1991 Persian Gulf War: Causes and Consequences

Paper Summary:

According to the writer, the basic cause of the war between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the Allied Coalition led by the United States was Iraq's armed seizure of Kuwait in early August 1990. The paper traces the history of this occupation, then discusses the consequences which are explained in the paper as a military triumph by the United States and its allies and the removal of a serious threat to their vital interests.

From the Paper:

"A more immediate reason for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was Iraq's financial situation at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Iraq had prevailed against Iran largely because of financial assistance from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the other Gulf emirates. According to Hiro, Iraq emerged from the war with foreign debts to non-Arab nations of about $50.5 billion (three times its GDP), plus Gulf loans and credits of another $45 to $55 billion, including a debt to Kuwait of $14 billion. Iraq's ability to repay these debts was hampered by the declining world price of oil. At a series of meetings among the leaders of Arab countries in early 1990, Saddam Hussein demanded relief from this debt burden in form of lower oil production by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which had exceeded their OPEC production quotas and tens of billions of dollars in cash payments from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the other Gulf states. At the final meeting between Iraq and Kuwait on July 31, 1990, Friedman said he demanded "$10 billion plus some territory and drilling rights." According to Friedman, the August 2, 1990 invasion was the equivalent of "a debtor canceling his debt by robbing the bank.""

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