La délusion réussie : encourager Saddam Hussein à envahir le Koweit, juillet 1990.Remarquez, juillet 1990, ça n'était pas mal non plus, comme délusion : avoir réussi à persuader Saddam Hussein que oui oui, il avait bien le feu vert de l'administration Bush, pour envahir le Koweit...
Moi, en apprenant que le Département d'Etat venait de rappeler son ambassadrice à Baghdad, pour l'obliger à prendre des vacances dans un coin perdu des
States, naïvement, je fulminais contre l'inculture historique des Yankees. C'était tellement gros comme bombardement médiatique, toute cette presse iraki se déchaînant ensemble contre
le Koweit qui nous vole notre pétrole", cela empestait l'invasion imminente à plein nez... Exactement comme le montage de l'opération "
Boîtes de sardines" pour déclencher l'invasion de la Pologne à l'heure prévue.
Bin, j'avais tout faux. Pas sur l'invasion, qui est effectivement arrivée quelques jours plus tard, mais tout faux sur l'hypothèse de bêtise naturelle de l'administration Bush. C'était une sottise totalement artificielle et feinte, très élaborée.
Hyargh Hyargh Hyargh ! A nous les gros contrats d'armement chez ces richissimes émirs et saoudites ! A nous les bases militaires permanentes en Arabie Saoudite ! Hyargh Hyargh Hyargh !
Bien sûr, on ne fait pas d'omelettes sans casser des oeufs. Mais qui se soucie des soldats enterrés vivants dans leurs tranchées, ou des populations civiles écrasées sous les tapis de bombes ? Seul le profit est noble...Les documents écrits disponibles sur le net concernant les préparatifs de cette invasion, et la délusion US pour y encourager Hussein, se font rares.
http://www.meij.or.jp/text/Gulf%20War/kwtirq900719.htmLetter of Shaikh Sabah al-Ahmad, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to the Secretary General of the United Nations
Your Excellency, Mr. Javier Perez De Cuellar, the U.N. Secretary General,
I would like to inform Your Excellency that Kuwait received a memo from the Iraqi government dated July 17th, 1990 with a number of groundless claims and accusations that can be summed up as follows:
First: Kuwait stands behind oil price deterioration by dumping the world market with higher rates of production.
Second: Kuwait has stolen Iraqi oil from the Iraqi oilfield of al-Rumailah.
Third: By so doing, Kuwait has substantially damaged Iraqi economy, an act tantamount to military aggression.
Fourth: All acts by Kuwait are premeditated and agreed upon with foreign entities.
Fifth: Kuwait shows slackness in responding to the good offices made to solve the border question and has deliberately made a gradual calculated advance on the territories of Iraq by establishing installations thereon.
Regarding the first accusation, it contradicts both truth and reality. A follow-up of oil prices would make it quite clear that price deterioration was the result of a world-wide problem involving several parties in and outside the OPEC. As for the claim that Kuwait steals Iraqi oil, we would like to affirm that Kuwait draws oil only from wells within the Kuwait territories south of the Arab League line at a sufficient distance from international borders and according to international measurements.
Concerning the alleged Kuwaiti slackness in responding to the good offices made to solve the border question and the gradual advance on the territories of Iraq by establishing installations thereon, this is all a falsification of reality and a presentation of reversed facts. Kuwait has constantly sought to demarcate the boundary between the two states and resolve the relevant pending problems. But Iraq used to reject any attempt to put an end to the issue, though during the war it attempted to settle finally the question of boundary demarcation with other neighbouring sisterly Arab countries.
Wishing to draw Your Excellency's attention to the seriousness of the claims and accusations included in the Iraqi memo, Kuwait would also like to refer to the threat implied in the statement that Iraq preserves its right to demand the concerned parties to redress the deviation - a deviation that Kuwait affirms to be fictitious.
