The causes and immediate consequences of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, including the post-war debt crisis, the role of the United Nations, and the formation of the Coalition

What this dot point is asking

NESA expects you to explain why Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, how the invasion happened, and how the international community responded. Strong answers integrate the long-term and short-term causes (debt, oil prices, territorial claims, Glaspie meeting), the invasion itself, the annexation, the UN Security Council resolutions, and the formation of the US-led Coalition.

The answer

The post-war Iraq problem

Iraq emerged from the Iran-Iraq War (ceasefire 20 August 1988) with an army of around 1 million but a wrecked economy. Foreign debt totalled around 80 billion US dollars. Annual debt service exceeded annual oil revenues. The regime needed money.

The major creditors were the Gulf monarchies (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, around 30 billion each), Western governments, and Soviet bloc arms suppliers. Saddam framed the war as having defended the Arab world from Iranian revolutionary expansion and argued the Gulf loans should be cancelled.

Oil prices and Kuwait

Iraq needed oil at around 25 US dollars per barrel to service debt and rebuild. Through 1989 and 1990 Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates consistently exceeded their OPEC production quotas, pushing prices down. By July 1990 oil traded at around 14 US dollars per barrel. Every dollar below 25 cost Iraq about 1 billion US dollars per year.

The Rumaila oilfield straddles the Iraq-Kuwait border. Iraq accused Kuwait of slant drilling under the border to extract Iraqi oil; the claim was largely unsupported by evidence.

Diplomatic build-up: May to July 1990

The Arab Cooperation Council summit at Baghdad (28-30 May 1990) heard Saddam attack Kuwait. The 16 July 1990 letter from Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz accused Kuwait of stealing oil. On 17 July 1990 Saddam delivered a speech threatening "effective action."

The Jeddah negotiations (31 July to 1 August 1990) between Iraqi delegate Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah broke down after one day. Iraq invaded the next morning.

The Glaspie meeting

US ambassador April Glaspie was summoned to meet Saddam on 25 July 1990. The Iraqi transcript records Glaspie saying:

"I have direct instruction from the President to seek better relations with Iraq. We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait."

Glaspie did warn Saddam against military action but emphasised hopes for diplomatic resolution. Saddam read the meeting as confirming US disinterest.

The invasion

At 02:00 on 2 August 1990 Iraqi forces crossed the Kuwait border at multiple points. The Republican Guard's Hammurabi, Medina, and Tawakalna divisions led. Kuwait City fell within 12 hours. The Dasman Palace fell after a firefight in which Sheikh Fahd al-Sabah, the Emir's brother, was killed.

Emir Jaber al-Sabah and Crown Prince Saad evacuated to Saudi Arabia. Around 350,000 expatriate workers fled overland. Foreign nationals including Westerners were held as "human shields" at strategic sites in Iraq through the autumn.

Annexation

Iraq initially announced a provisional government under "free Kuwaitis" (4 August 1990). On 8 August 1990 Saddam declared the "comprehensive eternal merger" of Kuwait with Iraq. On 28 August Kuwait was declared the "nineteenth province" of Iraq.

The UN response

Resolution 660 (2 August 1990)

14-0 with Yemen abstaining. Condemned the invasion and demanded immediate withdrawal.

Resolution 661 (6 August 1990)

Imposed comprehensive sanctions: a total trade embargo on Iraq and Kuwait.

Resolution 662 (9 August 1990)

Declared the annexation null and void.

Resolution 665 (25 August 1990)

Authorised naval enforcement of the sanctions.

Resolution 678 (29 November 1990)

Authorised "all necessary means" if Iraq had not withdrawn by 15 January 1991. The vote was 12-2 (Cuba and Yemen against, China abstaining). This was the legal basis for war.

The Coalition

President George H. W. Bush declared on 5 August 1990 that "this will not stand". Secretary of State James Baker and National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft built the Coalition through August to November.

The Coalition eventually included 35 nations. The United States provided around 540,000 troops at peak. Britain contributed 53,000; France 18,000; Egypt 36,000; Syria 14,000; Saudi Arabia 100,000; Kuwait 7,000. Australia contributed two frigates and a supply ship. Japan and Germany contributed 13 billion and 6 billion US dollars respectively.

The Arab participation was secured at the Cairo Arab League summit (10 August 1990), which voted 12-3 to deploy Arab forces. Operation Desert Shield deployed forces to Saudi Arabia from 7 August 1990.

Last diplomacy

US-Iraq talks between Baker and Aziz at Geneva on 9 January 1991 lasted six hours and produced nothing. The Iraqi National Assembly voted on 14 January 1991 to authorise war. The UN deadline expired at midnight on 15 January 1991 New York time.

Timeline

Historiography

Lawrence Freedman and Efraim Karsh (The Gulf Conflict 1990-1991, 1993) is the standard diplomatic history.

Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor (The Generals' War, 1995) is the operational standard.

F. Gregory Gause III (The International Relations of the Persian Gulf, 2010) places the invasion in regional structural context.

How to read a source on this topic

Sources commonly include the Glaspie transcript, the 17 July 1990 Saddam speech, the UN Security Council resolution texts, Bush 41's 5 August "this will not stand" remarks, and images of Kuwaiti tanks burning in Kuwait City.

First, weigh the Glaspie meeting carefully. The "green light" interpretation is overstated by Saddam apologists; Glaspie did warn against military action. But she lacked clear authority to threaten consequences.

Second, note the Soviet position. Without Soviet acquiescence in the Security Council, Resolution 678 could not have passed. The end of the Cold War made this war possible.

Examples in context

Example 1. The April Glaspie meeting (25 July 1990). US Ambassador Glaspie told Saddam the United States had "no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait." The transcript, leaked to the New York Times on 23 September 1990, was used by critics to argue America gave a green light. Pierre Razoux and Lawrence Freedman (with Efraim Karsh, The Gulf Conflict, 1993) treat the meeting as a diplomatic misstep but not a green light, in the context of Saddam's $14 billion Kuwaiti debt and Rumaila oilfield dispute.

Example 2. UN Security Council Resolution 678 (29 November 1990). Authorised member states to use "all necessary means" to expel Iraq if Saddam did not withdraw by 15 January 1991. Lawrence Freedman emphasises the unprecedented Soviet acquiescence and Chinese abstention as the moment Bush's New World Order seemed feasible. The Coalition reached 35 nations; Japan and Germany contributed funding rather than troops, beginning a debate about post-Cold War burden sharing.

Try this

Q1. Source A is UN Resolution 678 (29 November 1990). Using Source A and your own knowledge, explain the international response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. [5 marks]

• What the marker wants. Identify "all necessary means" authorisation; cite Soviet support, Coalition formation; link to the 15 January 1991 deadline.

Q2. Evaluate the extent to which the 1990 invasion of Kuwait was the result of Saddam's economic crisis rather than a planned annexation. [25 marks]

• What the marker wants. Weigh the Kuwait debt, Rumaila oil pumping, post-war economic exhaustion against ideological pan-Arabism; use Freedman/Karsh, Razoux.

Q3. Compare the views of Lawrence Freedman and Pierre Razoux on the causes of the 1990 invasion. [10 marks]

• What the marker wants. Freedman (rational coercion gone wrong) versus Razoux (post-Iran-Iraq War financial desperation); judgement.