Essay About Uprising Of Saddam Hussein And Power Of Oil

Before World War I, the Turkish Ottoman Empire had complete control of the Middle East and it was a whole, with no separate nations. After losing World War I, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled and the majority of the land was claimed Great Britain and several other victors of the war such as France. What was not claimed, still remains today as Turkey. In the year 1921, Great Britain combined several parts of the land to create the nation of Iraq, as agreed in the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The creation of this nation would soon cause many drastic problems in the East due to three major ethnic and religious groups being forced to share the same land: Shiah (Shiite) Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and Kurds. Soon after, Britain instated King Faisal I to be the Iraqi leader, but he was a weak leader and the Iraqis were livid at the fact that Britain had not kept their agreement that Iraq would have full independence for the help in overthrowing the Turks. Britain had some reasons to hold control of the land, with the discovery of oil in the area and Iraq being a land route to the Persian Gulf (Jason). With the strong British military control, the Iraqis had very little say at this time in the future of their new nation. Eventually, Iraq gained its full independence in the year 1932 as the British mandate finally came to an end (Congressional Digest ).

Saddam Hussein became the president and dictator of Iraq in the year 1979, but had a very powerful status before becoming the ruthless leader that caused so much disaster within his country. Throughout all of his life, Saddam had been known for his extreme desire for power, striving to be the most feared man in Iraq. His way of reaching supremacy was violence, killing or harming the lives of anyone who got in his way or had opposing opinions. After becoming the leader of the nation, Saddam made many improvements in reform and modernization. The greatest improvement was the nationalization of Iraqi oil, which brought him vast power, wealth, and international status (Johnathan). With massive amount of oil being produced, Iraqs military budget increased ten times between 1970 and 1975 and Saddam was able to purchase large amounts weapons and military supplies from the Soviet Union and France, but he did not want to stop there. The ruthless leader soon began producing biological and chemical agents that he could use as weapons of mass destruction, believing that he could dominate the Arab world and destroy the newly created nation of Israel. Saddam began to invest billions of dollars into the production of nuclear weapons, and began to trade cheap oil to France and Russia for assistance in producing plutonium and training nuclear physicists. Saddam Hussein was holding a ticking time bomb that could cause an outbreak of violence and destruction worldwide (Jason).

In 1979, pro-American Iranian leader Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi was overthrown and replaced by a Shiah religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who established a fundamentalist Islamic republic. Because Iran had been pro-American for the previous 30 years, the U.S. had supplied them with modern military weapons and technology. Now Iran was a threat to the United States, and to make the situation worse Iran was very prosperous in oil and Saddam wanted control (Congressional Digest) . In July of 1980, top officials of the U.S. and Iraq met and discussed ways to stop Iran from advancing. This was one area that the U.S. and Iraq could agree on, but America was reluctant due to Iraqs support of terrorism against Israel whose existence is guaranteed by America. Despite the aspect of Israel, the United States proceeded in supporting Saddam with military supplies, critical information, and even the production of the banned weapons of mass destruction. Saddam used his chemical weapons, bombs, and missiles to wipe troops and entire cities in Iran and at one point used gas to kill 5,000 Iraqi Kurds who had allied themselves with Iran. The casualties of the Iran-Iraq War are estimated to be around one million people. Saddams thirst for blood and power had subsequently led to major Iraqi debt. Iraq owed tens of billions of dollars to Arab and Western countries and hundreds of billions of dollars in repairs were needed for the damage done to Iraq. With oil being the only main source of income for most Middle Eastern nations, Saddam knew that lots of oil was necessary to get him out of his financial hole. Over 9% of the worlds oil can be found in Kuwait, and thats right where Saddam had his eyes set (Jason).

When satellite photos showed hundreds of Iraqi tanks lining up near the Kuwaiti border on July 17, 1990, General Colin Powell called it off as a bluff. With so many crucial aspects missing such as artillery, fuel trucks, and troops, it was very unlikely that Saddam would try to take Iraq, let alone do it successfully. On top of that, Saddam had recently been urging Kuwait to lower their oil production in order to raise prices. Although it appeared to be a bluff, there were several pieces of land that Saddam was serious about acquiring. One was to take control of two islands that both Kuwait and Iraq claimed, but it was rightfully Kuwaits. Possession of this land would allow Iraq access to the Persian Gulf and a place to store oil during transport. The other was the dispute over the extremely prosperous oil field, Rumaila, which lay near the Iraq-Kuwait border. Saddam claimed the oil field

to be “great, but only if there’s enough land” to make it so. And the war went on. On Dec. 8, 1991, Kuwait’s supreme court, which had issued a decree establishing a permanent legal status for Kuwait, approved the proposed creation of a permanent state in the province of Kuwait, known as Kuwaitia. The oil field at Rumaila has since been reclaimed. The Kuwaiti legislature approved a new constitution in 1995 and a new constitution is on the table. While Hussein’s and Qaddafi’s decision was a disaster, it was also a mistake; if the people had stayed home, they would be able to get back to the country. Iraq’s decision is an act of sovereignty; a declaration of authority and the creation of a state would have been a major mistake. By now, this country has been ruled by a dictator who has already lost his grip on his own country. In an ideal world, one would be very certain that this new constitution and the constitution that will follow it would be made by a dictator who is still in power. Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein 2 The Iraq conflict had been a huge success in Gulf history. In the following five years, Kuwaitans, Arabs, Europeans and Afghans, and the Muslim League supported Kuwait in its struggle with Islam; so did more countries. In fact, with the signing of this new constitution, Kuwait could finally be an equalizer. Kuwaitia should only be called Kuwait, since that would legitimize an era of freedom for Iraqis. As the civil war spread around neighboring Saudi Arabia—which was then allied with Saddam in the Gulf War of 1991—then the idea of an East-West coalition was almost as old as Islam itself. With the Gulf war breaking out in March 2001, there was considerable talk in the West that Saddam Hussein’s forces in northern Iraq were beginning to break off, and the situation seemed like one to go to. In fact, the situation seemed to change very little in this half a century. In 1991, Kuwait finally became a majority government but the West began to turn against the tiny Arab states, especially Iraq. The Arab Spring, which began with the fall of the Arab States in Tunisia and Egypt, resulted in a new political and cultural shift in the Middle East. The Arab revolutions took place in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Jordan, and in Iraq and Kuwait. This brought new Arab states in line with the United States and European allies, who viewed Iraq’s rise as a disaster awaiting us. While the Arabs had been enjoying a good start to their civil war, we could not forget that the West was not always so accommodating to our people. The Iraqi people had become a more assertive society, and Saddam Hussein saw Iraq’s position as an opportunity to take up arms against the Gulf Arabs. It wasn’t an ideal time to be taking up arms against the Gulf Arabs, but it was also a time of peace. The Arab Spring had brought about a dramatic shift in the dynamics of the Middle East and the relationship between Iraq and the outside world was already beginning to deteriorate. In the meantime, the Gulf War started to lose face at home. In the following months, Kuwait faced a number of problems at home; it was being overrun by the Islamic State and the Islamic State was slowly losing ground. In fact, even Kuwait, which had been its main trading partner, was in a state of war. During this period, American jets flew over this

to be “great, but only if there’s enough land” to make it so. And the war went on. On Dec. 8, 1991, Kuwait’s supreme court, which had issued a decree establishing a permanent legal status for Kuwait, approved the proposed creation of a permanent state in the province of Kuwait, known as Kuwaitia. The oil field at Rumaila has since been reclaimed. The Kuwaiti legislature approved a new constitution in 1995 and a new constitution is on the table. While Hussein’s and Qaddafi’s decision was a disaster, it was also a mistake; if the people had stayed home, they would be able to get back to the country. Iraq’s decision is an act of sovereignty; a declaration of authority and the creation of a state would have been a major mistake. By now, this country has been ruled by a dictator who has already lost his grip on his own country. In an ideal world, one would be very certain that this new constitution and the constitution that will follow it would be made by a dictator who is still in power. Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi and Saddam Hussein 2 The Iraq conflict had been a huge success in Gulf history. In the following five years, Kuwaitans, Arabs, Europeans and Afghans, and the Muslim League supported Kuwait in its struggle with Islam; so did more countries. In fact, with the signing of this new constitution, Kuwait could finally be an equalizer. Kuwaitia should only be called Kuwait, since that would legitimize an era of freedom for Iraqis. As the civil war spread around neighboring Saudi Arabia—which was then allied with Saddam in the Gulf War of 1991—then the idea of an East-West coalition was almost as old as Islam itself. With the Gulf war breaking out in March 2001, there was considerable talk in the West that Saddam Hussein’s forces in northern Iraq were beginning to break off, and the situation seemed like one to go to. In fact, the situation seemed to change very little in this half a century. In 1991, Kuwait finally became a majority government but the West began to turn against the tiny Arab states, especially Iraq. The Arab Spring, which began with the fall of the Arab States in Tunisia and Egypt, resulted in a new political and cultural shift in the Middle East. The Arab revolutions took place in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Jordan, and in Iraq and Kuwait. This brought new Arab states in line with the United States and European allies, who viewed Iraq’s rise as a disaster awaiting us. While the Arabs had been enjoying a good start to their civil war, we could not forget that the West was not always so accommodating to our people. The Iraqi people had become a more assertive society, and Saddam Hussein saw Iraq’s position as an opportunity to take up arms against the Gulf Arabs. It wasn’t an ideal time to be taking up arms against the Gulf Arabs, but it was also a time of peace. The Arab Spring had brought about a dramatic shift in the dynamics of the Middle East and the relationship between Iraq and the outside world was already beginning to deteriorate. In the meantime, the Gulf War started to lose face at home. In the following months, Kuwait faced a number of problems at home; it was being overrun by the Islamic State and the Islamic State was slowly losing ground. In fact, even Kuwait, which had been its main trading partner, was in a state of war. During this period, American jets flew over this