US Intervention In The Persian Gulf

In response to the Iraqi invasions the U.S. and some Middle Eastern countries created the anti-Iraq coalition to challenge them. Bush was trying to relieve Kuwait from Iraq. While America was successful, this war set the tone that the U.S. would always be involved in Middle Eastern conflicts and fueled antagonistic sentiment toward America. This was significant because it helped provoke uprisings against Hussein, and when he refused to step down the Second Persian Gulf War

“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” (John Steinbeck). Across the history of mankind, war, regardless of its reasons and outcomes, had led to the countless loss of human life. The gulf war, also known as the Persian Gulf War, is an international incident triggered by the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq under its leader, Saddam Hussein, which led to long term effects on the politics of the region. Many western historians claim that Sadam’s probable motive was to seize the wealth of Iraq’s oil rich neighbor, Kuwait. The claim is that Saddam, in his act of invasion, was trying to rid his country of the severe economic trouble that it found itself facing after its war with Iran. There were other reasons for Saddam’s invasion

U.S. foreign policy changed after the Cold War after the U.S. was unsure of what to do with their increased national defense. Many critics questioned the need for heavy defense spending and the large number of U.S. bases. For most of the twentieth century, the Cold War defined U.S. foreign policy as it centered around the idea of containment. After the Soviet Union fell, Americans shifted their focus from containing communism to solving several ethnic, religious, and cultural conflicts, more specifically toward peacekeeping, globalization, and humanitarian ideology. One such result of this foreign policy was direct action in the Gulf War in 1990; the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm deployed during the gulf war was viewed widely as a success and helped to reinforce Bush’s ideals about a new world

Firstly, it is important to understand why the United States decided to support Iraq. One of the reasons, is their loss of Iran as one of their “twin pillars.” When Nixon took office in 1969, his administration undertook a major review of US Persian Gulf policy. As part of an effort to redefine US military interests in key areas throughout the world by way of supporting certain states with arms rather than military forces. The result was the Nixon Doctrine, which relied on security cooperation with regional states to protect US interests around the world. In the Gulf, the United States heavily supported Iran and Saudi Arabia, a strategy that would quickly be known as the “Twin Pillar Policy.”

The Persian Gulf War all started because of one country’s greed for oil. Iraq accused Kuwait of pumping oil and not sharing the benfits, and Kuwait was pumping more oil than allowed under quotas set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it decreased the price of oil, Iraq's main export. Iraq's complaints against Kuwait grew more and more harsh, but they were mostly about money. When Iraqi forces began to assemble near the Kuwaiti border in the summer of 1990, several Arab states tried to intervene the dispute. Kuwait didn’t want to look weak so they didn’t ask for any help from the United States or other non-Arab powers for support. Arab mediators convinced Iraq and Kuwait to negotiate their differences in Saudi Arabia, on

Other Arab nations, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, asked the U.S. and similar Western countries. He disregarded the UN’s requests to pull back from Kuwait. The war started along with Operation Desert Storm, led by the U.S. 28 other countries also joined to fight Iraq in the war, including Britain, France, and Germany. At the end of the war in 1991, Iraq had been defeated but it had suffered much damage along with Kuwait. Saddam Hussein was not even removed from power so he still continued to rule. In 1992, Bill Clinton was elected as president and his terms in office brought many positive changes. There was less unemployment, less crime, and a budget surplus; however it was all overlooked when Monica Lewinsky showed

Greene cites Bush’s major foreign policy success as his international leadership for the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait. He engineers a near unanimous vote, including the Soviets, of support in the United Nations. Bush also clearly articulates America’s purpose for the first Gulf War in his National Security Directive 54 (p. 127). His concise directive provided military commanders with finite, attainable missions to accomplish, leaving little ambiguity, contributing greatly to the success of the

Greene cites Bush’s major foreign policy success as his international leadership for the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait. He engineers a near unanimous vote, including the Soviets, of support in the United Nations. Bush also clearly articulates America’s purpose for the first Gulf War in his National Security Directive 54 (p. 127). His concise directive provided military commanders with finite,

