Term Paper on "Iraq and Kuwait Conflict Precipitating the Gulf War Kuwait's Point-Of-View"

Term Paper 5 pages (1573 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Iraq and Kuwait conflict pecipitating the Gulf war - Kuwaits' point-of-view

There are turbulent times facing the world we live in. As the Cold War has ended, with the victorious win of democracy, of justice, and humanity, another one is threatening the security of our land. This time however, it includes the clearest breach of the international law. The United Nation and the international community thus should and is morally obliged to take action against the aggression of a sovereign state by an aggressor. The Kingdom of Kuwait was on the night of August 2, 1990 attacked and barbarously invaded by the troops of Saddam Hussein. In the light of these events, and of the entire situation which unfolded since August 1990, it is imperative that action be taken under the UN Charter that would determine the limitation of the effects of the attacks, as well as the withdrawal of the Iraqi troops from the territory of the Kuwaiti state.

The state of Kuwait has been a strong supporter of the right of every nation to develop peaceful and in agreement with the international law. "As a member nation of the United Nations (UN), Kuwait is a strong supporter of the role of the UN in preserving international peace and security. Kuwait firmly believes in international cooperation to fight all forms of terror and coercion that threaten individuals and nations. It supports every country's right to defend itself and to restore sovereign rights as enshrined in the United Nations charter" (Kuwait Information Office, n.d.). This policy has been the cornerstone of our involvement in peace efforts meant to bring relief to peoples in suffering throughout the world.

Today is the day in which the international community must take action to retaliate against an enemy that defied all the rules of international conduct, of the international law, and of moral diplomacy. Today, 29 November 1990, the Security Council must decide on punitive actions which will address the Kuwaiti need for security, for independence, and for freedom from under foreign occupation.

The last months have been a visible proof of the defiance Saddam Hussein uses to respond to the constant attempts of the Security Council to diffuse the conflict started in the month of August. The immediate response of the Council is worthy of appreciation and was welcomed by the Kuwaiti people. Thus, Resolution 660 of August 2 is relevant for pointing out the fact that indeed the Iraqi army invaded a sovereign country; "determining that there exists a breach of international peace and security (...) acting under Articles 39 and 40 of the Charter of the United Nations" decided to condemn the aggression act and ask for the withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from the territories" (Peace Resource Center, 1990). However, the Iraqi government raised the level of defiance and ignored the call of the international community as well as the appeal of the United Nations.

The situation in Kuwait is at this moment rather dramatic. In the beginning of the war, there were accounts of the experiences undergone by locals who were unexpectedly faced with the forces of the Iraqi army. There had to deal with "tanks, trucks, and hundreds of soldiers. Already crowds of university employees on their way to work had been stopped, taken out of their cars, made to put their hands on their heads or lie on the ground (...) in the downtown area, soldiers burst into one of the hotels, created panic by firing their weapons, seized the safe deposit boxes and hotel cash, robed a few stores, and transferred all the hotel employees to an assembly area where thousands of civilians were held for several hours" (Ghabra, 1991). Indeed, our armies were not prepared to suffer and deal with such a shock and terrible surprise. We have always trusted our neighbors and had fate in the power of the international law.

The act of August 8, 1990 represented one of the toughest challenges facing us so far. "On 8 August Iraq announced its formal annexation of Kuwait, claiming that its forces had entered Kuwait at the invitation of insurgents, who has overthrown the Kuwaiti Government" (Arabic German Consulting, n.d.). This is a clear evidence of the way in which the Iraqi government decided to deal with the legitimate political forces in Kuwait.

The situation at the moment in the country cannot be overlooked or treated lightly. The reasons invoked by the leader in Iraq are totally absurd and cannot be taken for the truth of the reality in the region, nor can they be considered to represent a viable justification for invading a sovereign nation and breaching international law. They represent in fact a nationalistic line of thought which aims at putting the blame on the Kuwaiti state for the losses and destructions suffered by Iraq in its war with Iran.

Iraq has argued that Kuwait is leading a policy that would decrease the price of oil. Thus, "Iraq had alleged that Kuwait was exceeding oil production quotas set by the OPEC. Iraq had also accused Kuwait of stealing oil from the Rumailah fields, and establishing military bases and civilian establishments inside Iraqi territory" (Kuwait Information Office, n.d.). The state of Kuwait has not considered the interference with the sovereign rights of a state over its natural resources. Moreover, there are no issues in this sense to support the idea that Kuwait has in recent times attempted to conduct an unfair policy in regard to the exploitation or the selling of oil in the world. Therefore, the allegations presented by the state of Iraq in this respect are unfounded and can by no means be relied upon.

The actual reason for the indication that Kuwait is leading an unfair policy towards the OPEC countries and Iraq in particular is more related to the historical aspects of the war Iraq led in Iran. In this sense, "after the 8-year war with Iran over territorial disputes and religious rivalries between the Iranian Shiites and Iraqi Sunni factions, Iraq had a massive debt to many Arab nations including Kuwait" (Study World, 2008). Therefore, the war against Kuwait would have been a much easier solution for resolving the issue of debts and of additional resources of oil which the Iraqi state could have had control on.

Secondly, Iraq wants to control Kuwait and erase the sovereignty of a nation which has always been peaceful and tried to maintain its status as a peace loving country. However, "oil had made Kuwait one of the richest and most progressive countries in the world. This desert land is one of the world's leading producers having over one-tenth of the world's known petroleum reserves" (Study World, 2008). Therefore, it represents a rather attractive point of target for a country which is in desperate need of financial resources in order to strengthen even more the army created with money given by other states during the war with Iran. Such a justification is not acceptable and should not be considered lightly by the international community. At the present moment, Saddam Hussein poses a threat not only to the imperiled Kuwait, but also to the neighboring countries. The malefic force behind the Iraqi troops can lead them to attack, without any restrictions sovereign states such as Saudi Arabia (Kissinger, 1995). Such an evolution of events should not be disregarded especially from the point-of-view of the fact that the Middle East is becoming a friendly environment for the democratic nations of the world.

Thirdly, the situation in Kuwait can also be seen as a preview of the atrocities and destructions that could take place should the international community under the Security Council authorization would not find it necessarily to intervene with military forces in the region. The resolutions which followed the condemnation of the… READ MORE

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