Kuwait would also like to emphasize that while the world is witnessing a noticeable entente and focuses of tension are diminishing, and though Kuwait has exerted strenuous efforts to put an end to a tragic war that lasted for over eight years during which security and stability were swept away in the region and directly threatened at the international level, the Iraqi memo shows up to brandish tension again in the region, a matter that involves serious dimensions. Regrettably, this memo has been brought forward at an important delicate juncture when lights as well as Arab and world attention are centered on the continuing tragedy of the Palestine people and attempts to find a negotiated solution.
Your Excellency,
Although Iraq intends to keep stepping up propaganda campaigns, Kuwait would like to accentuate its altitudianal commitment in dealing with the neighbouring countries based on good neighbourhood, peaceful coexistence and dialogue to solve the pending problems. Kuwait would also like to stress in this regard its full commitment to the United Nations Charter, its purposes and its objectives.
Your Excellency,
We have submitted this memo to familiarize you with the claims and accusations leveled at Kuwait, a member in your distinguished Organization. We will also keep Your Excellency informed of any new developments in this respect.
Please accept my special appreciation and respect.
Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
This letter was handed by Kuwaiti UN representative Muhammad Abulhasan to De Cuellar, Secretary General of the US on July 19, 1990
The Crime: Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait, The Kuwait Information Centre in Cairo, Section 2, pp.19 - 20.
http://www.meij.or.jp/text/Gulf%20War/gulfwar.htmhttp://www.meij.or.jp/text/Gulf%20War/irqkwt900530.htmPresident Saddam Hussein's Speech at a Closed Session of the Extraordinary Baghdad Summit on May 30, 1990
From this conference I personally have taken many lessons just as man continues to learn from life until the last moment of his life. The most important lessons of life are humanitarian.
We hope that our future conference will be like this conference, God willing, and as previous conferences - although in the past there were some problems. But thanks be to God, this conference has taken this course. Still I would like to make a comment which, made within this well-intentioned gathering, would help us. You know brothers, that since 1986 the most important revenue for our Arab economy has been oil, whether in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or Iraq or Libya or Algeria or Kuwait.
All these Arab countries rely basically on oil as their economic lifeline.
From 1986 on, and at a time we were at war, we started to face difficult circumstances similar in their hardships to fighting, especially as these difficulties are linked to the economy and to our main resource, oil. Some kind of disturbance prevailed in the oil market because of non-commitment to OPEC decisions.
It is true that we are not siting here at an OPEC conference but I would like to make a remark which would be to our benefit all. The reason for this disturbance is failure of commitment, on the part of some of our Arab brothers, to OPEC decisions, especially as the oil market was flooded by a glut of oil or at least by offering the consumers flexibility at the expense of price.
The prices plummeted until they sometimes reached 7 dollars per barrel. As regards Iraq, which is not the largest oil producer and does not have the largest OPEC quota, one dollar less on the price of a barrel of oil would bring Iraq's losses to one billion dollar a year as I have been told.
Consequently we will find how much the Arab nation as whole loses in its oil production every year. And from this too we can find a direct answer to the question: Is the Arab nation in a position to lose scores of billions of dollars unjustifiably for an error, be it made by technician or non-technician?
The oil buyers this year, for instance, were at least prepared to pay a price of up to 25 dollars per barrel for two years, as we have heard from Westerners, who are the biggest buyers on the oil market.
Therefore, this huge drain in our economy lies in the blurred vision or in refraining from dealing with a local matter in a Pan-Arab spirit. If a sound attitude towards what is Pan-Arab as well as towards the damage inflicted upon us all I believe we would inflict such big harm on Pan-Arab national economy. With the same frankness and fraternal spirit and in simple terms that would be enough to explain what should be said through analysis, let's say that the war some times is fought by soldiers, damage is done by bombings, killings and coup attempts but some times damage is inflicted on the economy.
Therefore, I will speak this time in the context of the sovereignty in Iraq. I want to say that those who do not mean to launch war against Iraq, that this is a form of war against Iraq.
If there was more to endure we would tolerate but I believe that all our brothers know the situation and are well informed, hoping, God willing, that the situation will always be good. But I say we have reached a point that we can no longer bear pressure. I believe that we will all gain and the Arab nation will also gain from commitment to OPEC decisions, whether in production or in prices and let's rely on God.
