Geographic Factors Behind the Iraq War

GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS BEHIND THE IRAQ WAR
A PAPER BY SAPEO GARDNER

Geographic Factors Behind The Iraq War

Many people have seen this war between Iraq and Kuwait as the starting point of everything that has been going on in the recent years between the United States and Iraq. The focus of this paper is on the geographical factors behind the war between Iraq and Kuwait but first of all I would have to start out with the facts and how the war came about. It all started when Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, ordered his military to invade Kuwait. Saddam Hussein’s motivation for this invasion was to assert control over Kuwait’s oil reserves (Duffy 107). Saddam believed that Kuwait was breaking agreements that limited oil production in the Middle East (Atkinson 34). Although Kuwait is a small country it is a large producer of oil, producing a large amount of the world’s necessity for oil (“CNN InDepth” 1). Despite Kuwait’s oil-producing success Saddam argued that this mass production brought down world oil prices and caused Iraq to lose billions of dollars in gross revenue (Kent 9). The invasion of Kuwait made the world angry at Iraq and left Saddam Hussein with a lot of explaining to do (Atkinson 39). He justified the illegal invasion by stating that Kuwait was once a part of their territory, which was located in southern Iraq and he wanted to regain that area, especially because of all the wealth that area was worth. Saddam was insinuating (because of Kuwait’s closeness) that Kuwait was illegally extracting some of its oil from its field in Rumaila. In 1963, Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, had recognized Kuwait as independent. After the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq was seen differently in the eyes of the world. Iraq was now looked at negatively by the world and no one supported their actions (“CNN InDepth” 1). Since the war between Iran and Iraq the United States found ways to help Saddam Hussein when needed, but due to his decision to invade Kuwait the United States ended all ties with Iraq (Atkinson 54). The United Nations Security Council passed twelve resolutions criticizing the invasion. They also gave Iraq a deadline to pull out of Kuwait by January 15, 1991 and if they did not comply, the United Nations would take military action toward Saddam and his army (Duffy 108). After the deadline was set, it became time to start preparing for the possible war with Iraq. The President at the time, George H.W. Bush, faced few hurdles when trying to win the public’s support for the potential war against Iraq; although, the government found it difficult to decide on a single good reason to go to war. Some parts of the world were up front in admitting that they were more concerned about the oil, but they were not so willing to send their own military into a war where they were not sure it was worth the loss of men or money. Kuwait’s nearby neighbor Saudi Arabia had full view of what was happening to them and looked to the United States for aid and protection (“CNN InDepth” 3). The King Fahd granted the permission for the US military to make base in Saudi Arabia. Once the invitation was extended, Dick Cheney took advantage of the offer and deployed the troops into that area of Saudi Arabia. By doing this, Cheney knew it was in the best interest for the United States to stop the Iraqi army from advancing any further (Atkinson 63). In order to get Iraq out of Kuwait, President Bush assembled a U.S. military to do the job. On November 8, 1990 Bush took the military over to Iraq, and this mission was called “Operation Desert Storm”. The United States established a large international coalition to diplomatically confront the Iraqis militarily (Duffy 111). The US congress gave permission, which authorized the military to take action if the Iraqis didn’t pull out before the day that was mandated (“CNN InDepth” 3). Saddam Hussein was not fazed by the threats of the UN and continued on with his reign of terror in Kuwait. The military coalition consisted of 36 countries united to take Hussein out of a country that didn’t belong to him. The US of course composed most of the UN troops (Atkinson 76). There were also some countries that even though they did not actually send troops to fight they did give money towards the war. There were countries that donated a lot of money but the Kuwaitis and Saudis were the major providers (“CNN InDepth” 3). The geographical factors for this war are one of the main reasons why all this trouble started and that is as we all know that Kuwait is directly south of Iraq. This problem was not new to the two countries or to the Arab world because this type of issue started to come up as the Iraqis and the Kuwaitis and so many Arab countries got separated from the Ottoman Empire (Duffy 77). The issue, like all issues, start from the past and one day it has to explode and this is what happened between these two countries which were already having issues since they were under the control of the British. Then after their independence from the British there was always a dispute over the territory and who had the territorial sovereignty over it and also who gets to pump oil out of certain areas (“CNN InDepth” 4). But as we can see the short distance could be a curse but also a blessing; in this time it was a blessing for the UN and all of the countries which were in one way or another - funding the war by providing money or by providing soldiers (Atkinson 88). So this proximity made the air and ground attacks more precise and faster to get the job done. With the American technologies in aircraft it made everything easier to attack the Iraqis and this would aid in the prevention of the death of not only Americans but UN soldiers (Carlisle 22). Another geographical factor attributed to the first Gulf War is the obvious matter of natural resources. While Iraq and Kuwait are both well-endowed in oil and other resources, it is without question that Iraq invaded Kuwait to take control of its oil wealth and add it to its already decent-sized oil wealth (Kent 44). Proximity was on Iraq’s side, and Kuwait’s size was as well. Pun intended, Iraq was the angry snake in the desert, lurking around the sand and waiting to find its prey, and Kuwait was the feeble, weak mouse, running in the sand just trying not to be found by an angry snake. Kuwait was vulnerable to Iraq (Carlisle 66). A small country (actually, relatively tiny), located underneath a dictatorial, authoritarian behemoth hungry for more wealth and more power, and more swing in the region? When Iraq attacked and annexed Kuwait, the snake finally bit the mouse, and was on its way to swallowing the mouse whole until the coalition stepped in and resuscitated the moribund mouse. Another key factor here, as I mention the coalition, was the pivotal role that Saudi Arabia played. An Arab country joining along Western nations to put an end to an illegal act committed by a fellow Arab/Muslim nation was key; without their cooperation and assistance, launching attacks would require a greater distance. Remember, forces were allowed to use Saudi airbases – another representation of the geographical factor of proximity (Kent 67). When it comes to war and launching offensives, proximity is the key. If a country is so far away from its war destination, it must have a place within proximity from which it can launch attacks (“ICE Cases: Gulf War Aftermath.”1). By securing the help of the Saudis, the coalition was close to its destination, and was able to launch precise, efficient, and for lack of a better word, fast attacks. In addition, the Saudis were able to provide an insight into the region, as to how to navigate the rough Middle-Eastern terrain, and they also contributed troops to the campaign. Because of these factors, the march to coalition victory was expedited (Martin 79). One last geographic factor that must be mentioned is the geopolitical aspect of the war – more specifically, borders, and the expansion of Iraq’s borders. By annexing Kuwait, Iraq’s borders were to be expanded, albeit not by much. Still, however, the mere fact that Iraq would become a larger country is geographically significant, because it is a sign of growing influence in a region of power struggle, and of military might to enter a country and just take it over (“CNN InDepth” 5). The coalition sought to stop this, in addition to the other aforementioned factors, and that is why they went to war. In conclusion, nobody can dispute why the U.S. and its coalition decided to pursue military action against Iraq in the 1991 Gulf Conflict. In addition, one cannot deny the geographic factors behind the war. The oil possessed by Kuwait provided enough incentive to Iraq’s tyrannical dictator, Saddam Hussein, to invade the country, annex it, and claim its oil wealth (Robinson 3). The expansion of Iraq’s borders was another key factor – remember, dictators are power hungry, and they are expansionists ("The American Way of Strategy: U.S. Foreign Policy and the American Way of Life” 2). Any chance they get to make their largess greater, they take it – Hussein did exactly that, albeit on a much smaller scale than his tyrant brethren from back in the day. From a military standpoint, through the secured cooperation of Saudi Arabia, the coalition gained a proximate launching pad to the region, and this undoubtedly aided in their military successes (“The American Way of Strategy: U.S. Foreign Policy and the American Way of Life” 2). The coalition achieved its objectives, not only because of superb international relations skills and military muscle – but also because geography was on their side.

