline was set, it was time tostart preparing for the worst-the war. President George Bushconfronted little difficulty in winning Americans’ support for thepotential war against Iraq. However, the government found it difficultto decide upon and state one overriding reason for going to war. Wasit to oppose aggression or was it just to protect global oil supplies?Other powers were more directly concerned as consumers of Persian Gulfoil, but they were not as eager to commit military force, to risktheir youth in battle and to pay for the costs of the war . Critics ofPresident Bush continued to maintain that he was taking advantage ofthe issue of energy supplies in order to manipulate the U. S. publicopinion in favor of war. After consulting with U. S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney inearly August 1990, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia invited American troopsonto Saudi soil. He had seen Kuwait’s destiny; therefore, he wantedprotection. It was also the interest of the USA to stop any furtheradvantage of the Iraqi army. The deployment was called â€Å"OperationDesert Shield.† These troops were armed with light, defensiveweaponry. On November 8, 1990 President Bush announced a military buildupto provide an offensive option, â€Å"Operation Desert Storm,† to forceIraq out of Kuwait. The preparation of the operation took two anda half months and it involved a massive air- and sea lift. Finally, inJanuary 1991, the U. S. Congress voted to support Security Councilresolution 660. It authorized using â€Å"all necessary means† if Iraq didnot withdraw from Kuwait by January 15. Shrugging off this finalwarning, Saddam Hussein resolutely maintained the occupation ofKuwait. The United States established a broad-based internationalcoalition to confront Iraq militarily and diplomatically. Themilitary coalition consisted of Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia,Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt,France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Honduras, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco,the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland,Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Syria,Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the UnitedStates. The war also was financed by countries which were unableto send in troops. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were the main donors. Morethan $53 billion was pledged and received. Honky Book Report EssayIraqi front-line commanders had already lost much of theirability to communicate with Baghdad, which made their situation evenworse. On the final night of the war, within hours of the cease-fire,two U.S. Air force bombers dropped specially designed 5,000-poundbombs on a command bunker fifteen miles northwest of Baghdad in adeliberate attempt to kill Saddam Hussein. President Bushs decisionto terminate the ground war at midnight February 28, 1991 wascriticized, because it allowed Baghdad to rescue a large amount ofmilitary equipment and personnel that were later used to suppress thepostwar rebellions of its Shiite and Kurdish citizens. In his owndefense, the president asserted that the war had accomplished itsmandate. The mission, given by the Security Council, was to expel theIraqi forces from Kuwait and reestablish Kuwaiti independence. Bush’sdecision was probably influenced by his desire to maintain coalitionunity. A particular reason was to keep on board the Arab members, whowere increasingly unhappy at the devastation inflicted on Iraqsinfrastructure and civilian population. Iraqi representatives accepted allied terms for a provisionaltruce on March 3 and a permanent cease-fire on April 6. Iraq agreed topay reparations to Kuwait, reveal the location and extent of itsstockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and eliminate itsweapons of mass destruction. Subsequently, however, UN inspectorscomplained that the Baghdad government was frustrating their attemptsto monitor Iraqi compliance, and UN sanctions against Iraq were keptin place. The following chart shows total equipment and casualties ofthe Gulf War. In addition, 300,000 Iraqi soldiers were wounded,150,000 were deserted, and 60,000 were taken prisoner (an estimate ofU. S. Defense Intelligence Agency). The United States suffered 148killed in action, 458 wounded, and 11 female combat deaths. 121 werekilled in nonhostile actions; they were mostly victims of friendlyfire. Table 01; Total Equipment and Casualties of Gulf WarIRAQ COALITIONLOST ON HAND LOST ON HANDTANKS: 4000 4230 4 3360ARTILLERY: 2140 3110 1 3633ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS: 1856 2870 9 4050HELICOPTERS: 7 160 17 1951AIRCRAFT: 240 800 44 2600SOLDIERS: 100000 545000 200 680000