Baghdad Observer, July 19, 1990
http://www.meij.or.jp/text/Gulf%20War/iraqiMemo.htmIraqi Memorandum to the Arab League on July 15, 1990
His Excellency, Chadli al-Klibi, Secretary General of the League of Arab States.
Brotherly greetings,
At the beginning of this letter we must recall the principles which Iraq believes in and which it has implemented in all honesty and faithfulness in its Arab relations. Iraq believes that the Arabs, wherever they may be, are one nation and that its wealth should be distributed for the benefit of everyone and if anyone should suffer harm or grief then everyone suffers. Iraq looks at the wealth of the nation on the basis of these principles, and it has acted with its wealth in accordance with these principles.
Iraq also believes that in spite of all that the Arab community suffered during the Ottoman period and afterwards, under western imperialism, from all types of division, degradation, persecution and attempts to distort the Arab identity, nevertheless the basis of the unity of the Arab nation remained alive and vibrant; and that the Arab nation, despite its division into states, is one nation and every inch of this nation in this state or another should be considered first of all in the context of nationalist considerations and especially in the context of join Arab national security. It is also necessary to avoid falling into the abyss of narrow and selfish concerns in dealing with the rights and interests of the Arab states.
The higher interest of the Arab nation and the higher strategic calculations of Arab national security should always be present with us. They should always be the top priority in dealing with all these problems among the Arab states. On the basis of these nationalist principles and of sincere and brotherly relations, Iraq dealt with Kuwait in spite of what is known of past and present facts existing between the two states.
What has led us to write this letter is that, with deep sorrow, we are facing now on the part of the government of Kuwait a situation which is beyond the bounds of the nationalist terms of reference which we have mentioned, and contradicts them and threatens their very nature. It also contradicts the fundamental basis of relations between the Arab states. The officials in the government of Kuwait, despite our sincere and brotherly stand in dealing with them on all issues, and despite our concern to continue the brotherly dialogue with them at all times, have attempted in a planned, predetermined and continuous process to take advantage of Iraq and to cause it harm with the intention of weakening it after the end of the ruinous war which lasted eight years. All sincere Arabs, leader, intellectuals and citizens, including the heads of the Gulf states, agreed that in the war Iraq was defending the sovereignty of all the Arab nation, especially the Gulf states and in particular Kuwait. The Government of Kuwait also adopted a policy which attempted to weaken Iraq while it was confronting a vicious imperialist Zionist campaign as a result of its nationalist position in defending Arab rights. This policy was pursued unfortunately by selfish and narrow interests and goals which we cannot any longer but consider as suspicious and dangerous.
We would like to raise two issues here. First, we want to draw attention to the well-known fact that since the days of imperialism and division enforced upon the Arab nation, there has been an unresolved issue of border demarcation between Iraq and Kuwait. The contacts undertaken during the 1960s and 1970s, and up until the beginning of the war between Iraq and Iran, with the aim of reaching a solution between the two parties on this subject, were unsuccessful. During the long war years, particularly during the time when the brave Iraqi sons were shedding their precious blood on the front defending the Arab land, including the dignity of Kuwait, the Government of Kuwait exploited the fact that Iraq was preoccupied as well as Iraq's belief in its fundamental nationalist principles and its correct relations with brothers and in nationalist issues, so that it could execute a plan to escalate its gradual and predetermined encroachment on the land of Iraq. It erected military installations, border posts, oil installations and farms on Iraqi territory. We remained silent about all of this and thought it sufficient to make signs and indications hoping that this would be enough in the context of brotherly principles which we thought that everyone believed in. But these actions continued in predetermined and devious ways, confirming the fact that they had been planned in advance.
