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Originally posted by SecretMethod70
But believe what you will while understanding that Saddam instigated the first Gulf War - and NO ONE disagrees with this, except perhaps Saddam - and that while they may or may not have had WMDs anymore, proof was never provided.
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Saddam did instigate it, but the US allowed it to happen. Saddam told the American ambassador (April Glaspie) that he was going to invade Kuwait. Part of her response:
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I admire your extraordinary efforts to rebuild your country. I know you need funds. We understand that, and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country.But we have no opinion on Arab-Arab conflicts like your border disagreement with Kuwait.
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Two days before the war, Assistant Secretary of State John Kelly testified before Congress:
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Representative Hamilton: Defense Secretary Richard Cheney has been quoted in the press as saying that the United States was commited to going to the defese of Kuwait if she were attacked. Is that exactly what was said? Could Mr Kelly clarify this?
Assistant Secretary Kelly: .. We have no defense treaty relationship with any Gulf country...
Hamilton: Do we have a commitment to our friends in the Gulf in the event that they are engaged in oil or territorial disputes with their neighbors?
Kelly: As I said, Mr Chairman, we have no defense treaty relationships with any of the countries. We have historically avoided taking a position on border disputes or on internal OPEC deliberations...
Hamilton: If Iraq, for example, charged across the border into Kuwait, for whatever reason, what would be our position with regard to the use of US forces?
Kelly: That, Mr Chairman, is a hypothetical or a contingency, the kind of which I can't get into. Suffice it to say that we would be extremely concerned, but I cannot get into the realm of "what if" answers.
Hamilton: In that circumstance, is it correct to say, however, that we do not have a treaty commitment which would obligate us to engage US forces?
Kelly: That is correct.
Hamilton: That is correct, is it not?
Kelly: That is correct, sir.
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Essentially giving Saddam the green light. If the US was really concerned about the protection of Kuwait, we could have just stated then that we would retaliate against an Iraqi incursion and stopped the whole thing without firing a single shot.
That the Bush Sr. administration allowed it to go ahead makes them, in my mind, partially responsible, even if the primary responsibility is Saddam's. It seems clear that, for some reason (oil, perhaps?) the President was interested in having a war.