Payday in Persian Gulf

“Our objectives are clear. Saddam Hussein's forces will leave Kuwait. The legitimate government of Kuwait will be restored to its rightful place and Kuwait once again will be free. Iraq will eventually comply with all relevant United Nations resolutions...” George H. W. Bush

In order to analyze the Gulf Crisis between Iraq and Kuwait, the factors must first understand which contributed to the conflict. In 1980, Iraq carried out a major air and land attack on Iran. For eight years, the Iran-Iraq War grew more intense, until the U.S. “accidentally” downed an Iranian plane, killing 290 passengers. Some major factors with many others conduce to this war in time: territorial dispute, religious disputes between Islamic moderates and fundamentalists, and more importantly, a personality conflict between Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s president, and Ayatollah Khomein, the leader of Iran. During this war, the U.S. began to provide protection to Kuwaiti tankers, and hence, resulted in military conflicts with Iranian speedboats. Indirectly, the U.S. supported Iraq’s actions in this war. While the U.S. was busy protecting Kuwait, Kuwait supported Iraq financially by giving it more than $10 billion. At the close of the Iran-Iraq War in 1990, Iraq was eager to pay its international debt.
But, how?
Iraq’s chief export was petroleum. According to Iraq, Kuwait was providing a surplus of oil in the international community by exceeding it assigned OPEC quota. Furthermore, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing nearly $24 billion worth of oil from a location straddling their border. With his back against the wall, Saddam Hussein demanded forgiveness of the debt and $13 to $15 billion in reparations. After little progress in two months, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Immediately after the invasion, the U.S. led a coalition of states determined to protect Saudi Arabia and