From dartvax!bu.edu!xylogics!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!convex!visser Sat Feb 23 17:25:36 EST 1991 Article 9456 of alt.activism: Xref: dartvax alt.activism:9456 talk.politics.misc:53745 alt.desert-storm:8265 talk.politics.mideast:32553 Path: dartvax!bu.edu!xylogics!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!convex!visser >From: visser@convex.com (Lance Visser) Newsgroups: alt.activism,talk.politics.misc,alt.desert-shield,talk.politics.mideast Subject: Re: Hilter reincarnate (plus history of Iraq/Kuwait) Message-ID: Date: 21 Feb 91 05:11:24 GMT References: <1991Feb21.035443.16545@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> Sender: news@convex.com (news access account) Organization: Convex Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx. Lines: 42 Nntp-Posting-Host: orion.convex.com In <1991Feb21.035443.16545@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> harelb@cabot.dartmouth.edu (Harel Barzilai) writes: >The following article appeared in the February 14, 1991 issue of Carnegie >Mellon University's alternative student paper, "The Student Union." This >WHY IRAQ INVADED KUWAIT +> When Britain drew the national borders in the Persian Gulf in 1922, +>they deliberately deprived Iraq of a seaport in the Gulf in the hope +>that Iraq could never threaten British dominance in the Gulf. Iraq +>has never recognized the British borders. The only seaport available was Kuwait city which would have been of little use to Iraq in 1922 as there were no real land links between Kuwait and Iraq. The real question here is why does Iraq so desperatly need a "seaport". Trade seems to function fine via present arrangements. The only conclusion I can come to is that Iraq needs it in order to become a true naval power in the persian gulf. +> In 1975, the Kurdish rebellion in Iraq, with $16 million in +>U.S.-provided arms and supplies, forced Iraq to capitulate the Shaat +>al Arab waterway, Iraq's only access to its upriver port of Basra, to +>Iran. In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran in hopes of regaining control of the +>estuary, thus starting the eight-year war. This is not true. The 1975 agreement moved the international bondary from the Iranian bank to the center of the river. The significance of this has always been beyond me. Iraq is not going to collapse if Iranian barges and rafts float down the river. +> More recently, Iraq accused Kuwait of waging "economic war" with +>Iraq. Kuwait has nearly depleted the huge Rumailah oil field, 90% of +>which lies in Iraq, and 10% of which lies in a disputed border region +>which Kuwait invaded during the Iraq-Iran war. Please list the source here. previously the accusation was thatt Kuwait was "stealing" oil. There is little proof of that and I have never heard anything about Rumilah being depleted.