After the liberation of Fao we took the initiative during the summit conference in Algiers in 1988 to convey to the Kuwaiti side our sincere desire to solve this problem in the context of brotherly relations and higher national interests. But we found ourselves facing a very surprising situation since, although the logic of the situation would have led Kuwaiti officials to be pleased at the generous and fraternal initiative on our part and to have worked to resolve the issue quickly, we encountered deliberate hesitancy and foot dragging on their part with regard to continuing negotiations and contacts. And they raised unnecessary complications while continuing to encroach and erect petroleum and military installations, border posts and farms on Iraqi territory. We put up with this behavior with patience and forbearance. We would have been perfectly willing to be more patient if matters had not moved to a more dangerous level at which we could no longer remain silent and this we will discuss in the second and more critical point. Iraq retains a full record of this matter supported by documents and data which explain excesses undertaken by the Government of Kuwait.
Second, Kuwait started, a few months ago and specifically after Iraq raised its voice loudly in calling for the restoration of the rights of Arabs in Palestine and pointing out the dangers of the American presence in the Gulf, adopting a wrong policy the purpose of which was to harm the Arab nation and particularly Iraq.
Here the Government of the UAE participated with the Government of Kuwait in a planned operation to flood the oil market with excess production which was more than their assigned OPEC quotas, putting forward superficial justifications that did not have any logical, just or fair basis and using justifications which were not shared by any of the brotherly producing countries. This planned policy led to the collapse of oil prices to a very dangerous level. After the collapse in prices which took place several years ago from the high levels which it had achieved of $29, $28 and $24/B the policies of the Governments of Kuwait and the UAE led to the collapse of the level of the minimum and modest price which was agreed upon in OPEC recently - from 18/B to 11-$13/B. A simple mathematical calculation shows the extent of heavy losses inflicted upon the Arab oil producing states:
1. The average oil production of Arab states s 14mn b/d/ The collapse of the prices in the period 1981-1990 led to a loss for he Arab states of approximately $500bn. Iraq's share of that is 89bn. If the Arabs had not lost this huge sum and if we had saved half of it for national development and assistance to poorer Arab states we would have achieved a high rate of national development and would have assisted the poor in our society and the state of the nation would have been stronger, more prosperous and more advanced than it is now. If we take the minimum price agreed upon in OPEC in 1987 ($18/B) them the loss to the Arab states during this period, 1987-1990, due to the collapse of prices is around $25bn.
2. The decline of a single dollar in the oil price leads to a loss for Iraq of $1bn annually. It is known that this year the price has fallen several dollars below that level because of the policies of the Government of Kuwait and the UAE. This means a loss for Iraq of several billion dollars in income this year at a time when it is suffering from a financial crisis because of the cost of its rightful defense of Arab lands, their security and whatever it holds sacred during the fierce eight-year war. These substantial losses arising from the collapse of oil prices have not only affected the oil producing states but they have also caused harm to the other brotherly states which were receiving assistance from the Arab oil producing countries. Aid funds decreased and in some cases even ceased and the condition of the joint Arab institutions deteriorated. This situation was used as an excuse to cut or even end subsidies and support for joint Arab activities.
The Government of Kuwait has added to its premeditated offenses another offense aimed at harming Iraq in particular. Since 1980, and especially during the war, it erected oil installations on the southern part of the Iraqi Rumailah field and produced oil from it. It is clear from this that it was flooding the world oil market in part with oil which it stole from the Iraqi Rumailah field, hence intentionally dealing a double blow to Iraq; once by weakening its economy at a time when it had a dire need of revenues and a second time by stealing its wealth. The value of the oil which the Kuwaiti Government lifted from the Rumailah field in this way, which contravenes brotherly relations, amounts to $2.4bn at the prevailing prices during 1980-1990. We therefore wish to put on record before the Arab League and before all the Arab states, Iraq's right to regain that part of its wealth which was stolen and its right to demand from those concerned a correction of this trasgression and recompense for the damage it suffered.
