Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait (1990): Conflict Build-up, Regional Diplomacy and US’s Stance

The change in politics is a rapid phenomenon. This is more so with anarchic international politics. During the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq war, almost all the rich and powerful states of the world supported Iraq, financially and militarily. However, the year 1990 witnessed a dramatic turnaround in the relations between Iraq, its neighbours and the United States (US). The states that supported Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war opposed the occupation and subsequent declaration of merger of Kuwait with Iraq, by Saddam Hussain, (the President of Iraq) as the 19th province, as unwarranted. Subsequently, a United Nations (UN) sanctioned force launched a united offensive against Iraq to free Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. In this paper, I have made an attempt to comprehend the diplomatic efforts made by the regional leaders to thwart the impending Iraq-Kuwait war in a contextual perspective. I argue that the US laid a trap for Saddam Hussain, the then prevailing dire economic conditions of Iraq after the Iran-Iraq war also pushed Saddam Hussain into the trap. I further argue that the diplomatic strategies of Saddam Hussain to deal with the US and Arab leaders were quintessentially flawed, that forced Iraq to invade Kuwait.