What really soured US - Iraq relationship?

[Robbie3000]

I can't find a comprehensive explanation. We were supporting them during the Iran - Iraq war. Then when the war ended and they had a border conflict with Kuwait, we took on Kuwaits side and became very hostile towards Iraq. We even had a meeting with Iraq before the Kuwait invasion where we expressed our desire to stay of Arab vs Arab conflicts

Sounds like a set up to me.

Does anybody know what actually happened to sour the relationship? Something must have went down between the end of the Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait that changed our relationship with Saddam regime.

 

[Truth200]

 

[A Real Human Bean]

Well, you kinda said it yourself. It was the invasion of Kuwait. Saddam misinterpreted Washington's opinion on the situation. They were fine with him doing some minor bullying on the border, but they didn't know he was going to go full out and invade and try to annex the country.

The Bush administration was clear in their articulation of having fears that he would withdraw and leave a puppet regime favorable to Arab interests.

There's some really good scholarship on the issue, with close looks inside high-level White House meetings immediately after the invasion started.

 

[Truth200]

 

[Truth200]

 

[Robbie3000]

Well, you kinda said it yourself. It was the invasion of Kuwait. Saddam misinterpreted Washington's opinion on the situation. They were fine with him doing some minor bullying on the border, but they didn't know he was going to go full out and invade and try to annex the country.

The Bush administration was clear in their articulation of having fears that he would withdraw and leave a puppet regime favorable to Arab interests.

It sounded like a set up from the way I read it. The US could have sent a stronger message not to invade Kuwait. This is the same guy who gassed his own people and we turned a blind eye.

The US was like "We know you are talking shyt about Kuwait, but as you know we don't get involved in Arab-Arab conflicts"

.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

I can't find a comprehensive explanation. We were supporting them during the Iran - Iraq war. Then when the war ended and they had a border conflict with Kuwait, we took on Kuwaits side and became very hostile towards Iraq. We even had a meeting with Iraq before the Kuwait invasion where we expressed our desire to stay of Arab vs Arab conflicts

Sounds like a set up to me.

Does anybody know what actually happened to sour the relationship? Something must have went down between the end of the Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait that changed our relationship with Saddam regime.

Saddam was never really a good guy. He was just the better of a shytty option.

And the Saudis hate Iran more than they hate Iraq, cause Iraq was a fairly secular nation.

 

[A Real Human Bean]

It sounded like a set up from the way I read it. The US could have sent a stronger message not to invade Kuwait. This is the same guy who gassed his own people and we turned a blind eye.

The US was like "We know you are talking shyt about Kuwait, but as you know we don't get involved in Arab-Arab conflicts"

.

I don't think it was a set up. The U.S. had no need to beef with Saddam out of the blue as he was a great partner for them. It was the typical U.S. reaction when they believe their "interests" are being "threatened".

 

[gho3st]

Is this a real question?? you really think sht like "great relationships" matters when you fukking up with a superpower's interest and your army pose no significant threat to said superpower??

 

[Robbie3000]

Is this a real question?? you really think sht like "great relationships" matters when you fukking up with a superpower's interest and your army pose no significant threat to said superpower??

I'm asking an honest question. Either contribute out of my thread.

 

[Robbie3000]

I don't think it was a set up. The U.S. had no need to beef with Saddam out of the blue as he was a great partner for them. It was the typical U.S. reaction when they believe their "interests" are being "threatened".

That's a possibility, but the bolded makes me think there was some fukkery afoot.

On 25 July 1990, the U.S. Ambassador to 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 between Kuwait and Iraq, stating "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts".

She also let Saddam Hussein know that the United States did not intend "to start an economic war against Iraq". These statements may have caused Saddam to believe he had received a diplomatic green light from the United States to invade Kuwait.[30][31]

The more I read the more I think it was to make Iraq honor it's war time debts. I'm willing to bet western banks were involved somehow in these Kuwait loans to Iraq. But I'm just speculating.

By the time the Iran–Iraq war ended, Iraq was not in a financial position to repay the US$14 billion it borrowed from Kuwait to finance its war and requested Kuwait to forgive the debt.[9] Iraq argued that the war had prevented the rise of Iranian hegemony in Kuwait. However, 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.

 

[superunknown23]

We got rid of Saddam, a Sunni ruling a Shiite-majority country...
Then shiites took over, sending angry Sunnis into terrorists' arms...
Shiite Iran suddenly became good friends with newly shiite-dominated Iraq
Iraq's new friendship with Iran makes it less friendly to the US

Somehow, our "leaders" didn't see it coming back in 2003... I seriously doubt that Bush even knew what a Shiite or Sunni was before invading

 

[Robbie3000]

We got rid of Saddam, a Sunni ruling a Shiite-majority country...
Then shiites took over, sending angry Sunnis into terrorists' arms...
Shiite Iran suddenly became good friends with newly shiite-dominated Iraq
Iraq's new friendship with Iran makes it less friendly to the US
Somehow, our "leaders" didn't see it coming back in 2003

I mean before the first gulf war.

 

[superunknown23]

I mean before the first gulf war.

Saddam got mad that the US stopped helping/caring about him after the Iraq-Iran war ended in a stalemate (we supported Iraq, but both countries lost).
So he decided to go into that Kuwait adventure and the rest is history.
Maybe he got bored... Dictators aren't always the most rational people out there

 

[unit321]

I can't find a comprehensive explanation. We were supporting them during the Iran - Iraq war. Then when the war ended and they had a border conflict with Kuwait, we took on Kuwaits side and became very hostile towards Iraq. We even had a meeting with Iraq before the Kuwait invasion where we expressed our desire to stay of Arab vs Arab conflicts

Sounds like a set up to me.

Does anybody know what actually happened to sour the relationship? Something must have went down between the end of the Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait that changed our relationship with Saddam regime.

Iraq was the lesser of two evils at one point. The US used to be in good relations with Iran until the Ayatollah took over the Shah and Iran kidnapped Americans back in the 1970s. So, later Iraq and Iran go into a war. Who do we dislike more? Iran. So we were pseudo - allies with Iraq.
When Iraq attacked Kuwait, based on Saddam's belief that Kuwait deserved to be attacked, then the US stepped in. Iraq's attack of Kuwait had nothing to do with al Queda, or strife between Sunnis and Shiite sects, or dislike of America. Since Kuwait was also friendly with the US, the situation was now, Iraq was the enemy. We still dislike Iran, so we didn't make good with Iran while Iraq was being bad boy.
If Iran made some whacked out offer that they take out the top ten al Queda leaders in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq in trade to further their own nuclear energy and weapons efforts, the US would be pondering that offer.

At first, the US would see that as a win. But it would bite is in the butt, when they threaten US allies with nuclear attack.