Editing Saddam Hussein (section)

==== Tensions with Kuwait: 1988–1990 ====
The end of the war with Iran served to deepen latent tensions between Iraq and its wealthy neighbor Kuwait. Saddam urged the Kuwaitis to waive the Iraqi debt accumulated in the war, some $30 billion, but they refused.<ref name="Humphreys, 105">Humphreys, 105</ref> Saddam pushed oil-exporting countries to raise oil prices by cutting back production; Kuwait refused, then led the opposition in [[OPEC]] to the cuts that Saddam had requested. Kuwait was pumping large amounts of oil, and thus keeping prices low, when Iraq needed to sell high-priced oil from its wells to pay off its huge debt.<ref name="Humphreys, 105" />

Saddam had consistently argued that Kuwait had historically been an integral part of Iraq, and had only come into being as a result of interference from the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]]; echoing a belief that Iraqi nationalists had supported for the past fifty years. This belief was one of the few articles of faith uniting the political scene in a nation rife with sharp social, ethnic, religious, and ideological divides.<ref name="Humphreys, 105" /> The extent of Kuwaiti oil reserves also intensified tensions in the region. The oil reserves of Kuwait (with a population of 2&nbsp;million next to Iraq's 25) were roughly equal to those of Iraq. Taken together, Iraq and Kuwait sat on top of some 20 percent of the world's known oil reserves; [[Saudi Arabia]] held another 25 percent. Saddam still had an experienced and well-equipped army, which he used to influence regional affairs. He later ordered troops to the Iraq–Kuwait border.<ref name="Humphreys, 105" />

As Iraq–Kuwait relations rapidly deteriorated, Saddam was receiving conflicting information about how the US would respond to the prospects of an invasion. For one, Washington had been taking measures to cultivate a constructive relationship with Iraq for roughly a decade. The [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] gave Iraq roughly $4&nbsp;billion in agricultural credits to bolster it against Iran.<ref>A free-access on-line archive relating to U.S.–Iraq relations in the 1980s is offered by ''The National Security Archive'' of the [[George Washington University]]. It can be read on line at [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/]. The Mount Holyoke International Relations Program also provides a free-access document briefing on U.S.–Iraq relations (1904–present); this can be accessed on line at [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/iraq.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208105755/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/iraq.htm|date=8 February 2019}}.</ref> Saddam's Iraq became "the third-largest recipient of US assistance."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/08/31/the_true_iraq_appeasers/ |title=The true Iraq appeasers |work=The Boston Globe |access-date =16 July 2008 |date=31 August 2006 |first=Peter W. |last=Galbraith}}</ref> Reacting to Western criticism in April 1990, Saddam threatened to destroy half of Israel with chemical weapons if it moved against Iraq.<ref>Alan Cowell, [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/03/world/iraq-chief-boasting-of-poison-gas-warns-of-disaster-if-israelis-strike.html? "Iraq Chief, Boasting of Poison Gas, Warns of Disaster if Israelis Strike"], ''The New York Times'', 3 April 1990</ref> In May 1990, he criticized US support for Israel warning that "the US cannot maintain such a policy while professing friendship towards the Arabs."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/29/world/iraqi-takes-harsh-line-at-meeting.html |last=Cowell |first=Alan |title=Iraqi Takes Harsh Line at Meeting |work=The New York Times |date=29 May 1990 |access-date=20 September 2013}}</ref> In July 1990 he threatened force against Kuwait and the UAE saying "The policies of some Arab rulers are American ... They are inspired by America to undermine Arab interests and security."<ref>Youssef M. Ibrahim, [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/18/business/iraq-threatens-emirates-and-kuwait-on-oil-glut.html? "Iraq Threatens Emirates And Kuwait on Oil Glut"], ''The New York Times'', 18 July 1990</ref> The US sent warplanes and combat ships to the Persian Gulf in response to these threats.<ref>Michael R. Gordon, [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/25/world/us-deploys-air-and-sea-forces-after-iraq-threatens-2-neighbors.html? "U.S. Deploys Air and Sea Forces After Iraq Threatens 2 Neighbors"], ''The New York Times'', 25 July 1990</ref>

[[File:April Glaspie, Sadoun al-Zubaydi and Saddam Hussein.jpg|thumb|[[United States Ambassador to Iraq|U.S. Ambassador to Iraq]] [[April Glaspie]] calls upon Saddam for an emergency meeting.]]
On 25 July 1990, Saddam summoned the US ambassador to Iraq, [[April Glaspie]], for an emergency meeting where the Iraqi leader attacked American policy with regards to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. During the meeting, Glaspie stated that "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait," which was interpreted as tacit approval for the invasion of Kuwait.<ref name="nytimes1990">[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/23/world/confrontation-in-the-gulf-excerpts-from-iraqi-document-on-meeting-with-us-envoy.html? "CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting With U.S. Envoy"], ''The New York Times'', 23 September 1990</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Walt |first=Stephen M. |date=2025-05-06 |title=WikiLeaks, April Glaspie, and Saddam Hussein |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/01/09/wikileaks-april-glaspie-and-saddam-hussein/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Saddam stated that he would attempt last-ditch negotiations with the Kuwaitis but Iraq "would not accept death."<ref name="nytimes1990" /> U.S officials attempted to maintain a conciliatory line with Iraq, indicating that while [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[James Baker]] did not want force used, they would not take any position on the Iraq–Kuwait boundary dispute and did not want to become involved.<ref>Greg Palast: ''Armed Madhouse'' Chapter 2, "Plume".</ref> Later, Iraq and Kuwait met for a final negotiation session, which failed. Saddam then sent his troops into Kuwait.<ref name=":39" /> As tensions between Washington and Saddam began to escalate, the Soviet Union, under Mikhail Gorbachev, strengthened its military relationship with the Iraqi leader, providing him military advisers, arms and aid.<ref name=":39">{{Cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/dataconvert/pdf/em0280.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923224607/http://www.heritage.org/dataconvert/pdf/em0280.pdf|url-status=unfit|title="Bush to Gorbachev: Choose Between Saddam and the West," by Jay P. Kosminsky and Michael Johns, Heritage Foundation Executive Memorandum #280, 30 August 1990.|archive-date=23 September 2013}}</ref>