Works Cited

Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. Mariner: New York, 1994.

Carlisle, Rodney P. America at War: Persian Gulf War. Facts on File: New York, 2003.

“CNN InDepth: Gulf War.” CNN InDepth Series. www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/gulf.war/facts/gulfwar/.

Creighton, Greg D. The Eyes of Orion. Kent State University Press: Cincinnati, 2001.

Duffy, Michael. "Searching For a Strategy.(Nation)." Time 168.21 (Nov 20, 2006): 34. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale.

“ICE Cases: Gulf War Aftermath.” American University Gulf War Series. www.american.edu/ted/ice/kuwait.htm

Kent, Zachary. The Mother of All Battles. Enslow: Seattle, 2000.

Martin, Michael. History’s Great Defeats: Saddam Hussein and the Persian Gulf War. Lucent: Toronto, 2003.

“Persian Gulf War.” National Defense University. Accessed 9 December 2006. www.ndu.edu/library/epubs/cpgw.pdf.

Robinson, Linda. "Getting Out." U.S. News & World Report 141.21 (Dec 4, 2006): 38-44. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale.

"The American Way of Strategy: U.S. Foreign Policy and the American Way of Life.(Brief article)(Book review)." Publishers Weekly 253.31 (August 7, 2006): 48(1). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale.

“The Gulf War.” PBS FrontLine. Accessed 8 December 2006. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/.

Cited: Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. Mariner: New York, 1994. Carlisle, Rodney P. America at War: Persian Gulf War. Facts on File: New York, 2003. Creighton, Greg D. The Eyes of Orion. Kent State University Press: Cincinnati, 2001. Duffy, Michael. "Searching For a Strategy.(Nation)." Time 168.21 (Nov 20, 2006): 34. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. Martin, Michael. History’s Great Defeats: Saddam Hussein and the Persian Gulf War. Lucent: Toronto, 2003. Robinson, Linda. "Getting Out." U.S. News & World Report 141.21 (Dec 4, 2006): 38-44. Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. "The American Way of Strategy: U.S. Foreign Policy and the American Way of Life.(Brief article)(Book review)." Publishers Weekly 253.31 (August 7, 2006): 48(1). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale.