Analysis of the Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War:
Background, Actors and The United States Alternatives
Introduction to International Relations
Dr. Skorick
16 October 2013
The Persian Gulf War is known as the “Video Game War” because it was the first war that was thoroughly publicized on national television. However, there is much more to the war than what was on television. Television made it possible for the average citizen of America and the world to understand the war, but because every war has such an intricate and complicated background, the Gulf War goes far beyond what was documented on the news. There are tangled reasons behind why the war started, a multitude of actors that participated in different ways, and various alternatives that would draw specific dimensions that most of the public did not realize were even related to the War.
Precursors to the Gulf War Conflict existed in the Middle East well before the Persian Gulf War began. From about 1980 to 1988, Iraq and Iran were in a battle about who had ownership of the Shatt Al Arab area because country borders in the Middle East are forged due to the creation of borders after World War II (Dugdale-Pointon). This war gave Iraq an incredible amount of debt, and so the government was scrambling to pay it back. Two years later, the leader of Iraq Saddam Hussein delivered a speech at a foreign ministers conference in Geneva in July, and it was expected that he would help resolve conflicts in the Middle East but instead he “accused neighboring nation Kuwait of siphoning crude oil from the Ar-Rumaylah oil fields located along their common border” (“Persian”). The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has a fine standard for the amount of oil that can be produced, and since Kuwait was excelling in oil production and producing more than was allotted, Iraq was not able to sell enough to pay off their debt. This enraged Iraq; Hussein was so angry with
Background, Actors and The United States Alternatives
Introduction to International Relations
Dr. Skorick
16 October 2013
The Persian Gulf War is known as the “Video Game War” because it was the first war that was thoroughly publicized on national television. However, there is much more to the war than what was on television. Television made it possible for the average citizen of America and the world to understand the war, but because every war has such an intricate and complicated background, the Gulf War goes far beyond what was documented on the news. There are tangled reasons behind why the war started, a multitude of actors that participated in different ways, and various alternatives that would draw specific dimensions that most of the public did not realize were even related to the War.
Precursors to the Gulf War Conflict existed in the Middle East well before the Persian Gulf War began. From about 1980 to 1988, Iraq and Iran were in a battle about who had ownership of the Shatt Al Arab area because country borders in the Middle East are forged due to the creation of borders after World War II (Dugdale-Pointon). This war gave Iraq an incredible amount of debt, and so the government was scrambling to pay it back. Two years later, the leader of Iraq Saddam Hussein delivered a speech at a foreign ministers conference in Geneva in July, and it was expected that he would help resolve conflicts in the Middle East but instead he “accused neighboring nation Kuwait of siphoning crude oil from the Ar-Rumaylah oil fields located along their common border” (“Persian”). The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has a fine standard for the amount of oil that can be produced, and since Kuwait was excelling in oil production and producing more than was allotted, Iraq was not able to sell enough to pay off their debt. This enraged Iraq; Hussein was so angry with
Cited: Apple, R.W., Jr. "CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; Bush Says Iraqi Aggression Threatens 'Our Way of Life ':." New York Times [New York] 16 Aug. 1990: n. pag. Print. Bard, Mitchell. “Israel’s Contribution to Gulf War." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. "CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; War and Peace: A Sampling From the Debate on Capitol Hill:." New York Times [New York] 11 Jan. 1991: n. pag. Print. Dugdale-Pointon, TPD. "The Gulf War 1990/1991." History of War. N.p., 2 June 2002. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. "The Gulf War." Military.com Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. "Major Actors in Gulf War." Gulf War Debriefing Book. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. "Persian Gulf War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. "Program Transcript: Gulf War." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.