Combined Oil Resources In Iraq And Kuwait example essay topic

The Causes of the Persian Gulf War "Two dozen U.S. and British aircraft's bombed five radar and other anti-aircraft sites around Baghdad with guided missiles yesterday in the first major military action of the Bush administration. It was the largest airstrike against Iraq in two years and hit sites near the Iraqi capital, a significant departure from the low-key enforcement of no-fly zones in the country's south and north. The U.S. -led alliance declared the zones off-limits to Iraqi aircraft's after the Persian Gulf War. President Bush, speaking at a new conference in Mexico alongside the Mexican President, Vicente Fox, called the raid " routine. ' But it was widely in Washington and other world capitals as presaging a get-tough attitude by the new administration toward a country that has vexed U.S. policymakers for more than a decade.

'Saddam Hussein has got to understand we expect him to comfort to the agreement that he signed after The Desert Storm,' Bush said... ". (Ricks A 1) Saddam Hussein's continuing failure to cooperate is one of many results of the Persian Gulf War. Between January 17 and February 28, 1991, an international military coalition sanctioned by the United Nations and led by the United States defeated the large, well-equipped Iraqi army and forced it to withdraw from occupied Kuwait. The allied offense, whose military code name was Operation Desert Storm, involved ground troops from 19 countries joining together from virtually every region on the globe: North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia (Yant 18). In essence, from the Iraqi position, there were three, main, inter-state causes of the Persian Gulf War: 1) To aquire a major port on the Persian Gulf, 2) To eliminate the $13 billion debt that Iraq owed Kuwait, 3) To gain vast oil reserves.

In order to better understand the Iraqi position, it is necessary to look at some of the historical factors. The discovery of oil by the the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; later renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and still later British Petroleum) in Iran in 1908 stimulated a great interest in potential Iraqi oil resources. Financial groups from several major nations engaged in protracted negotiations with the Ottoman Empire (present-day Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Turkey) in order to obtain concessions to explore for oil in Mosul and in Kirkuk, two locations in what later was north-central Iraq. Although a few concessions were granted prior to World War I (1914-1918), little surveying or exploration was actually done.

In 1912, several rival groups banded together to establish the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC), which would also seek a concession to explore for Iraqi oil and would attempt to eliminate rivalry among the partners (Phyllis and Moushabeck 49). Establishment of the TPC did not, however, eliminate the rivalry among the shareholders representing various national interests, such as those of Great Britain. After World War I, Iraq became a British mandate in 1920 yet that did not guarantee the TPC an exclusive concession. After lengthy negotiations, a concession was finally granted in 1925. In fact, numerous amounts of oil were discovered and because of the continuous negotiations with the Iraqi government, the TPC was renamed the Iraqi Petroleum Company (IPC) in 1929. This resulted in complete IPC control over the oil in Iraq (Phyllis and Moushabeck 47-49).

After the Iraqi revolution in 1958 and after the country was declared a Republic in 1961, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed in response to a reduction in revenues due to a surplus amount of oil in Iraq. OPEC's main objective was to limit the impact of Iraq on IPC. In response, Iraq formed the state-owned Iraq Nation Oil Company (INOC). Economically, Iraq remained stable with oil booms throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

However, there was a period of political instability, with one military coup swiftly succeeding another. Leaders came and went throughout the 1960's and early 1970's (Phyllis and Moushabeck 55). Iraq's general policy during these years was one of hostility to the West and friendship with the USSR. Iraq declared war on Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and in the 1973, gave material aid to Syria.

Problems were also compounded by border disputes with neighboring Iran when Iraq claimed parts of the country. In 1979, Saddam Hussein was declared president of Iraq. "Hussein, whose first name means 'fighter who stands steadfast,' has been likened to both Hitler and Stalin for his willingness to employ violence, terror, secret police, and a personality cult to obtain, sustain, and expand power " (Schwartz 76). "Saddam is a dictator who is ready to sacrifice his country, just so long as he can remain on his throne in Baghdad" (Butt).

In 1979, Iran's government was overthrown by Islamic fundamentalists and their supporters, and Hussein feared that those same radical Islamic ideas were spreading inside Iraq. In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, sparking the lengthy Iran-Iraq war. Ending in 1988 with a cease-fire, Iraq was left with $80 billion in debt. Kuwait greatly aided Iraqfinancially during these eight years resulting in an estimated $13 billion Iraqi debt to Kuwait ("Inside the Storm"). Kuwait itself was made a British colony in 1899 and oil was discovered there in the late 1930's. However, it was not until after World War II (1939-1945) that Kuwait began to export large quantities of oil.

Oil wealth transformed the society. Just as the rest of the Persian Gulf, the strategic importance of oil became increasingly apparent as the industry developed after World War II. In 1961, Britain granted independence to Kuwait, along with a number of other countries. Iraq, which had long claimed that Kuwait was part of southern Iraq, argued that Kuwait had been separated from it illegitimately. After being pressured by Arab countries and Britain, Iraq eventually backed down from its claim.

In 1980, when war broke out between Iran and Iraq, Kuwait sided with the Arab Iraqis even though it exposed them to Iranian attacks (Schwartz 225). Saddam Hussein gave many justifications for his invasion of Iraq in late 1990 and early 1991. Hussein revived historical claims that Kuwait, in fact, had always belonged to Iraq. He pleaded the fact that Kuwait had been part of the Ottoman province of Basra, a city in southern Iraq. However, the Ottoman province collapsed shortly after World War I and today's Iraqi border's were not created until then. In 1961, Kuwait was established as an independent and sovereign nation over Iraqi objections.