President George H. W. Bush served as the forty-first president of the United States from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993. During his presidency, the United States was still working to overcome its defeat in the Vietnam War. Two years into his presidency, peace was threatened in the Middle East when the oppressive dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, took over the small nation of Kuwait in attempts to have access to a supply of oil. President George H. W. Bush responded to this threat with military force. The conflict was extremely short, ending in approximately six weeks, with a United States victory. Although the United States involvement was originally believed that the president’s military response was to support the nation of Kuwait,

“One of the good things about the way the Gulf War ended in 1991 is, you 'd see the Vietnam veterans marching with the Gulf War veterans” (George H. W. Bush). President Bush stated that the Persian Gulf War was not fully supported by the soldiers who fought in the war. Gulf War veterans marched like Vietnam veterans because they also viewed the war as unjustified. Persian Gulf War veterans would say, “American soldiers lost their lives’ for oil.” The first Persian Gulf War started from August 2, 1990 and ended on February 28, 1991. This war began by the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. During this invasion some of the oil fields of Kuwait were set on fire and some of the oil spilled to the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf was the oil supplier for western countries. So anything happened to the Persian Gulf, the western countries will naturally react. The factors that led to The United States’ involvement in the first Persian Gulf War included Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, his control over a sizable share of the world’s oil reserves and his power over the economies of the world. Many Americans believe that the first Persian Gulf War was not necessary for the United States.

In 1987 President Reagan ordered the protection of the Persian Gulf by US warship in an attempt to keep the flow of oil through the area unharmed (Klare 2005 p.4). These actions were deemed necessary because a disruption in oil production and exportation from the Persian Gulf would greatly affect the US. Not only would it have harmed our economy, but it also would have instilled a need to find other means of accessing oil. Again in August of 1990 president George H. W. Bush deployed forces to Saudi Arabia for similar reasons, stating,

1990, President George H.W. Bush went to the Persian Gulf region with his wife and top congressional leaders at Thanksgiving time to visit the 400,000 troops gathered in Saudi Arabia, whom he sent there to protect that country from an Iraqi invasion. When the President arrived, he was greeted by Saudi officials with nothing less then open arms. This was period in US-Saudi relations that saw little if any disagreements and appeared to be a continuing foundation for pleasant ties in the future. However,

In addition, Bush’s popularity among American voters had severely declined, and he was desperate to bolster his plummeting popularity. Advised that a war would solidify his presidency and ensure his reelection, To these two ends, the war against Iraq was conceived and executed. Under the guise of attacking Iraq because they had invaded Kuwait, Bush launched a full-scale assault, sending half a million troupes in and raining down a colossal amount of bombs. In reality, the UN-imposed sanctions were accomplishing their purpose and a war was not at all necessary; it was done to liberate the Kuwait populace. It was done to accomplish the goals and personal self-serving interests of

With Bush putting us in the Middle East to help out our oil interest in Kuwait after Bush left office and Clinton took over the United Nation’s looked to the president to lead against the Iraqis. With the UN backing Clinton imposed Economic sanctions and no fly-zones on Iraq. When Saddam Hussein went against these restrictions Clinton retaliated with a series of missile strikes. After these strikes the UN required the Iraqis to have weapon inspection teams from the UN to come in and make sure they weren't trying to obtaining WMDs’ again. When Saddam Hussein kicked out these inspectors Clinton was livid and thought that they were trying to hide their WMDs’. After finding this out Clinton launched Operation Desert Fox, a bombing attack that aimed for existing nuclear weapons and their factories which they created them in. Operation Desert Fox lasted for four days in which Saddam Hussein started to learn not to go against the will of the UN. Bill Clinton did not just wage “war” in the Middle East he also tried , like so many other presidents, to bring peace to Israel. Clinton hosted the Oslo Accords, where

Persian Gulf War, also called Gulf War, (1990–91), international conflict that was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion and occupation of Kuwait with the apparent aim of acquiring that nation’s large oil reserves, canceling a large debt Iraq owed Kuwait, and expanding Iraqi power in the region1. The Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein claimed as a reason for the invasion a territorial dispute over the Shatt al-Arab, the waterway which forms the boundary between the two countries2. Saddam Hussein believed that Iran was in turmoil and that his forces could achieve quick victory3.