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Environmental Impact of the Gulf War

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Environmental Impact of the Gulf War
The Gulf War of 1990-1991 seemed to have been a decisive victory from a militarily and tactical point of view. From an environmental point of view the Gulf War was a disaster that ravaged the local ecosystem that the conflict touched. Both the Iraqi aggressors and the allied forces committed crimes against the environment ranging from use of minerals such as depleted Uranium for weapons manufacturing, and deliberate dumping of oil into the Gulf. The dumped oil spills had a major impact on the ecosystem around the Gulf region and in the Gulf itself. The actions that were taken and not taken from both parties (Iraqi troops, and allied forces) had a negative implication on the resources, and ecosystem of the Gulf.

There were three reasons as to why the Gulf war came about. First, Iraq had long claimed that Kuwait was a part of its own country. This claim led to many confrontations and hostility between the two countries. Along with Saddam Hussein’s defeated invasion attempt of Iran, it can be argued that he sought to find a weaker foe in order to conquer which happened to be Kuwait. Second, rich deposits of crude oil had straddled the borders of the ill-defined desert area, and Iraq claimed that Kuwaiti oil riggers were illegally tapping this rich reserve that was claimed to be part of Iraqi fields. The Middle Eastern deserts make it so that border differences between local countries are hard to distinguish, thus leading to conflicts. Finally, the fallout of the First Persian Gulf War between Iraq and Iran had strained the relationship between Baghdad and Kuwait. Iraq at first invaded Iran by Saddam’s will, but the war lead to a bloody form of trench warfare, and Saddam’s army was soon held off and pushed back into Iraq. Many Arab countries including Kuwait supported Saddam’s attempts fearful that his defeat in the war will

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