At that time Iraq massed soldiers along the border but backed off after British troops landed to defend Kuwait. Iraq formally withdrew its claim to Kuwait in 1963. However, in 1965, Iraq demanded the two Persian Gulf islands of Wabash and Bubiyan, along with other Kuwaiti territory close to the Iraqi border, in order to create space to construct a port at Umm Qas r and a railway line attached to it. This would have given Iraq a major port on the Persian Gulf.

Kuwait, however, refused, offering instead to lease War bah to Iraq for 99 years. In 1973, Iraq again demanded Bubiyan and briefly occupied a portion of Kuwait, but withdrew after Saudi Arabian forced moved into the country and Iran threatened to take military action (Schwartz 127). The expansion of Iraqi borders to Kuwait was an effort for a secure port on the Persian Gulf and was one cause of the Persian Gulf War. The fallout from the first Persian Gulf War between Iraq and Iran strained relations between Baghdad and Kuwait.

This war began with an Iraqi invasion of Iran and degenerated into a bloody form of trench warfare as the Iranians slowly drove Saddam Hussein's armies back into Iraq. Kuwait and many other Arab nations supported Iraq against the Islamic Revolutionary government of Iran, fearful that Saddam's defeat could herald a wave of Iranian-inspired revolution throughout the Arab world. Nevertheless, by the end of the war, relations between Iraq and Kuwait had severely deteriorated; The Baghdad government lacked help in the war and the old issues regarding the borders were reawakened. Kuwait especially supported Iraqfinancially. Iraq insisted that Kuwait forgive the billions of dollars they had loaned to Iraq during its war with Iran. Iraq claimed that they had fought the war to protect them from Iranian-sponsored, revolutionary Islamic fundamentalism that threatened to depose Kuwait and other Persian Gulf states (Freedman and Karsh 48).

Kuwait refused, and Iraq cited Kuwait's refusal to forgive Iraq's war-debt as another excuse for invading Kuwait. Iraq exported about one billion barrels of oil annually. If it annexed Kuwait, it could control another billion barrels a year. The combined oil resources in Iraq and Kuwait accounted for almost one-third of the world's annual oil production and 50-55 percent of the world's proven oil reserves.

In 1990, the United States was importing about 45 percent of its oil needs. The Western allies were even more dependent, importing over 90 percent of their oil. Combined, they imported about two billion barrels annually from the Persian Gulf region, about one-quarter of their total imports. Two weeks before the invasion, Hussein also accused Kuwait of stealing $2.4 billion worth of Iraqi oil by drilling into the Rumaila oil field, conspiring to reduce Iraq's essential oil income. The Rumaila oil field belongs solely to Iraq even though the final five kilometers reside on Kuwait's side of the border. Iraq also accused Kuwait of producing more oil than allowed under quotas set by OPEC.

Hussein charged that by exceeding the oil production quotas, Kuwait was driving down the price of oil and thereby weakening Iraq by depressing the value of its primary source. Iraq's main source of revenue came from its crude oil reserves, not from production and spin-off industries (Schwartz 44-45). Consequently, the lower prices reduced the value of Iraq's oil, thus weakening its economy. "Hussein complained to U.S. Ambassador April Glas pie on July 25, 1990, that by depressing the price of oil, Kuwait was threatening the jobs of Iraqi workers, and " harming even the milk our children drink and the pension of the widow who lost a husband during the war and the pensions of the orphans who lost their parents' " (Freedman and Karsh 102). The three causes of the Persian Gulf War were equally important. However, the fact that the coalition allies feared the loss of the Persian Gulf oil reserves must also betaken into consideration as an important immediate cause from the other side.

In essence, the Persian Gulf War was fought over who controls the oil. Ultimately, the allies found it unacceptable to permit Saddam Hussein to acquire such economical and political strength. Ten years later, although the allies won the war on land and protected Kuwait, Iraq still maintains dominance and continues to threaten Kuwait. Allied warplanes continue to bomb Iraq for attempting to build up military forces for peace-keeping violations. Although Kuwait was liberated in 1991, the final solution to the Iraqi war has, apparently, still not been achieved.

Bibliography

Bennis, Phyllis and Moushabeck, Michel. Beyond the Storm. New York: Olive Branch Press, 1991.
Saddam Hussein - His Rise to Power. Ed. Gerald Butt. Nov 17.1998.
BBC News. 24 Feb. 2001.
web in the gulf / decision makers and diplomacy / new sid 216000/216328.'s tm. Freedman, Lawrence and Karsh, Efrain. The Gulf Conflict: 1990-1991.
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Inside the Storm' Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX). 12 Jan. 1992: 1 A+.
Ricks, Thomas E. "Allied Jets Blast Iraq, Largest Strike in 2 Years, Seen as Signal of Get-Tough U.S. Attitude". San Francisco Chronicle. 17 Feb. 2001: A-1.
Schwartz, Richard Alan. Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War. North Carolina: McFarland & Co, 1998.
Yant, Martin. Desert Mirage: The True Story of the Gulf War. New York: Prometheus Books, 1991.