What happened to Saddam Hussein as a result of the Gulf war?

Answer 1

After the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988; Saddam Hussein consolidated his forces, and rebuilt his military. Two years later he moved his forces into the country of Kuwait to control the oil reserves located there.

Answer 2

Saddam was the brutal dictator of Iraq. The West had stood by when Saddam invaded Iran, in breach of international law, as it was convenient for the West for Iran and Iraq to destabilize each other.

Saddam then invaded the small oil-rich country of Kuwait, claiming it as a province that belonged to Iraq. There was arguably some justification for this claim; and anyway, Kuwait, like most Arab states, was in no way a democracy.

Nevertheless, instead of regarding the Kuwait invasion as a "local Arab difficulty", the USA and the UK chose to intervene, to protect oil supplies. They liberated Kuwait but handed power back to the non-democratic leaders. They also advanced into Iraq, destroying the Iraqi army but stopping short of Baghdad; so Saddam remained in power. Saddam set fire to oil wells, causing huge pollution and waste of precious oil resources.

The second Gulf War was the brainchild of George W. Bush who was determined to "finish the job". He wanted "regime change" and prepared for war. The UK knew that it was illegal to invade for this purpose; but Bush and Tony Blair conjured up an scenario that Saddam had WMDs that threatened the West (and Israel). The UK & USA invaded, conquering Iraq. Saddam was taken captive, and (after a trial that had little of the virtue of the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis) Saddam was hanged. Even the execution was botched, thus allowing Saddam the last word.

No plans for peace had been made; and it soon became apparent that the real victor was the Shia state of Iran. Iraq is on the site of ancient Mesopotamia, the "cradle of civilization. After the invasion, museums were ransacked and ancient sites vandalised. The country was destroyed.

Of course, no WMDs were ever found; but Tony Blair (who was told of this fact just PRIOR to the invasion) has just announced that he would have wanted to invade even if there were no WMDs. However, the UK parliament would not have voted for war had they been told the truth; and without the UK's support, it is unlikely that Bush would have dared to invade on his own.

Of course, Saddam was a vile dictator; but almost certainly the better approach would have been to continue with the policy of containment, with effective sanctions and no-fly zones. This would have prevented the further rise of Iran, it would have protected oil supplies, it would have been legal; and it would have allowed the West to have come out "smelling of roses". As it is, the two Gulf Wars have become a gross blot on the history of Western foreign affairs.

Although many Arab countries are rather glad that Saddam has gone, Europe is more sanguine. It is quite possible that Blair may face prosecution for the international crime of "waging a war of aggression".

Answer 3

Leader of Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988); Operation Desert Storm (Jan/Feb 1991); Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003).

Answer 4

Which gulf war? He fought in all three of them.