What were the implications of the Iraq-Iran war on Iraq?

Answer 1

The Iraq-Iran war lasted for about 8 years without a clear victory for either side. But this war shows that an ill-defined war cannot be won and that a very powerful army in the absence of a strong political system is detrimental to its country. At the end of the war, Iraq had a very powerful army with sophisticated weaponry systems inherited from the war which were mostly donations from other countries without a charge. The Iraqi leaders at that time were atop of an army threatening their existence. To prevent a military coup, the Iraqi leaders had to keep the army busy, so the army was sent to Kuwait.

Another major implication was the financial situation at the end of the war. While Iran fought the war entirely on its own huge monetary reserve (from the oil boom of the 70's), Saddam had to borrow heavily. In all, Iraq had received loans totaling $40 billion, mostly from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

At the end of the war, Saddam felt that both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should forgo the loans since Iraq had fought a common enemy (Iran) on their behalf. However Kuwait and Saudi Arabia felt they had saved Saddam from defeat and wanted the loans re-paid. This disagreement was also a root cause of the invasion of Kuwait and all that transpired after that invasion.