Saddam Hussein's Decision to Invade Kuwait - Where Was Plan B

Abstract

Two objectives characterize Saddam Hussein's statecraft his personal survival as Iraq's leader and his desire to assert Iraqi influence in the Middle East Both of these objectives figured in his decision to invade Kuwait in August 1990 Surveying the damage to the Iraqi economy following the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam knew that insufficient resources would force hum to shelve any domestic program of reconstruction and development, with possible adverse consequences for his ability to maintain authority over the disparate elements of the Iraqi population Saddam knew also that economic constraints could also undermine his ambitions of maintaining and improving Iraq's position as a regional military power Kuwait was viewed as a solution to both Iraq's economic needs and a strategic weakness, i e the vulnerability of the Shatt al-Arab and the need for an assured, independent avenue for Iraqi oil exports.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA442611

Entities

People

  • Frances R. Culpepper

Organizations

  • National War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Arabia
  • Compensation
  • Domestic
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Iran Iraq War
  • Iraqi-War
  • Middle East
  • National Security
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Universities
  • War
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Educational Psychology
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.