We explained on numerous previous occasions the dangers of the policy of the Kuwaiti and UAE Governments to our brothers among the oil producing Arab States, including Kuwait and the UAE. We drew attention to this many times, we complained and we warned. At the Baghdad summit, President Saddam Hussein addressed this problem in the presence of Kings, Presidents and Princes, and all other concerned, in a frank and brotherly way (a text of the speech on this subject is attached). We were expecting, especially with the brotherly and positive atmosphere achieved at the Baghdad summit, that the Governments of Kuwait and the UAE would abandon this course of action. But the bitter truth is that all that we undertook in the way of bilateral efforts and contacts with brotherly states to play a positive role in persuading the governments of Kuwait and the UAE to abandon this course, and despite the speech of President Saddam Hussein at the Baghdad summit, these two governments purposely continued this policy. Moreover, some of the officials in these two countries issued insolent statements when we hinted at these facts and complained about them. Therefore, we could not but conclude that what the Governments of Kuwait and the UAE did in this context was a predetermined policy with covert aims. We were also aware that this policy which led to the collapse of the oil price would cause damage in the end to the economies of these two countries themselves.
We, after having clarified these matters to all brothers, and after having requested directly form these two governments to stop these wrong and destructive policies and having explained to them, before, during and after the Baghdad summit, the serious damage inflicted upon us, and after having sent envoys and letters, we condemn what the Governments of Kuwait and the UAE have done as a direct aggression against Iraq as well as a direct aggression against the Arab nation.
As far as the Kuwaiti Government is concerned, its attack on Iraq is a double one. On the one hand Kuwait is attacking Iraq and encroaching on our territory, oilfields and stealing our national wealth. Such action is tantamount to military aggression. On the other had the Government of Kuwait is determined to cause a collapse of the Iraqi economy during this period when it is confronting the vicious imperialist Zionist threat, which is an aggression no less serious than military aggression.
We present these painful facts to our Arab brothers in the hope that they will raise their voices loudly and put an end to this premeditated aggression and advise the two deviationists to return to the proper behavior which takes into consideration joint nationalist interest and the needs of joint nationalist security.
3. In discussion higher nationalist interests and the link between Arab wealth and the future of the Arab nation, we would like to propose the following:
If all the Arab oil producing and non-oil producing countries were to achieve together political solidarity, and agree to raise the oil price above $25/B and then establish a fund for Arab development and assistance along the lines agreed at the 'Amman summit, with the fund being financed at the rate of $1 for every barrel of oil sold by the Arab oil producing countries at a price above 25/B, then a sum of $5bn a year would be accumulated in this fund. At the same time oil revenues of the oil producing countries would also increase substantially because the joint Arab solidarity which would be achieved by this fair price would raise their current incomes and would protect tem form aggressive attempts aimed at weakening Arab strength by undermining the resource of their oil wealth.
We can imagine how a fixed sum like that would strengthen Arab national security and provide development possibilities for all the Arab countries and enable them to confront the stifling economic crises from which most of our countries suffer. Iraq is submitting its proposal for serious study, and the next Arab summit conference in Cairo could be an occasion to discuss this proposal and approve it.
4. Since we are talking about painful facts we deem it necessary to clarify the misunderstanding which some of our brothers might have with regard to (aid) which Kuwait and the UAE accorded to Iraq during the war.
(a) All sincere Arabs in the Arab world had concurred that the war which Iraq had to wage was not only to defend its sovereignty but also to defend the eastern flank of the Arab homeland, and particularly the Gulf area. This was confirmed by the leaders of the Gulf themselves in the strongest of term. Thus the war was considered a nationalist battle in which Iraq had undertaken the role of defending nationalist security and the security of the Gulf in particular.
(b) During the war Iraq received various forms of assistance from its brothers in some of the Gulf countries. The principal part of this assistance was provided at the time of the war in the form of interest-free (loans). Iraq received such assistance in the early stages of the war, but it was stopped after 1982. Iraq, at the time, did not discuss the form of this assistance with its brothers because it was hoping that the war would not last as long as it did and because it was hoping to return to full economic strength after the war. However, the war dragged on and its cost rose to unprecedented levels. The value of the military hardware alone which Iraq purchased and used in the war amounted to $102bn in addition to other enormous military and civilian expenditure in a devastating war which lasted eight years along a front which extended 1,200km.
