1. Managing Peace & Security
Iraq-Kuwait War (Lecture/Session 2):
Reactions, Impacts & Effectiveness of UN
Actions

2. What you will learn today…
 Students will be able to:
 Describe the reactions to and impacts of the Iraq-
Kuwait War to both countries, the region and the
World.
 Evaluate the effectiveness of UN efforts to maintain
international stability and peace.

3. Reactions to the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait
 Fear of Iraqi dominance
 Worry and fear amongst governments and
people in the region
 Iraq now controlled 20% of the world’s oil production.
 They could now fix the price of oil
 This could affect the price of oil
 Iraq could become bolder:
 Attack other countries in the region.
 Saudi Arabia’s (the region’s largest country) armed forces
no match to Iraq’s forces

4. Reactions to the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait
 The ‘Arab Solution’
 Arab countries did not want Western involvement
 Fear of the return of imperialism (refer to trainer for
explanation)
 Kuwait asked Arab League (AL) to organize a joint
force to counter the Iraqi invasion
 Arab League voted to condemn Iraq’s actions +
withdraw from Kuwait.
 8 members of AL did not support the vote. AL was
divided on their responses to the invasion.

5. Reactions to the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait
 American Response
 Invited to defend: Saudi government was worried
about Iraqi troop build-up along border – invited the
United States (US) to send troops to help defend its
country.
 US assumed leadership: After the US sent
troops…other countries joined the military operation
code-named: Operation Desert Shield. Britain,
France, Members of the Arab League sent troops,
military equipment and money

6. Reactions to the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait
 International Response
 The UN Security Council:
 Passed a resolution unanimously, demanding immediate
Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.
 Called for both Iraq and Kuwait to begin immediate and
intensive negotiations to resolve differences
 Both Kuwait and Iraqi assets internationally were
frozen immediately to prevent Iraq from making use
of Kuwait’s foreign reserves to finance the war.
 Economic & Military sanctions were used in an
attempt to force Iraq out of Kuwait
 Economic sanctions deprived Iraq of revenue from sale of
oil
 No country could sell anything to Iraq …except food and

7. Was the use of force the only way
to get Iraq out of Kuwait?
 Answer: Yes…why?
 Iraq’s response to diplomatic attempts not
favourable
 Saddam stubbornly refused to withdraw. Annexes Kuwait
instead
 Started to hold Westerners as hostages…turning them into
human shields
 Only released women and children after international
condemnation
 Economic sanctions would take too long to
cause a change in Iraq’s stand on Kuwait
 Coalition Forces confident that the war with Iraq
could be won

8. Impact of the conflict
 Impact on Kuwait
 More than 1,000 Kuwaiti civilians killed and
thousands of others tortured - Kuwaitis fled their
own country
 After they were defeated, Iraqi Army was ordered to
set-fire to 600 out of the 950 Oil wells in Kuwait

9. Impact of the Conflict
 Impact on Iraq
 Destruction of Iraq’s military capability
 Most formidable armed force in the region. 1/3rd armed
force destroyed
 Highway of Death – wreckage of military equipment
 Political instability in Iraq
 During the war, Kurds rose up against Saddam Hussein’s
government
 However uprisings not supported by coalition forces.
 Suffering of Iraqis
 Coalition air raids destroyed a large part of the
infrastructure
 Country’s water supply contaminated, sewage treatment

10. Impact of the Conflict
 Regional Impact
 Environmental catastrophe
 Set fire to the oil wells of Kuwait – causing air pollution
 Dumped 11mill barrels of oil into Persian Gulf
 Costs billions of dollars to clean up

11. Impact of the Conflict
 International Impact
 Nearly 2million foreign workers in Kuwait, from
Bangladesh, India, Egypt, The Philippines and
Palestine also fled Kuwait, unable to support their
families back home

12. Your turn…fill in your graphic
organizer
Impact on Impact on
Kuwait Iraq
Impact on
the
Impact on International
the Middle IMPACTS OF THE Community
East Region IRAQ – KUWAIT
WAR

13. Success of the UN in Maintaining
International stability and peace
 Gulf War an example how the UN could muster
its resources to deter aggression
 UN involvement gave the war legitimacy…
 UN involvement needed the support of Western
powers who had the means of carrying out the
war…UN does not have an Armed Force of its own.
 Western powers supported UN - their own national
interests. (protection of oil reserves and maintaining
the price of oil)
 In other areas, UN efforts in maintaining
international stability and peace not successful

14. Some additional
sources of information
 Iraq-Kuwait war (web sources)
 kk (causes)
 Kkk (impacts)
 The role of the UN in managing international
conflicts
 kkdkd
 Kdkdk

15. Reflection Questions
 Briefly describe one reaction to the Iraq invasion
of Kuwait
 What were the categories of impacts of the Iraq-
Kuwait War.
 What was the UN’s role in the Iraq-Kuwait War?
 Is this war an example of how UN is successful in
managing peace and stability?