Gulf War I
Energy Wars
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Grassroots attack on energy sources and uses
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Counterattack on Environmentalists
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Demand for less environmental degradation
Demand for less dangerous methods
attack via reduced enforcement, legislation, terror &
intimidation
continuing push to exploit ALL resources
War in Gulf (1990 - 1991, 1998?)
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Historical Background (See "Why War?" art.)
Saddam Hussain’s motivations
George Bush Sr. (et. al.) motivations
War, media and aftermath
Historical Background:
the long run - I
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Persian Gulf countries boundries and governments
arranged by colonial powers
Ottoman Empire ruled much of region
WWI ended Ottoman Empire, Iraq became League of
Nations mandate territory
1922 British drew national boundaries, seized piece of
Kurdistan for Iraq, kept Kuwait separate, limited Iraq
access to Gulf
1932 Iraq independent, 1958 nationalist Revolution
Repeated Iraqi demands to reintegrate Kuwait failed
1953 CIA overthrow of Mossedegh in Iran for cheap oil,
rising wages and the Keynesian auto economy
Historial Background II:
the long run - II
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1958 nationalist revolution
Saddam Hussein member of opposition Ba’ath party, tried
coup, fled to Egypt
1968 Ba’ath Party seized power, Hussein returned to Iraq,
played ever greater role
1973-4 OPEC achieves 4X increase in price of oil w/US
support
1979 Hussein becomes head of Ba’ath Party and of Iraq
1978-9 Iranian Revolution overthrows Shah (put and
maintained in power by US) becomes Islamic
1980 Hussein invades Iran, with tacit US support, war: 198088, US et al support Iraq w/military equipment and force
1978-81 Carter-Reagan-Volcker Depression drops oil price
and triggers international debt crisis
Historical Background: the
long run - III
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During Iraq – Iran war US helped both sides, Iraq
was funded by Arab states fearful of Islamic
fundamentalist regime in Teheran
Kuwait essentially an expanded town, run by a
single ruling family (the Sabah) with whom the
British had cut deals
Oil gave that family power and command over
foreign labor (80+% of labor force)
Limited citizenship and even more limited rights,
only men could vote, etc.
Kuwait major funder of Iraq during Iraq – Iran war
Historical Background: the
short run
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Regional conflicts over relative power:
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Iraq – Yemen – Lebanon – PLO – Jordan
Saudi Arabia – Egypt – Syria – Libya
UAE – Iran
OPEC prices undermined by over production, Iraq
sees economic warfare
April 1, 1990: Hussein speech threatens actions
against overproducers
Speech also threatens CBW response to Israeli
nuclear and chemical threat, calls for nuke-CBW
free zone in Middle East
Gulf War I –
Hussein’ Motivations
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Saddam Hussain invaded and conquered
Kuwait, Bush counterattacks
Hussein’s motivations:
 Expand
his power: seize territory long claimed
and the Rumaila Oil fields that cross the border
 Reduce his costs: eliminate debt to Kuwait
incurred during Iraq-Iran war
 Increase income: reduce oil production to raise
prices
Gulf War I –
Bush Motivations
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Bush motivations? - I:
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Principled resistance to international aggression?
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Inconsistent w/US govt support for similar aggressions
High-priced oil? Invasion spiked prices, blockade
reduced supplies & supported prices
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More resources for hard-pressed allies?
Increased competitiveness vs Europe as in ’73-4?
OPEC as continuing financial intermediary?
Excuse to push revitalization of nuclear power?
Excuse to bypass constraints on oil drilling?
More resources for Russia?
Austerity for Eastern Europe?
Increased profits for American producers? Banks?
Bush Motivations - II
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Containment of Hussein, regional balance of power
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Bush Sr. vision: balance of power
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as in post-Shah Gulf & +Iraq-Iran war
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Was Saddam suckered? Glaspie-Hussein exchange
 Did Hussein overstep the admissible bounds of his power?
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Militarization of Gulf, permanent US presence
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Repression of local instability in oil communities?
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From Palestinians to foreign workers (who are often
Palestinian as well as Yemeni, etc.)
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Excuse for further military-industrial expansion?
 Excuse to further cut social expenditures?
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Recession?
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Depressing effect of war consistent with Fed restrictionary
“zero-inflation” monetary policy
Media & the War
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Media was completely contained by Pentagon, virtually all
news vetted by military
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TV images of smart bombs were only of hits
Media accepted this censorship and in process became
extension of Pentagon public relations
Chomsky on how US media ignored history of US – Security
Council Relations
Also ignored history of US invasions: Grenada, Panama
Also ignored history of how US ignored (Chinese of Tibet)
or backed (Indonesian of East Timor) invasions of other
countries. Or quietly negotiated (South Africa of Namibia)
See Kellner’s Persian Gulf TV War, 1992.
Aftermath
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Ecological disaster in Gulf
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Destruction of social infrastructure: electricity,
food and water supplies
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Causes widespread suffering and death
Blockade of Iraqi oil exports
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From burning oil wells
From widespread depleted uranium, toxins
Reduction of export revenues
Reduction of food supplies
Reduction of medical supplies
All adds up to thousands of deaths a year
No fly-zones and repeated bombing
Partitioning of Iraq w/creation of Kurdish zone
- End of Phase One -