SEQ : Causes of Conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.

How far is dispute over territory a cause for the conflict between Iraq and
Kuwait? Explain your answer. [12]
Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990, claiming that revolutionaries in
Kuwait had asked Iraq for help. The invasion was a success for Iraq. There
are several causes for this conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.
One of the causes of the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait was the claim
over the Bubiyan annd Warbah Islands. These islands belonged to Kuwait,
but Iraq
wanted these islands as it would help Iraq gain access to the Persian Gulf.
The Iraqis even attempted to claim ownership of the islands through force
in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 1978, Iraq had even tried to lease these
territories. Kuwaits refusal to grant this request worsened the
relationship between both sides as Iraq saw Kuwaits refusal as
an attack on its national interest.
Another territorial dispute was over a profitable oilfield, the Rumaila
oilfield. In 1990, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing oil by drilling oil from the
Iraqi side using slant-drilling technology. Kuwait insisted that they had
taken the oil only from their side of the oil field. When Kuwait refused
to pay compensation and to stop the drilling, Iraq felt that
Kuwait was unreasonable, therefore dispute over these two
territory issues caused the conflict between Irague and Kuwait.
However, the historical enmity that existed between both sides was another
cause for the conflict. Iraq had all along considered Kuwait as part of it. As
such Iraq expected Kuwait to give in to its demands. Kuwaits refusal to
give in to Iraq resulted in shock and anger. As a result, Iraq was even
more aggressive in trying to force Kuwait to give in to their
demands. The result was a worsening of the relationship
between the two as Kuwait might have seen the Iraqi actions as
bullying. Therefore, the worsening relationship between these
two countries contributed to the conflict.
The final causes for the conflict was the over-production of oil by Kuwait.
Due to the Iraq-Iran War, Iraq faced immense debts from the war and the
problems with rebuilding the country. Sale of oil was a solution to the debt
and the problems of rebuilding the country. Yet, Kuwait had increased its
oil production, causing a drastic fall in oil prices. Thus, Iraq lost a lot of
revenue due to the fall in oil prices. Iraq was upset of Kuwaits

actions and saw it as an economic war on Iraq. Thus this led to

an outbreak of war.
The territorial dispute over territory was a necessary but insufficient causes
for the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait. This is because territory dispute
had been going on for a long time and it did not result in the invasion of
Kuwait.
Similarly the historical enmity that exist has been going on for a long time
and did not trigger the conflict.
Instead, the most significant cause could be the over-production of oil
because it resulted in worsening economic problems for Iraq. Compared to
the loss of revenue from fall in oil prices, the territorial dispute and the
historical enmity were not so threatening to Iraqs survival at that time.
Thus the territorial dispute was to a small extent a cause for the conflict.
The main cause for the conflict was the over production of oil which caused
Iraq to lost a lot of revenue and it saw the only way to solve it problem was
to invade Kuwait. The overproduction of oil was the trigger that caused the
conflict between Iraq and Kuwait.
Note from the ess. Look at the sentences that has been underlined. These
are the explanation statements. And notice that I am always linking back
to the issue
Issue :
The conflict between Iraq and Kuwait. \