Tensions Mount: Causes of the Gulf War

Conflict between Iraq and Kuwait had been occurring since 1961when Kuwait was granted independence from Great Britain. Iraq continually insisted that it had been governing Kuwait before the British takeover and therefore Kuwait was now part of Iraq. Despite these historically empty claims, Iraq finally recognized Kuwait in 1963. More tensions came later as a result of the Iran-Iraq War. Kuwait assisted Iraq with generous financial loans as well as diplomatic backing. After the war Iraq was $80 billion dollars in debt, and since Iraq emerged victorious it had become the strongest military power in the region. Iraq felt somewhat exempt from the debts that it owed

After the Iraqi troops fully withdrew from Kuwait, the environment was left in shambles. In the midst of fleeing from coalition troops, the Iraqis set fire to several oil fields which created huge oil lakes and released “noxious plumes of thick black smoke into the atmosphere” (“Persian Gulf”). Not only were oil wells ignited, but tons of oil was released into the Persian Gulf. Also, Iraq left a significant number of active mines and explosives which “would take years, if not decades, to disarm” (“Iraq Invades”). The ecology and natural environment in Kuwait was permanently damaged by the war.

Fig. 1. Comparison of tonnage from various wars showing that the Gulf War is very close in numbers to WWII and Vietnam. (“Operation”)

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