Invasion of Kuwait

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Invasion of Kuwait
Part of the Gulf War
Date 2-4 August 1990 Location Kuwait Result Iraqi occupation of Kuwait triggering the Gulf War.
Combatants
Republic of Iraq	State of Kuwait
Commanders
Ali Hassan al-Majid	Unknown
Strength
100,000[1]	16,000[2]
Casualties
37+ aircraft (est.). Other losses N/A	20 aircraft lost, 200 KIA,[3] 600 POWs[4]

Gulf War
Kuwait - Khafji - 73 Easting – Al Busayyah – Phase Line Bullet – Medina Ridge – Wadi Al-Batin – Norfolk

The invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait which resulted in the 7 month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait^[5] which subsequently lead to direct military intervention by United States-led forces (see Gulf War).

The invasion started on August 2, 1990 and within two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or escaped to neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Contents 1 Causes of the conflict 1.1 Dispute over the financial debt 1.2 Kuwait's lucrative economy 1.3 Rumaila Oil Field 1.4 Arab nationalism 2 Iraqi-American relations 3 The invasion 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Causes of the conflict

[edit] Dispute over the financial debt

Kuwait had heavily funded the 7 year long Iraqi war against Iran. By the time the war ended, Iraq was not in a financial position to repay the $1.4 billion which it had borrowed from Kuwait to finance its war.^[3] Kuwait's reluctance to pardon the debt created strains in the relationship between the two Arab countries. During late 1989, several official meetings were held between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi leaders but they were unable to break the deadlock between the two. After the failure of the talks, Iraq tried repaying its debts by raising the prices of oil through OPEC's oil production cuts. However, Kuwait, a member of the OPEC, prevented a global increase in petroleum prices by increasing its own petroleum production. This was seen by many in Iraq as an act of aggression, further distancing the countries.

[edit] Kuwait's lucrative economy

After the Iran-Iraq War, the Iraqi economy was struggling to recover. Iraq's civil and military debt was higher than its state budget. On the other hand, with its vast oil reserves, Kuwait was regarded as one of the world's wealthiest and most economically stable countries. The Iraqi government clearly realized that by seizing Kuwait, it would be able to solve its financial problems. Due to its relatively small size, Kuwait was seen by Baghdad as an easy target.

[edit] Rumaila Oil Field

The Rumaila Field lies in both Iraq and Kuwait and was a matter of dispute between the two countries. During the initial years of the "oil boom", Iraq concentrated on the oil fields to the north while much of Kuwait's oil drilling activity took place at the Burqan Oil Field. However, in 1989, Iraq accused Kuwait for illegally slant drilling into the Iraqi part of the Rumaila Oil Field. Iraq claimed $1 billion including $22.4 billion in compensation for the oil "stolen" from the Rumaila field in Iraq since 1989 by Kuwait's alleged slant-drilling under the Iraqi oil fields. Even though Kuwait dismissed the allegation as baseless,^[6] the Iraqi government decided to retaliate against Kuwait's alleged "economic warfare" by launching a military invasion.

[edit] Arab nationalism

Though Kuwait's large oil reserves are widely considered to be the main reason behind the Iraqi invasion, the Iraqi government justified its invasion by claiming that Kuwait was a natural part of Iraq carved off due to British imperialism.^[7] After signing the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, Britain split Kuwait and Iraq into two separate emirates. The Iraqi government also argued that the Kuwaiti Emir was a highly unpopular figure among the Kuwaiti populace. By overthrowing the Emir, Iraq claimed that it granted Kuwaitis greater economic and political freedom.^[3]

[edit] Iraqi-American relations

On Wednesday July 25, 1990, the American Ambassador in Iraq, April Glaspie, asked the Iraqi high command to explain the military preparations in progress, including the massing of Iraqi troops near the border. The American ambassador declared to her Iraqi interlocutor that Washington, "inspired by the friendship and not by confrontation, does not have an opinion” on the disagreement which opposes Kuwait to Iraq, stating "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts". She also let Saddam Hussein know that the U.S. did not intend "to start an economic war against Iraq". These statements may have misled Saddam into believing he had received a diplomatic green light from the United States to invade Kuwait (New York Times, September 23, 1990).

[edit] The invasion

On August 2, 1990 at 0200 hours, Iraq launched an invasion with four elite Iraqi Republican Guard divisions (1st Hammurabi Armoured Division, 2nd al-Medinah al-Munawera Armoured Division, 3rd Tawalkalna al-Allah Mechanized Infantry Division and 6th Nebuchadnezzar Motorized Infantry Division) and Iraqi Army special forces units equivalent to a full division. The main thrust was conducted by the commandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack Kuwait City, while the other divisions seized the airports and two airbases.

In support of these units, the Iraqi Army deployed a squadron of Mil Mi-25 helicopter gunships, several units of Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters, as well as a squadron of Bell 412STs. The foremost mission of the helicopter units was to transport and support Iraqi commandos into Kuwait City, and subsequently to support the advance of ground troops. The Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) had at least two squadrons of Sukhoi Su-22, one of Su-25K, one of Mirage F1EQ and two of MiG-23BN fighter-bombers. The main task of the IrAF was to establish air superiority through limited counter-air strikes against two main air bases, to provide close air support and reconnaissance as necessary.

In spite of months of Iraqi saber-rattling, Kuwait did not have its forces on alert and was caught unaware. The first indication of the Iraqi ground advance was from a radar-equipped aerostat that detected an Iraqi armor column moving south.^[8] Kuwaiti air, ground, and naval forces resisted, but were vastly outnumbered. In central Kuwait, the 35th Armored Brigade deployed approximately a battalion of tanks against the Iraqis and fought delaying actions near Jahra, west of Kuwait City.^[9] In the south, the 15th Armored Brigade moved immediately to evacuate its forces to Saudi Arabia. Of the small Kuwaiti Naval Force, two missile boats were able to evade capture or destruction, one of the craft sinking three Iraqi ships before fleeing.^{[citation needed]}

Kuwait Air Force aircraft were scrambled, but approximately 20% were lost or captured. An air battle with the Iraqi helicopter airborne forces was fought over Kuwait City, inflicting heavy losses on the Iraqi elite troops, and a few combat sorties were flown against Iraqi ground forces. The remaining 80% were then evacuated to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, some aircraft even taking off of the highways adjacent to the bases as the runways were overrun. While these aircraft were not used in support of the subsequent Gulf War, the "Free Kuwait Air Force" assisted Saudi Arabia in patrolling the southern border with Yemen, who was considered a threat by the Saudis because of Yemen-Iraq ties.^[3]

By daybreak of August 2, Iraqi tanks were attacking Dasman Palace, the royal residence. Emir Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had already fled into the Saudi desert, but his private guard and his younger half brother, Sheikh Fahad al–Ahmad al–Sabah, stayed behind to defend their home. The sheikh was shot and killed and his body was placed in front of a tank and run over.^[10] Alaa Hussein Ali was placed as head of a puppet government in Kuwait, prior to its annexation into Iraq.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• INVASION
• Iraq's invasion of Kuwait (02 August 1990)
• Saddam Sends Apology to Kuwait for Invasion December 09, 2002
• PLO apologises over Kuwait December 12, 2004