The first Gulf war was a war that emanated between Iraq and Kuwait following accusations of oil theft on the Iraqi government by Kuwait. Indeed, the enmity increased when the Iraq government sent its troops to Kuwait to counter the continued oil loss. All this occurred in august 1990 and the months that proceeded. Moreover, this war attracted international interventions where about 34 nations colluded with the United Nations in helping the Kuwait government to defeat Iraq. The nations joined to form a coalition that sent troops over to the Kuwait territory and fight against the Iraq troops. Among the states which colluded in forming the coalition of the gulf war including the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and Egypt; the nations also contributed towards furnishing the troops and ammunitions expenses. From the records, the war heightened the enmity between the then United States president George H. W. Bush and the Iraq president Saddam Hussein. This paper will aim at analyzing the first gulf war which can be claimed to be going on, whether this was just war or an economic or ideological war, and the perception/views of the US and its allies on the main causes of the war.
It is true to say that the first gulf war is still going on even to date because, even after the Iraq government surrendered, there has been a soaring relationship between the United States and the Iraq government; thus, it is better to classify the first gulf war as an ideological war where the US government wanted to bring to an end the dictatorial system of government exercised by the then Iraq president Saddam Hussein. President George W. Bush senior initiated the war and though the Iraq government removed its troops from Kuwait, the war against Iraq was revived in May 2003 by Bush Junior claiming that bad leadership dominated the country. The 2003 war was also undertaken to disarm the Iraq nation which was said to have nuclear weapons (Lind & Tamas 155-160).
The first gulf war can however be taken as an ideological war because, as it can be established now, the United States together with its allies and the United Nations has succeeded in ending the Saddam dictatorial regime, thus replacing it with a democratic system of leadership. Therefore, with the new democratic regime, the Iraqi citizens can freely take part in the running of their government, something they never enjoyed during the Saddam reign. Consequently, the arguments on whether the gulf war is still on or not, and whether the war is just a mere war or otherwise seem to raise very many questions. This is because there seems to be a strong coalition between the Western countries, who continuously oppose the dictatorial regime established by Saddam Hussein (Malpas 63-74).
The United States of America views the first gulf war as a war against bad and cruel leadership; the west claims that the Iraq leadership is cruel and harsh to its citizens something which has greatly hampered the country’s economic activities. However, human rights violations are also on the rise according to United Nations and other UN bodies. Human injustices which included mass killings dominated the country making it extremely hard for the residents to exercise their day-to-day activities. The first gulf war can also be partially termed as an economic war because oil was the major factor that triggered the war. Moreover, Banyard (1999) is on the view that the united state feared the economic empowerment of the Iraqi government since an economic boost to the Iraqi government could have threatened the entire security in the world. The argument revolved around the fact that Iraq supported terrorists and another Muslim extremists like the Al-Shabab group which threatened other countries’ peace, more so the American citizens (Atkinson 104&105). In addition, the Iraqi government was accused of financing and providing hiding places for extremist groups such as the Palestine suicide bombers. The move by the Iraqi government to extend its oil mining in Kuwait could greatly boost the country’s economic background and consequently worsen the security status.
Thorough scrutiny of the first gulf war shows that the dictatorial regime triggered the war, the main reason being aimed at stopping the Saddam dictatorial regime which supported and financed Muslim extremists. As it was later noted in the 2003 war against Iraq, no weapons of mass destruction were found in the state despite the intensified accusation by the United States and its allies. Further prosecutions and sentencing of Saddam Hussein prove the extent to which the United States, together with its allies was ready to go to ensure that they stem out the cruel regime (Munro 65). The new election of Obama as the US president and the introduction of democratic government in Iraq has marked a great improvement in the relationships between the two countries. It has also led to the withdrawal of many US and its allied troops from Iraq; the troop’s withdrawal is gradually undertaken since fear of the extremist regimes such as Al-Qaeda has continued to threaten the newly established form of government in Iraq. The war is not yet over since the United Nations, the United States, and its allies feel that democracy is not fully developed in the country.
In conclusion, the first gulf war was just the beginning but not the end of the ongoing war between the Iraq government and the Western nation, given that the war revolved around the difference in the type of leadership. Moreover, the West still presses on to ensure that a dictatorial system of government is no longer exercised in Iraq and that a democratic form of government is upheld in the country. Indeed, the government that acknowledges the interests of the public and allows citizen participation in the government running process is advocated for in Iraq. However, until a strong government that suits the above specifications is put in place, the war continues.
Works cited
Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. New York, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 1994. Web.
Banyard, Philip. Controversies in psychology. New York, Routledge. 1999. Web.
Lind, Nancy & Tamas, Bernard I. Controversies of the George W. Bush presidency: pro and con documents. New York, Greenwood Publishing Group. 2007. Web.
Malpas, Simon. The postmodern. New York, Routledge. 2005. Web.
Munro, Alan. Arab storm: politics and diplomacy behind the Gulf War. New York, I.B.Tauris. 2006. Web.