Despite all the (assistance) which Iraq had received from its brothers - and this was only a small fraction compared to the massive cost incurred by the Iraq economy and the Iraqi people who shed rivers of blood in defense of nationalist sovereignty and nationalist dignity - the Iraqi leadership expressed its deep appreciation to all those brothers who provided assistance. President Saddam Hussein expressed it publicly during the visits made by the heads of the Gulf states to Iraq. But the bitter fact which every Arab should know is that the basic part of the assistance which we mentioned is still recorded as (loans) to Iraq, including that provided by Kuwait and the UAE. We raised the subject with the officials in a brotherly spirit more than a year ago with a view to canceling this (debt) but they avoided the subject. In addition a (debt) was also registered against Iraq for the quantities of crude oil that Kuwait had sold on its behalf from the Khafji area following the closure of the transit pipeline across Syria, despite the fact that this volume was sold outside Kuwait's OPEC quota. In order to understand these facts in full it is important to explain a significant development in the oil market during the period of the war. Iraq was a major producer of crude before the war with an output of around 3.6mn b/d. Bur at the beginning of the war its production stopped completely for several months and then it started exporting small volumes through Turkey and then through Syria until the pipeline stopped in 1982. Iraq's exports of oil from the south were halted from September 1980 until September 1985 when the IPSA-1 pipeline was commissioned. As a result of this massive fall in exports due to the war Iraq lost a huge sum of money estimated at $106bn. From a practical point of view these funds found their way to the treasuries of the other oil producing countries in the area, whose exports increased to compensate for the eight-year shortfall in Iraqi exports. Using basic arithmetic it becomes obvious that the Kuwaiti and UAE claims on Iraq were not all provided by the treasuries of these countries but were the result of increased revenues realized following the fall in Iraqi exports during the years.
We ask: considering that Iraq shouldered the responsibility of Arab national defense and Arab sovereignty and dignity and the wealth of the Gulf states which would have all gone to waste and fallen into the hands of others in the event that Iraq had lost the war, should that assistance be considered a (loan) to us?
During the Second World War the US provided huge sums of money, which it collected from American taxpayers, as assistance to the Soviet Union and its western allies even though they are not part of the same nation. After the Second World War the US extended massive aid under the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe. It acted in a comprehensive and strategic way taking into consideration its own security and the security of its allies who participated in the war against a common enemy. So how can these sums still be considered as a claim on Iraq from its brothers in the Arab nation when Iraq sacrificed this debt many times over from its own resources throughout the destructive war and offered rivers of blood from the flower of its youth in defense of the nation(s territory and its honor, dignity and wealth. Doesn't the nationalist logic and security, if we take the American precedent as an example, impel these states to cancel this claim on Iraq and furthermore to organize an Arab plan similar to the Marshall Plan to compensate Iraq for part of what it lost in the war.
Such would be the nationalist logic if there was any conviction in Arabism, in Arab belonging, and in a serious stand towards nationalist security. But instead of pursuing this responsible nationalist path we find two of the Gulf governments, whose wealth Iraq has preserved through the blood of its sons and indeed whose wealth it has increased due to the fall in Iraqi production, now trying to destroy the Iraqi economy and reduce its resources, and we find that the premeditated policy of one of them - the Government of Kuwait - is to commit aggression against the territory of Iraq and to steal the wealth of those who protected the land, honor and wealth of Kuwait.
We submit these painful facts to the conscience of all honorable Arabs, foremost among them the brotherly Kuwaiti people, so that they may realize the pain, harm and injury which we have sustained and from which we are still suffering.
We request the Secretary General to distribute this letter to the Arab states.
Tariq Aziz
Deputy Prime Minister of the Iraqi Republic, Foreign Minister of the Iraqi Republic,
22 Dhu al-Hijja 1410, 15 July 1990
MEES 33:42 (July 23, 1990)
Source : The Middle East Institute of Japan